SE Part 2 — Systems Engineering Management and Design Reviews Executive (CDTE) course

Description

In this module we further investigate the programmatic aspects of systems engineering by addressing the Systems Engineering Management (SEM) topic. Since the SE is responsible for the technical decisions related to how the systems architecture is structured, and how the work will be performed, how the system will be modeled, the applications and systems that will be used to articulate the design solution, etc., it is quite natural that they would be involved in how these activities are managed. At the beginning of the planning effort for a project, the PM and Lead SE must prepare three major plans: (1) the Project Management Plan (PMP); (2) the Systems Engineering Management Plan (SEMP); and (3) the Test and Evaluation Management Plan (TEMP). In these three plans the entire scope of the project can be analyzed so the project can be estimated with some degree of accuracy. This module will focus on conducting the planning necessary to populate the SEMP. The SEMP complements the PMP and covers all management functions associated with the performance of the technical system engineering activities. It constitutes the plan for identifying and integrating all major engineering activities. The SE activities planned out and identified in the SEMP will ensure that: (1) requirements are developed in a timely manner through a top-down, iterative requirements analysis, (2) system design alternatives are properly evaluated against meaningful quantifiable criteria that relate to desired system characteristics; (3) applicable design disciplines are appropriately integrated into the total engineering effort; (4) overall system development progresses in a logical manner with established configuration baselines, formal design reviews, and proper supporting documentation; and (5) interfaces with other systems are properly considered.