Decision Making in Systems Engineering and Management, 3rd Edition

Chapter 13Epilogue‐Professional Practice

The system votes last.

—Jack Clemons, Lockheed Martin Corp.

13.1 INTRODUCTION

Systems Engineering as a discipline was introduced in Section 1.2 with many of the tasks and responsibilities as a member of a systems team described throughout the book. Given the proliferation of systems in today's world, all engineered to provide some function for humans or the things that humans value, it is becoming difficult to pigeonhole what a systems engineer (SE) is, and indeed, what a systems project team gets involved with on a day‐to‐day basis. This chapter is focused on the system engineer in practice: his or her place in the organization, responsibilities, and specific activities and tasks, so as to convey what it is like to be an SE. There are also some useful references addressing important aspects of an SE's job that are beyond the scope of this book. This section discusses the job in general, including the title and the organizational placement.

The typical job for a professional systems engineer is technical integrator supporting a Program Manager who is developing a complex system.

Typically, a professional SE works for a Chief SE, who in turn works for a Program Manager. The SE is the technical interface with clients, users, and consumers, and is often the one responsible for building a systems team to support a systems project. ...