Joseph P. Elm

A Study of Systems Engineering Effectiveness - Initial Results

An understanding of the value of systems engineering (SE) is necessary to justify a projects investment in SE resources and activities. To identify the value of SE, the Systems Engineering Effectiveness Committee (SEEC) of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) systems engineering division, in collaboration with the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), developed and executed a survey of defense industrial contractors (i.e., suppliers to the government). The survey analyzed the relationships between the SE capabilities (SECs) applied to individual projects, and performance of those projects. Postulating that SE was not the only factor influencing project performance, the survey also examined the relationship between project performance and other factors such as project challenge (PC), project environment, and acquirer capability. Results of this survey indicated relatively strong relationships between many SE efforts applied early in the project and the overall success of the project.

Measuring software sustainability

Planning and management of software sustainment is impaired by a lack of consistently applied, practical measures. Without these measures, it is impossible to determine the effect of efforts to improve sustainment practices. In this paper we provide a context for evaluating sustainability and discuss a set of measures developed at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

Quantifying the effectiveness of systems engineering

This paper summarizes the results of a survey that had the goal of quantifying the connection between the application of systems engineering (SE) best practices to projects and programs and the performance outcomes of those projects and programs. The survey population consisted of projects and programs executed by system developers reached through the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Systems Engineering Division, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society, and the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE). Analysis of survey responses revealed strong statistical relationships between project performance and several categories of specific SE best practices. The survey results show notable differences in the relationship between SE best practices and performance between more challenging and less challenging projects. The statistical relationship with project performance is quite strong for survey data of this kind when both SE capability and project challenge are considered together.

Developing a Business Case for Systems Engineering

Understanding the value of Systems Engineering (SE) is necessary to justify a projects investment in SE resources and activities. To identify the value of SE, the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), in collaboration with the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), developed and executed a survey of defense industrial contractors. [1] The survey analyzed the relationships between the SE activities applied to individual projects, and performance of those projects. Results of this survey, published in 2007 and 2008, indicated strong relationships between many SE efforts applied early in the project and the overall success of the project. Today, NDIA, in collaboration with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society (IEEE-AESS) and SEI, is engaged in extending that study to build a stronger business case for the application of effective SE to product development projects.

Developing a business case for Systems Engineering

This discusses two efforts to provide quantitative evidence of the impact of Systems Engineering (SE) on project performance. The Previous Study - The NDIA SE Effectiveness Study section presents the results of the 2007 SE Effectiveness Study performed by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). The Current Effort - Business Case for Systems Engineering (BCSE) Study section discusses the Business Case for Systems Engineering (BCSE) Study that is currently being performed by NDIA, the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society (AESS), and the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) of Carnegie Mellon University.