A Framework for Understanding Systems Engineering

People who can effectively lead the implementation of the information technology, commercial and military systems acquisition and development process within the cost and schedule constraints are scarce. These people are becoming known as systems engineers and the approach they use is systems engineering. However, there is no generally accepted definition of systems engineering, nor is there a generally accepted body of knowledge for systems engineering. Mixing ingredients from systems engineering (Beer, Hall, Jackson, Checkland etc.), management (Taylor, Ford, Drucker, Peters, Hammer and Champy etc.), and Quality (Deming, Juran and Crosby etc.), together with some original thoughts, this book takes you on an exploratory journey, and, by documenting the application of systems thinking to the problem of understanding systems engineering, provides you with a unique perspective for understanding systems engineering and management and how they relate to each other.