11.4.2 Systems Engineering Return on Investment

Abstract

Research work continues into Systems Engineering Return on Investment (SE-ROI) following prior work on Value of Systems Engineering and Systems Engineering Effectiveness. This paper presents major results in the form of statistically proven relationships between systems engineering (SE) activities and the technical, schedule and cost success of programs. It has been found that all defined SE activities correlate positively with program success as measured in three of four success metrics used (cost overrun, schedule overrun and perceptive success). When the effect of program characterization parameters is included, the correlation is strong with optimum levels of SE activities as much as 25% of a program cost. The paper presents quantified values for the relationships, indicating appropriate levels of each SE activity that correlate to optimum levels of success. Results show a surprising lack of correlation between SE activities and the technical quality of the product system, for which some possible explanations are provided.

Characterizing the Impact of Requirements Volatility on Systems Engineering Effort

“…In turn, these variables influence the amount of systems engineering effort, which is then linked to project cost and schedule. Prior studies on the value of systems engineering indicate that an increase in systems engineering effort may in fact reduce the total program cost and schedule [Frederick and Sauser, ; Honour, ]. Conversely, unnecessary systems engineering on a program will yield diminishing returns [Boehm, Valerdi, and Honour, ].…”

Launch vehicle systems engineering life‐cycle evolution and comparison

“…Precise requirements at the start of the SE life‐cycle is considered by many systems engineers to be a critical element of systems development process. Numerous studies have shown that poor requirements development are the most costly, and can lead to cost overruns, project not being on schedule, and poor technical performance . In the launch vehicle industry, cost overruns could lead to the launch vehicle being too expensive to be economically viable.…”

Improve Medical Device Development by Expanding Systems Engineering

“…There are two often-quoted studies that demonstrate the value of a systems engineer on projects. Honour demonstrated that programs of all sizes benefit from systems engineering, and that median programs are optimized (with respect to cost and schedule) when the systems engineering effort is 14% of the total program cost (Honour 2013). Even though his data indicates that, on average, there's a strong return on investment when you add systems engineering, it also shows that there is high variability in that relationship project-to-project.…”