Systems Engineering Principles and Practice

by Alexander Kossiakoff, William N. Sweet, Samuel J. Seymour

The first edition of this unique interdisciplinary guide has become the foundational systems engineering textbook for colleges and universities worldwide. It has helped countless readers learn to think like systems engineers, giving them the knowledge, skills, and leadership qualities they need to be successful professionals. Now, colleagues of the original authors have upgraded and expanded the book to address the significant advances in this rapidly changing field.

An outgrowth of the Johns Hopkins University Master of Science Program in Engineering, Systems Principles and Practice provides an educationally sound, entry-level approach to the subject, describing tools and techniques essential for the development of complex systems. Exhaustively classroom tested, the text continues the tradition of utilizing models to assist in grasping abstract concepts, emphasizing application and practice. This Second Edition

Expanded topics on advanced systems engineering concepts beyond the traditional systems engineering areas and the post-development stage

Updated DOD and commercial standards, architectures, and processes

New models and frameworks for traditional structured analysis and object-oriented analysis techniques

Improved discussions on requirements, systems management, functional analysis, analysis of alternatives, decision making and support, and operational analysis

Supplemental material on the concept of the system boundary

Modern software engineering techniques, principles, and concepts

Further exploration of the system engineer's career to guide prospective professionals

Updated problems and references

The Second Edition continues to serve as a graduate-level textbook for courses introducing the field and practice of systems engineering. This very readable book is also an excellent resource for engineers, scientists, and project managers involved with systems engineering, as well as a useful textbook for short courses offered through industry seminars.

Genres: Textbooks, Computer Science, Engineering, Technical, Nonfiction

561 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 9, 2011

Reviews

[Olegas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of Systems Engineering, may be your first book on the subject. However, it is a tough reading - a lot of theory, description of SE processes on a quite detailed level. There is a lot of interesting examples - on SE application, on the quality attributes of the complex systems, on the commercial considerations related to complex system construction (especially in defense and airspace industries).

It could be not so detailed, I think. It could be less academical. But in general - good enough to start on SE.

[Deniss Ojastu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a textbook by university professors on the subject of hardware/software systems' conceptualisation, design, planning, construction, testing and maintenance.

I liked the fact that it covered the whole life cycle of a system's life. Of particular interest for me were the chapters on difference between software-intensive and hardware-intensive systems engineering, functional analysis (including functional block diagrams), basics of UML and SysML, models of decision making (including trade-off analysis).

However, I did not find useful the so-called "Systems Engineering method" which was being presented throughout the book. In essence, it meant the same activities for every stage of systems development - and thus, felt repetitive and confusing. The amount of sentences including phrases like "this requires a thorough planning", "the best strategy to avoid problems is to plan ahead", "planning is the cornerstone of risk management" was also overwhelming at times. The examples were not too many - and those present were mainly either from defence or from air traffic.

All in all, this book was informative, at times enlightening, very systematic, but somewhat... too systematic and dry to my taste.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best introduction to the subject that I encountered over my 35 years in the trade.

[Mark Bates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of what systems engineering is all about. Enjoyed the read...kind of dry though.

[Mikhail Filatov · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book did not convince me that there is really a "system engineering" discipline -something outside of Project/Product management, Engineering and System analysis. Maybe for complex "hardware" projects, but as the book is updated with a lot of software examples - we don't have such discipline in software.
Still some interesting examples, but not enough to justify word "Practice" in the title.

[Jeff Moreau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took 600 pages to say what could have been accomplished in far less, in my opinion. I was reading this for a Master's course I'm taking and although there were many helpful things, I found it to be overly repetitive and unnecessarily wordy for much of it.

[Philroy Hinds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read cover to cover twice throughout the duration of a graduate level SE course -- it's a great tool to build a SE foundation when paired with lectures that dive deeper into the theory presented via text, and equally useful as a reference.

[tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Textbook for System Engineering Course.

[Pat Cooney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could really benefit from more explicit and efficient representations of the concepts and processes rather than relying on expansive and rather abstract passages.

[George Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

New edition of the 2003 publication used as a textbook and reference guide by practicing systems engineers. A welcome and timely addition to the art. The new authors for this issue are Sam Seymour and Steven Biemer. Well done!

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to follow. Walks you through the whole life cycle. Good exercises in each chapter.

[S]

http://web.mit.edu/esd.83/www/noteboo...

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was a great review of the profession for beginners and has a lot of information to get a new Systems Engineer started.