Engineering practices for land, sea, air and spacecraft have been driven by different forces and priorities.These forces and priorities are now converging and alert leaders recognize that engineering practices must converge, as well. Ideally the engineering profession will seek an intelligent convergence; one that preserves the current practices that are future-sufficient while innovating new practices where necessary. All engineers across these industries have much to learn from one another'. However, the degree to which we converge the upstream, systems engineering practices will be the major determinant as to whether all other engineering disciplines will collaborate --or collide.Systems engineering practitioners and managers must respond to two kinds of challenges. Firstly, how to model and specify increasingly encompassing "systems of systems" in a way that proactively orchestrates their conjoint evolution? Secondly, how to manage change -profitably -which amounts to executing the classic ECP > ECN > ECO cycle with ten-fold more ramifications in each change while taking only one-tenth the time for change processing and decision.This paper explores the problem, identifies key, future-sufficient practices and describes the concepts, technologies and behaviors that will enable Change Proficiency. Drivers and AttractorsEngineering a whole solution.Future-sufficient engineering practices will be responsive to Market, Regulatory, Technology and Corporate dnvers. Such drivers include; mass customization; increasing product scope and complexity; much shorter cycle times; cost containment of controls, software and electronics technologies; technology half-lives less than product market windows; IPPD initiatives; regulatory demands and Value Chain alliances.The implications are severe. In automotive sector, for example, the numbers of electronic components is increasing and electronic systems are getting more complex, bringing more software which, in turn, brings many changes that are not easy to control. Additionally, because the interconnectivity of all electronic systems is very high, the task of accurately estimating change impacts is one of the larger engineering problems, especially because the technology "half-life" is shorter than the model year development cycle.The focus must shift from engineering products to engineering solutions. It is no longer sufficient to focus only on the design of the deliverable system. Engineering must design, as one integrated solution, the deliverable system, the maintenance and support system, the operator training (including simulation) system, the test system, the production system, the distribution logistics system, the marketing and selling system, and even the aftermarket customization system, Further, a design must provide for a series of versions that can be developed and released over time.The Mars Pathfinder was designed from a total mission or solution viewpoint and
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.