Systems engineering covers a wide range of engineering specialties and focuses on the design and management of complex engineering projects. To complete multidisciplinary projects in systems engineering, a combination of technical and project management skills are required. To complete a complex project, you’ll need to use modeling, simulation, requirements analysis, project management, and consensus building tools.
The need to manipulate and manage a complex, interconnected system as a unit, rather than the sum of many small parts, prompted the development of systems engineering in the early 1940s. As the scope of the project grew to encompass multiple areas, special expertise was required to coordinate changes across multiple fields and areas of expertise for the overall project’s benefit. This field arose from a genuine need for someone with engineering education and experience to supervise all of the other engineers.
As a professional society for systems engineers, the National Council on Systems Engineering (NCOSE) was founded in 1990. The NCOSE’s mission is to establish a professional standard set of business practices and to promote the development of specialized training in this field of engineering. The organization was renamed International Council on Systems Engineering (ICOSE) in 1995 to reflect the multidisciplinary engineering programs outside of the United States.
As technology advances, so does the demand for systems engineers. To keep up with the exponential growth of new systems, the tools and methods used to understand and improve complex systems are expanding. Because they all rely on fundamentally sound engineering concepts, standard tools are used to understand complex systems.
In systems engineering, modeling, simulation, system dynamics, decision making, and multiple types of analysis are all required skill sets. The construction of the International Space Station is a good example of a project that required systems engineering. There were a variety of specialists and experts needed to make all of the individual pieces work together in the complicated project to build and launch the space station. The project would have stalled if it hadn’t taken an interdisciplinary approach because of a lack of effective communication and coordination.
Systems engineers are also used in more common situations, such as the development of complex computerized building control systems. The skill of someone who understands all aspects is critical to the success of these innovations in various fields. A university degree in systems engineering is required for becoming a systems engineer. Most major university engineering faculties offer this course of study.