James N Martin

Defining a strategy for development of systems capability in the workforce

As systems increase in complexity, many organizations face an increasing need to improve the systems capability of their workforce. Systems engineering, systems integration, and system architecting skills are needed, yet many organizations struggle with designing an effective strategy for developing these organizational capabilities. This paper discusses how an organization might define a strategy to more efficiently develop systems capability in its workforce. In addition to listing considerations in defining a development strategy, existing methods used for developing systems capability are compared. With a more thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of various systems capability development methods, organizations can customize a better development strategy for their unique systems capability needs.

A fresh look at Systems Engineering - what is it, how should it work?

INCOSE’s definition of SE was compared to the aspirations set out in SE Vision 2025 for SE as it ought to be to address modern challenges. Doing this led us to three fundamental realisations. First, while “20 century systems” were, for the most part, “deterministic” or nearly so, 21 century systems are on the other hand increasingly non-deterministic, adaptive or “evolutionary”. Second, while “20 Century Systems Engineering Management” was implicitly based on a “command and control” paradigm, 21 Century Systems Engineering, to be successful, will usually need to use a more collaborative leadership paradigm. And third, that while 20 Century systems were largely “single systems”, designed to “solve” specific problems, 21 Century systems are almost invariably networked, and are parts of complex extended enterprises with multiple, often conflicting, stakeholder objectives, that are intimately related to complex societal challenges. We used elements of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to understand the implication and consequences of the paradigm shift implied by these realisations. A revised strawman definition of Systems Engineering is offered for consideration by INCOSE, showing the changes that would be required to take these and related factors into account.

Using the PICARD Theory as a Tool to Improve Systems Thinking Ability

Systems are not as real as we think they are. It is indeed true that engineers design things that when built and placed into service are very real. But these deployed things are merely an embodiment of the system’s design. We make the common mistake of thinking that the deployed artifact is the “system.” The engineering design is a system as a “concept.” The elements of this conceptual system are the things involved in systems thinking. We conceive of various elements that come together as systems to examine their contribution to the system’s intended “purpose.” The PICARD theory was formulated to help the systems engineers and others to more readily see and understand the systemic aspects of a situation and to better employ systems thinking techniques. This paper will explore what it means to employ systems thinking to imagine various system structures and to examine these structures for their suitability in different situations to address current or anticipated problems.