Report on January 08 Speaker Meeting PDF Print E-mail
Written by INCOSE-LA   
Wednesday, 30 January 2008 20:00
On Jan 16th, John Clark, the Director At Large for Training and Education for the Hampton Roads Chapter of INCOSE, presented at our monthly speaker meeting. John is a Chief Engineer at Northrop Grumman Mission Systems in Virginia Beach, VA. The meeting was hosted at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo. The meeting was delivered via webcast to Boeing in Huntington Beach, Southern California Edison in Rosemead, The Aero Institute in Palmdale and to the JPL in Pasadena. Attendance counts were 40+ at the host site and 25+ at the remote sites. John Clark delivered his perspective on Systems Engineering (SE), Systems of Systems Engineering (SoSE) and Family of Systems Engineering (FoSE) from a Standards Perspective.

A key point that John presented to the audience is that the standards (EIA, IEEE, etc), which have been used to define the systems engineering processes, are indeed adequate to tackle the task of translating the problem space to the solution space for SoSE and FoSE. This point was made because he wanted to stress that the Systems Engineering approach is still relevant whether applied to a System, a System of Systems or a Family of Systems. John did mention that standards, though lacking in some areas and stronger in other areas, could be used collectively. In other words, the standards are intended to be followed yet promote a tailored approach.

John also pointed out a few key differences when thinking about SoSE and FoSE. The key difference is that in a System of Systems, the parts that comprise the System are ultimately integrated by means of the interfaces. The parts may or may not be members of a common domain. In a Family of Systems, each system Message from the Presithat comprises the Family, i.e., are not truly integrated. The key to successful Systems of Systems Engineering is to embrace the systems engineering management of these interfaces that eventually help to define a System of Systems or help to transform a Family of Systems into a System of Systems.

John answered many good questions after his presentation. John concluded the meeting by giving the attendees a summary on various training opportunities to support those who are seeking to be a Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP). John provides a webcast enabled 11-week tutorial. Our Chapter is working toward partnering with John in offering this opportunity as a training option.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 12 March 2008 17:21 )