Introduction to

Systems Engineering

Professor Essam Shehab, PhD, CEng, FIET, FACostE, FHEA

Professor of Digital Manufacturing
Head of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department
[email protected]
Ext: 9117, Office: 3e.521
Overview

Introduction to Systems

What is Systems
Engineering

Why do you study

Systems Engineering
 Introduction

What are the objectives of any company?

What are Systems?
❖ A group of related parts that move or work together.
<> a system of rivers <> railroad systems
❖ A body of a person or animal thought of as an entire group of
parts that work together.
❖ A group of organs that work together to perform an important
function of the body.
<> digestive/ reproductive / respiratory system
❖ A way of managing, controlling, organizing, or doing something
that follows a set of rules or a plan.
<> the legal system
Human body Systems
Full carbon electric folding bicycle
Bicycle-sharing system
Railway System
Social System
Technology System
Types of Systems
In the context of this course…

Systems are man‐made, created and utilized

to provide products or product-services in

defined environments for the benefit of users

and other stakeholders.

Definition - System
(International Council on Systems Engineering : INCOSE)

• An integrated set of elements, sub-systems, or

assemblies that accomplish a defined objective.
• These elements include products (Hardware,
software, firmware), processes, people,
information, techniques, facilities, services, and
other support elements.
(ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288)

• A combination of interacting elements organised

to achieve one or more stated purposes
Definition of a System
• A system is a construct of different elements that
together produce results not obtainable by the elements
alone.
• The elements, or parts, can include people, hardware,
software, facilities, policies, and documents.
• That is, all things required to produce system-level
results.
• The results include system level qualities, properties,
characteristics, functions, behaviour and performance.
• The value added by the system as whole, beyond that
contributed independently by the parts, is primarily
created by the relationship among the pars; that is, how
they are interconnected.
System concept

• Elements are parts in a system.

• Attributes are properties of the elements in the
system (e.g. air speed of an aircraft).
• Properties
• Characteristic (Colour of a car)
• Configuration (Number and arrangement of bridge
piers)
• Constraint (Maximum speed permitted by the governor
of a turbine)
• Quality (Strength of a steel beam).
• Power (Capacitance of an electrical circuit).
System elements

• System composed of interacting system element

 System of Interest (SOI)
• A system-of-interest is a collective set of all elements
of any system considered by a lifecycle, this may
include both operational or enabling systems
• The system whose life cycle is under consideration
• The system of interest
to an observer
• The system-of-interest
is the system that is the
focus of the systems
engineering effort
 Hierarchy Within a System
• System of Interest (SOI) (Whole System Structure)
• Partition into complete sets of distinct systems and system elements
by suppressing details of their interactions and interrelations
• Lower level elements & systems are subordinates to high level
system
 System Boundary
unctionality - System interacts with its OP

• Functionality - System Operating Environment

Operating Environment
interacts with its (OE)
operating
Collection environment
of elements which
do not belong toEnvironment
the system. Boundary
• Operating
(OE): Collection of System
elements
ystem Boundarywhich do not
belong to the system.
ine of demarcation between
• System
ystem itself and OE.
Boundary: Line Element Element
of demarcation between
system itself and OE.

EPTS OF A SYSTEM What are System

System of Systems (SoS)

• A “system of systems” (SoS) is an SOI whose

elements are managerially and/or operationally

independent systems.
An Example of System of Systems (SoS)
System of Systems (SoS)

Characteristics of SoS:
• Operational independence of constituent systems
• Managerial independence of constituent systems
• Geographical distribution
• Emergent behaviour: is a behavior of the system that cannot be
understood exclusively in terms of the behavior of the individual
system elements.
• Evolutionary development processes

• emergence is a process whereby larger entities, patterns, and

regularities arise through interactions among smaller or
simpler entities that themselves do not exhibit such
properties
System of Systems (SoS)
Large‐scale inter‐disciplinary problems involving with multiple,
heterogeneous (diverse), distributed systems
Challenges:
• SoS authorities - each constituent system has its own “owner”
• Leadership to provide coherence and direction
• Capabilities and requirements - independent systems with own
requirements
• Autonomy, interdependencies, emergence - independence and
interdependence add to complexity
• Testing, validation, learning - end to end testing difficult & costly
• SoS principles - application of crosscutting principles
• SoS securities - secure in isolation, SoS?
 Product-Service Systems (PSS)

Arnold Tukker, Business Strategy and the Environment, Bus. Strat. Env. 13, 246–260 (2004)
 PSS Definition

• A Product-Service System (PSS) is a business model and

an integrated combination of products and services

• The customer pays for using an asset, rather than its

purchase

• PSS will have a lower environmental impact than, simply,

a more traditional transaction where an enterprise
manufactures products but then transfers responsibilities
of ownership and use to the customer.
(a)Traditional purchase of photocopier
(b)Purchase of a document management
capability

Source: Baines et al (2007) State-of-the-art in product-

service systems, IMechE – part B
Examples of successful PSS

Power by the hour Pay per use

Total Care
Team Task

• What type of systems have you worked on?

• Why do you call them “Systems”?
• What are the system elements?
• What is the system purpose?
 Systems Thinking

• SE perspective is based on systems thinking (ST)

• A systems thinker knows how systems fit into the

larger context of day‐to‐day life, how they behave,
and how to manage them

• Through system thinking, organizations take into

account the complete system, the life span and all
parties involved in the chain
Definition of System Engineering

• SE is a perspective, a process, and a profession

• Interdisciplinary approach and means to enable the

realisation of successful systems

• Focus on defining customer needs, required functionality

early in the development cycle, documenting
requirements, then proceeding with design synthesis and
system validation while considering the complete
problem: Operations, operations, test, manufacturing,
cost and schedule, training and support, and disposal
Definition of System Engineering

• Considers business and technical needs of all

customers

• Concentrates on design and application of the

whole system
Definition of System Engineering

Systems engineering is an iterative process of top‐down synthesis,

development, and operation of a real‐world system that satisfies, in
a near optimal manner, the full range of requirements for the
system.

Systems engineering is a discipline that concentrates on the design

and application of the whole (system) as distinct from the parts. It
involves looking at a problem in its entirety, taking into account all the
facets and all the variables and relating the social to the technical
aspect.
Key Elements of Systems Engineering

Source: SEBoK
Systems Engineering
◼ Emphasis on
➢ Top-down approach:
• Look at system from top
• Decide inputs/outputs
• Decide subsystems

➢ Interdisciplinary approach: Capture the

interactions between disciplines

➢ Effort on more complete definition of system

requirements:
• Complete definition of needs facilitates verification of
system performance
• Minimize surprises at later stages
SE Application Domains
❖ Automotive Systems
❖ Biomedical and Healthcare Systems
❖ Defence and Aerospace Systems
❖ Infrastructure Systems
❖ Space Systems
❖ Ground Transportation Systems
❖ Product Line Management
❖ Engineering for Services
❖ Enterprises
❖ Very Small and Micro Enterprises
SE Origins and Evolution 5
SE Origins and Evolution

What is Systems Engineering? 5

 51
SE Origins SE
and Evolution
Origins and Evolution

What is Systems Engineering? 6

Process

➢ Process: a collection of activities that take one or more

kinds of input and creates an output that is of value to a
customer.

Input (s) Process Output (s)

Systems Engineering process
Basic steps
• Problem statement
• Define system objectives (user’s needs)
• Generation of alternatives
• Analysis of these alternatives
• Selection of one of them
• Creation of the system
• Operation
 Some examples of Systems
Engineering Process activities
• Defining needs, operational concept and requirements

• Establish functionality (functional analysis), decomposition (Iterate the

process through lower-level trades), and allocation

• System modeling, systems analysis, and tradeoff studies

• Requirements allocation, traceability, and control

• Prototyping, Integration, and Verification

• System Engineering Product and Process control

• Configuration and Data Management

• Risk Management approaches

• Engineering technical reviews and their purposes

Managing Requirements
 SIMILAR: System Engineering Process

SIMILAR stands for State the Problem, Investigate Alternatives,

Model the System, Integrate, Launch the System, Assess
Performance, Re-Evaluation (7 tasks of Systems Engineering)
SIMILAR (Bahill and Gissing, 1998) - http://sysengr.engr.arizona.edu/whatis/whatis.html
 System Engineering Process
• SE is an engineering discipline whose responsibility is creating and executing
an interdisciplinary process to ensure that the customer and stakeholder’s
needs are satisfied in a high quality, trustworthy, cost efficient and schedule
compliant manner throughout a system’s entire life cycle.
• This process is usually comprised of the following seven tasks: State the
problem, Investigate alternatives, Model the system, Integrate, Launch the
system, Assess performance, and Re-evaluate.
• These functions can be summarized with the acronym SIMILAR.
• It is important to note that the Systems Engineering Process is not
sequential.
• The functions are performed in a parallel and iterative manner.
SIMILAR: State the problem

The problem statement starts with a description of the top-

level functions that the system must perform: this might be in
the form of a mission statement, a concept of operations or a
description of the deficiency that must be enhanced.
The problem statement should be in terms of what must be
done, not how to do it.
SIMILAR: Investigate Alternatives

❖ Alternative designs are created and are evaluated based on

performance, schedule, cost and risk figures of merit.
❖ No design is likely to be best on all figures of merit, so multi-
criteria decision-aiding techniques should be used to reveal the
preferred alternatives.
❖ This analysis should be redone whenever more data are available.
❖ For example, figures of merit should be computed initially based
on estimates by the design engineers.
SIMILAR: Investigate Alternatives

❖ Then, concurrently, models should be constructed and evaluated;

simulation data should be derived; and prototypes should be built
and measured.
❖ Finally, tests should be run on the real system.
❖ Alternatives should be judged for compliance of capability against
requirements.
❖ For the design of complex systems, alternative designs reduce
project risk.
❖ Investigating innovative alternatives helps clarify the problem
statement.
SIMILAR: Model the system

❖ Models will be developed for alternative designs.

❖ The models for the preferred alternative will be expanded and
used to help manage the system throughout its entire life cycle.
❖ Many types of system models are used, such as physical analogs,
analytic equations, state machines, block diagrams, functional flow
diagrams, object- oriented models, computer simulations and
mental models.
 SIMILAR: Model the system
❖ SE is responsible for creating a product and also a process for
producing it. So, models should be constructed for both the product and
the process.
❖ Process models allow us, to study scheduling changes, create dynamic
PERT charts and perform sensitivity analyses to show the effects for
delaying or accelerating certain subprojects.
❖ Running the process models reveals bottlenecks and fragmented
activities, reduces cost and exposes duplication of effort.
❖ Product models help explain the systems.
❖ These models are also used in trade-off studies and risk management.
SIMILAR: Integrate

❖ Systems, businesses and people must be integrated so that they

interact with one another.
❖ Integration means bringing things together so they work a whole.
❖ Interfaces between subsystems must be designed.
SIMILAR: Integrate
❖ Subsystems should be defined along natural boundaries.
❖ Subsystems should be defined to minimize the amount of
information to be exchanged between the subsystems.
❖ Feedback loops around individual subsystems are easier to
manage than feedback loops around interconnected subsystems.
❖ Processes of co-evolving systems also need to be integrated.
❖ The consequence of integration is a system that is built and
operated using efficient processes.
SIMILAR: Launch the system

❖ Running the system and producing outputs

❖ Buy and build – Products and Operators
❖ Validation & Verification (V&V)
❖ Validation: Are we building the right system?
❖ Verification: Are we building the system right?
❖ Deliberate redundancy to enhance reliability: Allowing one portion
of a system to take over a function if another portion fails to do so
SIMILAR: Assess performance

❖ Figures of merit, technical performance measures and metrics are

all used to assess performance.
❖ Figures of merit are used to quantify requirements in the tradeoff
studies. They usually focus on the product.
❖ Technical performance measures are used to mitigate risk during
design and manufacturing.
SIMILAR: Assess performance
❖ Metrics (including customer satisfaction comments, productivity,
number of problem reports, or whatever you feel is critical to your
business) are used to help manage a company’s processes.
❖ Measurement is the key. If you cannot measure it, you cannot control
it. If you cannot control it, you cannot improve it.
❖ Important resources such as weight, volume, price, and
communications bandwidth and power consumption should be
managed.
❖ Each subsystem is allocated a portion of the total budget
❖ Resource budges are managed throughout the system life cycle.
SIMILAR: Re-evaluate

❖ A continual process with many parallel loops.

❖ Observing outputs to modify the system, product and

process.
Basic Core Concepts
❖ Understand the whole problem before you try to solve it.
❖ Translate the problem into measurable requirements.
❖ Examine all feasible alternatives before selecting a solution.
❖ Make sure you consider the total system life cycle.
❖ The birth to death concept extends to maintenance, replacement
and decommission.
❖ Consider life cycle costs.
❖ Make sure to test the total system before delivering it.
❖ Document everything.
 Topic Exploration - Mind Map
Standards Tools and
techniques Fundamentals
Definitions
Policy and
Guidance London Hazard
INCOSE Underground
Handbook sources
Identified
Systems Lessons
engineering Best practice
Lean
fundamentals Risk
Approach SE
Analysis
Yellow Book

Stakeholder State-of-the-art
analysis systems Related
engineering Systems Industries
Systems engineering
engineering framework
Requirements in Railway
process
definition
Railway
Data Collection research
Verification and Network
ERR, PIELC Rail As-Is
Validation Data
Analysis
Analysis London
System architecture Underground
ERR sources
concept generation
Talk to Ivan, State-of-
Kevin, Max the-art
Opportunities

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Topic Exploration - Mind Map
Lean
Approach SE
Standards
Fundamentals
Fundamentals
Technical and
Definitions commercial risk
Lean Systems
Engineering
Risk
Systems Analysis
engineering Hazard
fundamentals
Technical State-of-the-art
Processes systems Related
engineering Systems Industries
Systems engineering
framework in Railway
engineering
process Railway
research
Generic Life Tools and
Cycle techniques
Technical
Management London
Processes Underground
Systems
sources
Life Cycle development
Life Cycle stages models methods

59 © Cranfield University 2018

Literature Review
Technical Processes 1/2

Stakeholder needs and

Business or Mission System requirements Architecture definition
requirements
Analysis Process definition Process Process
definition Process

• Initiates life cycle by defining • Defines stakeholder • Specifies the characteristics, • Used to establish and create
problem domain, identifying requirements for a system attributes, functions and alternative architectures
major stakeholders, that can provide capabilities performance though several views and
environmental conditions, needed in a defined models
operations, deployment, environment
support, retirement, business • To select appropriate
requirements, validation technological or technical
criteria system elements that
compose the system

Design definition System analysis Implementation

Integration Process
Process Process Process

• Provides sufficient detailed • Provides basis of data and • Realise a specific system • Synthesise a set of system
data and information about information for technical event elemnt into a realised system
the system and its elements understanding to aid decision that satisfies system
making across life cycle requirements, architecures
• To enable the implementation and design
consistent with architectural
entities

60 © Cranfield University 2018

Literature Review
Technical Processes 2/2

Verification Process Transition Process Validation Process Operation Process

• Interface of verification • Establish a capability for a • Provides objective evidence • Uses system to deliver its
process applied to System of system to provide services that the system fulfils its service
interest specified by stakeholder business or mission
requirement in the operational objectives and stakeholder
environment requirements

Maintenance Process Disposal Process

• Sustains capability of the • To end existence of a system

system to provide service elemnt or system for a
specified intended use
• Includes activities to provide
operations support, logistics, • To identify critical disposal
material management nees

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Literature Review
Technical Processes
SE within the civil engineering sector

Development Continued
Exploration Concept Phase Performance Maintenance
& Contracting Development
Technical Processes - ISO15288

Stakeholder Requirements
Definition Process

Requirements Analysis
Process

Architectural Design Process

Verification Process

Validation Process

Implementation Process

Integration Process

Transition Process

Maintenance Process

Disposal Process

Guideline for Systems Engineering Working Group (2013)

62 © Cranfield University 2018

Literature Review
Technical Management Processes

Project Planning Project Assessment Decision Management Risk Management

Process and Control Process Process Process

• Produces and coordinates • Collects data to evaluate the • Provides a structures, • Identifies, analyses, treats
effective and workable plans adequacy of the project analytical framework for and monitors risks
infrastructure, availability of Identifying, characterising and
necessary resources evaluating a set of • evaluates the relative
alternatives for a decision at likelihood of risks and
• Control involves corrective any point in the lifecycle consequences
and preventive actions to
ensure that process is
performing according to plans

Configuration Information Quality Assurance

Measurement Process
Management Process Management Process Process

• Ensures that product • Ensures that information is • Collects, analyses and reports • Ensures the effective
functional, performance and properly st ored, maintained, objective data and information application of the
physical characteristics are secured and accessible to to support effective organisation's quality
properly identified, those who need it management and management process to the
documented, validated and demonstrate quality of project
verified to establish product process
integrity

63 © Cranfield University 2018

Literature Review
Systems development methods

Functional Analysis
Functional Block Model-based System
System Technique Hamburger model
Diagram (FFBD) Engineering (MBSE)
(FAST)

• Structured method for • Analysis method for functions • Development method that • separates each building
functional analysis emphasises the use of formal object within a (sub-)system
• Diagram that visualises the languages into a functional appearance
• Results in determination of time sequence and and a technical
basic function and interconnection of functions • More precisely that with usual implementation
establishment of critical path within a system text-based SE methods
of functions, supporting
functions and unnecessary
functions

Morphological
Interface Analysis Trade-off Matrix
Analysis

• Business analysis elicitation

technique • Develop new ideas • Table for weighting options to
make rational choices
• Helps to identify interfaces • Breaks product down into between various alternatives
between solutions to needs which it satisfies and based on more than
determine requirements for technical components of distinguishing criterion
ensuring that components which it consists
interact with on another
effectively
• Context diagrams, N2 chart

64 © Cranfield University 2018

Team Task

Why do we need Systems Engineering?

Why “SE” is needed

High Complexity

Technical Project
Why SE?

 SE has high value in

development of complex
systems
 SE reduces project
schedule while increases
product quality
 Optimal SE effort is
approx. 15 -20 % of total
project effort
Life Cycle Cost
Project Performance versus SE Capability

Deploying high levels of SE expertise delivers high levels of project

performance
Deploying high levels of SE expertise delivers high
Systems
Systems Engineering Rateofof
Engineering Rate Return
Return on Investment
on Investment

What do we study
 Why SE?
• More systematic way of development
• Better control of System Development including
management of risk, changes, configuration
• Traceability at all levels
• Operational & supportability aspects
• Effectiveness Analysis
• Risk management
• Operational - Maintainability, Availability, Safety etc

Ensures FINAL PRODUCT Fully Meets All User Requirements

Tools

• N-squared charts, QFD, Timeline analysis, and

Functional Flow Diagrams

• Activity Network Diagrams and professional quality

project and task schedules

• Object-oriented methodologies
The Role of the System Engineer

• A systems engineer is a person or role who supports this

interdisciplinary approach. In particular, the systems engineer often
serves to elicit and translate customer needs into specifications
that can be realized by the system development team

• In order to help realize successful systems, the systems engineer

supports a set of life cycle processes. The systems engineer must
analyze, specify, design, and verify the system to ensure that its
functional, interface, performance, physical, and other quality
characteristics, and cost are balanced to meet the needs of the
system stakeholders
The Role of the System Engineer

• A systems engineer helps ensure the elements of the system fit

together to accomplish the objectives of the whole, and

ultimately satisfy the needs of the customers and other

stakeholders who will acquire and use the system.

The Role of the System Engineer

• The difference with “traditional engineering” lies primarily in the

greater emphasis on defining goals, the creative generation of
alternative designs, the evaluation of alternative designs, and
the coordination and control of the diverse tasks that are
necessary to create a complex system.

• The role of Systems Engineer is one of Manager that utilizes a

structured value delivery process
Summary

• Systems Engineering enhances product and

service development as well as project
performance

• There is a need to understand systems

engineering at different phases of project, product
or service lifecycle