Practical Creativity and Innovation in Systems Engineering E-Book

Avner Engel

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Serie: Wiley Series in Systems Engineering and Management
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 732

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

A guide to systems engineering that highlights creativity and innovation in order to foster great ideas and carry them out Practical Creativity and Innovation in Systems Engineering exposes engineers to a broad set of creative methods they can adopt in their daily practices. In addition, this book guides engineers to become entrepreneurs within traditional engineering companies, promoting creative and innovative culture around them. The author describes basic systems engineering concepts and includes an abbreviated summary of Standard 15288 systems' life cycle processes. He then provides an extensive collection of practical creative methods which are linked to the various systems' life cycle processes. Next, the author discusses obstacles to innovation and, in particular, how engineers can push creative ideas through layers of reactionary bureaucracy within non-innovative organizations. Finally, the author provides a comprehensive description of an exemplary creative and innovative case study recently completed. The book is filled with illustrative examples and offers effective guidelines that can enhance individual engineers' creative prowess as well as be used to create an organizational culture where creativity and innovation flourishes. This important book: * Offers typical systems engineering processes that can be accomplished in creative ways throughout the development and post-development portions of a system's lifetime. * Includes a large collection of practical creative methods applicable to engineering and other technological domains * Includes innovation advice needed to transform creative ideas into new products, services, businesses and marketing processes * Contains references and notes for further reading in every section Written for systems engineering practitioners, graduate school students and faculty members of systems, electrical, aerospace, mechanical and industrial engineering schools, Practical Creativity and Innovation in Systems Engineering offers a useful guide for creating a culture that promotes innovation.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part I: Introduction

1.1 Introduction to Part I

1.2 Systems Engineering

1.3 Creative Methods

1.4 Promoting Innovative Culture

1.5 Creative and Innovative Case Study

1.6 Back Matter

1.7 Bibliography

Part II: Systems Engineering

2.1 Introduction to Part II

2.2 Basic Systems Engineering Concepts

2.3 Standard 15288 Processes

2.4 Philosophy of Engineering

2.5 Bibliography

Part III: Creative Methods

3.1 Introduction to Part III

3.2 Divergent Methods for Individuals

3.3 Divergent Methods for Teams

3.4 Convergent Methods for Individuals

3.5 Convergent Methods for Teams

3.6 Other Creative Methods

3.7 Bibliography

Part IV: Promoting Innovative Culture

4.1 Introduction to Part IV

4.2 Systems Evolution

4.3 Modeling the Innovation Process

4.4 Measuring Creativity and Innovation

4.5 Obstacles to Innovation

4.6 Promoting Organization’s Innovative Culture

4.7 Pushing Creative Ideas by Individual Engineers

4.8 Human Diversity and Gendered Innovation

4.9 Cognitive Biases and Decision‐Making

4.10 Bibliography

Part V: Creative and Innovative Case Study

5.1 Introduction to Part V

5.2 A Problem Seeking a Solution

5.3 Gaining Deeper Insights

5.4 Project Planning

5.5 The AMISA Project

5.6 Architecture Options Theory

5.7 Architecture Options Example

5.8 AMISA – Endnote

5.9 Bibliography

Appendix A: Life Cycle Processes versus Recommended Creative Methods

Appendix B: Extended Laws of Technical Systems Evolution

B.1 Law 1: System Convergence

B.2 Laws 2 to 7: Systems Merging

B.3 Law 8: Flow Conductivity

B.4 Laws 9 to 14: Enhanced Coordination

B.5 Law 15: Controllability

B.6 Law 16: Dynamization

B.7 Law 17: Transition to Super System

B.8 Law 18: Increasing System Completeness

B.9 Law 19: Displacement of Human

B.10 Law 20: Uneven System Evolution

B.11 Law 21: Technology General Progress

Appendix C: List of Acronyms

Appendix D: Permissions to Use Third‐Party Copyright Material

D.1 Part I: Introduction

D.2 Part II: Systems Engineering

D.3 Part III: Creative Methods

D.4 Part IV: Promoting Innovative Culture

D.5 Part V: Creative and Innovative Case Study

D.6 Appendices

Wiley Series in Systems Engineering and Management

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Chapter 02

Table 2.1 Generic system life cycle model

Chapter 03

Table 3.1 SWOT qualitative matrix example

Table 3.2 SWOT weighted score matrix: Strengths

Table 3.3 SWOT weighted score matrix: Weaknesses

Table 3.4 SWOT weighted score matrix: Opportunities

Table 3.5 SWOT weighted score matrix: Threats

Table 3.6 SCAMPER questionnaire

Table 3.7 Example of SCAMPER questions

Table 3.8 APMI for expanding the UGV business

Table 3.9 APMI for expanding the AUV business

Table 3.10 Decision 2 analysis

Table 3.11 Decision 1 analysis

Table 3.12 Integrated VE‐QFD matrix

Table 3.13 Hairdryer current design

Table 3.14 Hair dryer updated design

Table 3.15 Example software problems in a development project

Table 3.16 General characteristics: single and dual engine configuration

Table 3.17 Assumptions: Single and dual engine configuration

Table 3.18 Passenger cars’ feature‐group and individual features

Table 3.19 Kano feature‐group categorization table

Table 3.20 User/Customer satisfaction table

Table 3.21 First example: Committee member vote

Table 3.22 Second example: Committee member vote

Table 3.23 Nine‐screens analysis for a rocket engine design

Table 3.24 Generic S‐curve stages

Table 3.25 Basic laws of technical system evolution

Table 3.26 Technology forecasting: Personalized medicine

Table 3.27 Design FMEA severity evaluation criteria

Table 3.28 Design FMEA occurrence evaluation criteria

Table 3.29 Design FMEA detection evaluation criteria

Table 3.30 FMEA analysis for pacemaker failure modes

Table 3.31 Decision makers, options priorities and status quo conflict state

Table 3.32 Option contradictions

Table 3.33 Feasible conflict states in the UAV design conflict example

Table 3.34 Preference ranking of conflict states in the UAV design conflict example

Chapter 04

Table 4.1 Evolving HDD characteristics over time

Table 4.2 Top 20 global R&D spenders in 2015

Table 4.3 Categories, objectives, and classes of innovation

Table 4.4 Global innovation indicators

Table 4.5 Global Innovation Index 2016 rankings (Top 20 countries)

Table 4.6 McKinsey 7‐S framework and ICMM

Table 4.7 Innovation obstacles versus four classes of innovations

Table 4.8 Management styles and effects within R&D organization

Table 4.9 Personality traits: Engineers versus nonengineers

Table 4.10 Comparison: An innovative versus a noninnovative engineer

Table 4.11 Synthetic example: Homogeneous organization

Table 4.12 Synthetic example: Diversified organization

Table 4.13 Awarded bachelor’s degrees by sex and discipline: US 2013–2014

Table 4.14 Proposition related to strategic decisions processes

Chapter 05

Table 5.1 Condensed partners’ estimates of potential historical cost savings

Table 5.2 Technical approach versus prevailing state of the art

Table 5.3 Project assumptions and justifications

Table 5.4 Summary of six pilot projects

Table 5.5 Work package list

Table 5.6 Deliverable list

Table 5.7 List of project milestones

Table 5.8 Summary of staff effort

Table 5.9 WP1: Requirements definition

Table 5.10 WP2: Methodology development

Table 5.11 WP3: Tool development

Table 5.12 WP4: Pilot projects

Table 5.13 WP5: Project assessment

Table 5.14 WP6: Exploitation and dissemination

Table 5.15 WP7: Project management

Table 5.16 Risk 1: Scalability of DFA methodology and economic model

Table 5.17 Risk 2: Convergence and accuracy of the DFA‐EM

Table 5.18 Risk 3: Extending current theory of Design Structure Matrix (DSM)

Table 5.19 Risk 4: Pilot projects assessment uncertainty

Table 5.20 Risk 5: Software DFA‐Tool development

Table 5.21 Scaling the risks

Table 5.22 Decision‐making mechanisms

Table 5.23 AMISA workforce statistics

Table 5.24 Architecture data from the six pilot projects

Table 5.25 Summary of AMISA disseminations by categories

Table 5.26 Summary of project results

Table 5.27 Generic S‐curve stages

Table 5.28 Extended laws of technical system evolution

Table 5.29 SSPA subsystems, components, and exclusion sets

Table 5.30 Comparing three alternative SSPA system architectures

Table 5.31 Financial savings – eight‐year forecast

Appendix A

Table A.1 Systems life cycle processes versus recommended creative methods

List of Illustrations

Chapter 01

Figure 1.1 Age versus imagination

Figure 1.2 Book’s overall structure

Figure 1.3 Three components of creativity

Figure 1.4 Moses, a creative and innovative giant

Chapter 02

Figure 2.1 Structure and contents of Part II

Figure 2.2 Organizations and projects concepts

Figure 2.3 Example of an engineered system

Figure 2.4 Engineered system: example of operational and enabling products

Figure 2.5 Concept testing at NASA's wind tunnel facility (NASA photo)

Figure 2.6 Generic system’s life cycle model

Figure 2.7 Elements of a process: presented by way of a concept map

Figure 2.8 Individual processes within the agreement processes

Figure 2.9 Individual processes within the organizational project‐enabling processes

Figure 2.10 Individual processes within the technical management processes

Figure 2.11 Individual processes within the “technical processes”

Figure 2.12 The Creissels and Viaduct de Millau bridge in southern France

Figure 2.13 Aircraft system embedded in a national transport supersystem

Figure 2.14 The Millennium Dome, London, United Kingdom

Chapter 03

Figure 3.1 Structure of the first four chapters in Part III

Figure 3.2 Structure of the last two chapters in Part III

Figure 3.3 Divergent methods for individuals

Figure 3.4 A rickety bridge example

Figure 3.5 TRIZ generalized problem‐solution procedure

Figure 3.6 Two conflicting requirements and compromises to be selected

Figure 3.7 Example: Water faucets

Figure 3.8 Example: Safety matchbox by Weltholzer

Figure 3.9 Example: Motorcycle chain

Figure 3.10 Example: Screw

Figure 3.11 Example: Rope

Figure 3.12 A TV screen

Figure 3.13 Example: Phone for senior citizens

Figure 3.14 Example: UV‐protected sunglasses

Figure 3.15 Example: A transformer

Figure 3.16 Biomimicry implementation procedure

Figure 3.17 Schematic of water filtration in mangrove roots

Figure 3.18 Concept map depicting intended audience, philosophy, and content of this book

Figure 3.19 Global warming: Step I

Figure 3.20 Global warming: Step II

Figure 3.21 Global warming example: Step III

Figure 3.22 Global warming: Step IV

Figure 3.23 Global warming: Step V

Figure 3.24 Mind‐mapping example: How to buy a used car?

Figure 3.25 Divergent methods for teams

Figure 3.26 Brainstorming procedure

Figure 3.27 Computer memory recovery under power loss condition

Figure 3.28 SWOT 2 × 2 matrix

Figure 3.29 SWOT qualitative and quantitative implementation procedure

Figure 3.30 Convergent methods for individuals

Figure 3.31 Extended Likert scale

Figure 3.32 PMI implementation procedure

Figure 3.33 Unmanned ground vehicle (UGV)

Figure 3.34 Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)

Figure 3.35 Typical morphological chart

Figure 3.36 The T‐38 Talon aircraft

Figure 3.37 Morphological analysis: Part I

Figure 3.38 Morphological analysis: Part II

Figure 3.39 Example: Chance node value

Figure 3.40 Example: Value of decision benefit

Figure 3.41 Decision tree: first phase

Figure 3.42 Decision tree: second phase

Figure 3.43 Value engineering saving potential versus cost of change

Figure 3.44 Handheld hairdryer and its components

Figure 3.45 Example software project losses by category

Figure 3.46 Convergent methods for teams

Figure 3.47 RSA Chemical reactor

Figure 3.48 Ten experts’ Delphi response

Figure 3.49 Aggregated plot of experts’ response

Figure 3.50 Agreement versus certainty the Stacey model

Figure 3.51 Unmanned air vehicle MQ‐5B Hunter

Figure 3.52 Sinking of the

Titanic

(Engraving by Willy Stower)

Figure 3.53 Cause‐and‐effect analysis: The

Titanic

disaster

Figure 3.54 Kano model: emotional responses to features’ implementation

Figure 3.55 Group decisions: Theoretical background

Figure 3.56 Polarization: Not an effective group strategy

Figure 3.57 Group decisions: Practical methods

Figure 3.58 Other creative methods

Figure 3.59 Research project: Top‐level process map

Figure 3.60 Research project: Detailed‐level process map

Figure 3.61 Research project: Cross‐functional (swim lanes) process map

Figure 3.62 Nine‐screens matrix

Figure 3.63 A typical rocket engine

Figure 3.64 A jet engine

Figure 3.65 An interstellar ion propulsion engine

Figure 3.66 Cost of sequencing a genome of a single individual

Figure 3.67 Healthcare paradigm shift

Figure 3.68 Erbitux treatment and cost comparisons

Figure 3.69 Advantage of personalized medicine

Figure 3.70 Three‐component system

Figure 3.71 Multiple domain matrix (MDM)

Figure 3.72 DSM modeling the components and interfaces of a hairdryer

Figure 3.73 Spatial, material, and energy interfaces in a hairdryer

Figure 3.74 Typical FMEA process

Figure 3.75 Pacemaker embedded in the body

Figure 3.76 Pacemaker impulse shape

Figure 3.77 Pacemaker block diagram: system and environment

Figure 3.78 Unmanned air vehicle (UAV) system architecture

Figure 3.79 A planned unmanned air vehicle (UAV) operational scenario (S0)

Figure 3.80 UAV system state (system's mission phases versus time)

Figure 3.81 UAV system states with several failure scenarios

Figure 3.82 Three‐dimensional space of initiating failure events in a UAV system

Figure 3.83 Model of conflicts and resolutions strategies

Figure 3.84 Evolution of the UAV design conflict example

Chapter 04

Figure 4.1 Structure and contents of Part IV

Figure 4.2 Vehicle electrical and electronic content

Figure 4.3 Technological systems evolution (S‐curve)

Figure 4.4 Laws of technological systems evolution

Figure 4.5 Visualizing system’s ideality and evolutionary potential

Figure 4.6 Continual reduction in number of parts and costs

Figure 4.7 1,024 bit core memory

Figure 4.8 IBM 737 Magnetic core storage

Figure 4.9 Transition to higher‐level systems

Figure 4.10 Example: Wrench transition to higher‐level systems

Figure 4.11 System integrates with super‐system

Figure 4.12 Substance dynamization

Figure 4.13 Field dynamization

Figure 4.14 Composition dynamization

Figure 4.15 Internal structure dynamization

Figure 4.16 Older cellphone versus iPhone 6

Figure 4.17 Physical structures of technological systems

Figure 4.18 Milling machining

Figure 4.19 Electrochemical machining

Figure 4.20 Plasma arc cutting

Figure 4.21 Laser welding

Figure 4.22 Basic structure of autonomous technological system

Figure 4.23 An electric kettle

Figure 4.24 Electricity generation using (a) diesel generator (b) fuel cell

Figure 4.25 Reducing automobile pollution

Figure 4.26 Evolving railroad crossing protection system

Figure 4.27 IBM 350 Disk Storage Unit

Figure 4.28 Container‐freight train

Figure 4.29 Metal cutting laser head

Figure 4.30 Deficiencies in manufacturing assembly line

Figure 4.31 Early linear innovation models

Figure 4.32 Controlled linear innovation model

Figure 4.33 Cyclic Innovation Model

Figure 4.34 Technology readiness levels and innovation spectrums

Figure 4.35 Innovation funding sources

Figure 4.36 United States R&D funding sources (1953–2013)

Figure 4.37 Comparison: Gross domestic R&D funding (1981–2013)

Figure 4.38 Proposed Innovation Capability Maturity Model (ICMM) levels

Figure 4.39 Common obstacles to innovation

Figure 4.40 Emotional response to change

Figure 4.41 Innovative culture foundation

Figure 4.42 Example: Formal organizational chart

Figure 4.43 Example: Informal social networks

Figure 4.44 Typical innovation management software tools

Figure 4.45 Evaluating production line concept using virtual reality tool

Figure 4.46 Ascent to innovation practical steps

Figure 4.47 Organizations life cycle model

Figure 4.48 IBM flag products (1965 and 2012)

Figure 4.49 DEC flag products (mid‐1970s)

Figure 4.50 Quickly rejecting new ideas

Figure 4.51 Human diversity – Asiatiska folk

Figure 4.52 Gender distribution per occupation (Sweden, 2016, Subset of data)

Figure 4.53 Awarded bachelor’s degrees by sex and discipline: US 2013–2014

Figure 4.54 Six strategies for advancing gendered innovation

Figure 4.55 Women items purchases as percent of consumer purchases (Bloomberg)

Figure 4.56 Typical small leisure boat

Figure 4.57 Ovadia Harari and the Lavi fighter aircraft

Figure 4.58 (a) Space shuttle

Columbia

and (b) Flight STS‐107 crewmembers (left to right): Brown, Husband, Clark, Chawla, Anderson, McCool, and Ramon (NASA pictures).

Figure 4.59 Lincoln’s US Cabinet (1862)

Figure 4.60 Cognitive biases versus strategic decision processes

Chapter 05

Figure 5.1 Structure of Part V: A creative and innovative case study

Figure 5.2 View from Mount Floyen, Bergen, Norway

Figure 5.3 Example: Architecture of a manufacturing industry

Figure 5.4 Example: Architecture of vehicle electronics system

Figure 5.5 Cyclical architecture improvements

Figure 5.6 Project’s logical progression

Figure 5.7 External and internal project’s information flow

Figure 5.8 Project schedule master plan

Figure 5.9 Project tasks and work packages

Figure 5.10 The project management structure

Figure 5.11 Requested EC funding (€) distributed by funding type

Figure 5.12 Work effort distributed among partners

Figure 5.13 Work effort distributed over the project’s duration

Figure 5.14 AMISA kickoff meeting at TUM, Munich, Germany, April 2011

Figure 5.15 Example: A DFA‐Tool screen shot

Figure 5.16 Cap applicator machine (CAM)

Figure 5.17 Fiber placement system (FPS)

Figure 5.18 Power train (PT) of a standard MAN TGM truck

Figure 5.19 Vehicle localization system (VLS) for an unmanned ground vehicle

Figure 5.20 Solid state power amplifier (SSPA)

Figure 5.21 Hologram Production Line (HPL)

Figure 5.22 Sixteen AMISA consortium meetings over the three‐year project

Figure 5.23 Technical / management discussions at OPT, Bucharest, Romania, January 2014

Figure 5.24 Industrial excursion at MAN’s facility, Nuremberg, Germany, October 2013

Figure 5.25 Touring Jerusalem, Israel (IAI hosting), February 2012

Figure 5.26 AMISA courtesy dinner in Modena, Italy (TPPS hosting), May 2011

Figure 5.27 Ladder of financial and engineering options

Figure 5.28 Pipe interface example: (a) adaptable but expensive; (b) rigid but cheap

Figure 5.29 Design structure matrix (DSM): Base architecture

Figure 5.30 Design Structure Matrix (DSM): Optimized architecture

Figure 5.31 Two types of architectures: (a) Traditional; (b) Adaptable

Figure 5.32 Dynamic value paradigm

Figure 5.33 Estimating value loss and optimal upgrade time

Figure 5.34 General architecture option process

Figure 5.35 Initial SSPA system architecture

Figure 5.36 Decomposed SSPA system architecture (Information flow)

Figure 5.37 “Base” SSPA system architecture and interfaces

Figure 5.38 SSPA Control system board technology forecast

Figure 5.39 Classical project management cost model

Figure 5.40 SSPA Control system board upgrade cost

Figure 5.41 Computing component option value

Figure 5.42 Interface cost associated with the SSPA Control system board

Figure 5.43 The DSM of the “Base” SSPA system

Figure 5.44 DSM of the SSPA optimized architecture B

Figure 5.45 Block diagram of the SSPA optimized architecture B

Figure 5.46 Merging the driver and the HPA in the SSPA amplifier stage

Figure 5.47 Optimized sensitivity analysis of the SSPA

Figure 5.48 Two emerging unique optimized SSPA architectures

Figure 5.49 Neighborhood around the SSPA architecture B (numerical presentation)

Figure 5.50 Neighborhood around SSPA architecture B (graphical presentation)

Figure 5.51 Lattice graph illustration

Figure 5.52 Lattice graphs: Two emerging optimal SSPA architectures

Figure 5.53 Seven near optimal SSPA architectures

Figure 5.54 SSPA 40 W variant base configuration

Figure 5.55 SSPA optimal upgrade time

Figure 5.56 Key players in the AMISA project

Appendix B

Figure B.1 Laws of technical system evolution

Figure B.2 Continual reduction in number of parts and costs

Figure B.3 A catamaran

Figure B.4 A thermocouple

Figure B.5 Nails, screws, and in‐between

Figure B.6 A pencil and an eraser

Figure B.7 The Black Mountain Tower

Figure B.8 Copier, scanner, printer, and fax – merged

Figure B.9 Electricity generation using (a) diesel generator (b) fuel cell

Figure B.10 Reducing automobile pollution

Figure B.11 Standardization

Figure B.12 European Southern Observatory

Figure B.13 A crankshaft

Figure B.14 Augmented reality (AR)

Figure B.15 Doughnut production line

Figure B.16 Container‐freight train

Figure B.17 Bridge design evolution

Figure B.18 Parasol & Umbrella evolution

Figure B.19 System integrates with super‐system

Figure B.20 Increased system completeness

Figure B.21 Driverless automobile

Figure B.22 Old automobile

Figure B.23 VLSI input‐output chip for x86 computers

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

Pages

ii

iii

iv

v

xiii

xiv

xv

xvi

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

119

120

121

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

132

133

134

135

136

137

138

139

140

141

142

143

144

145

146

147

148

149

150

151

152

153

154

155

156

157

158

159

160

161

162

163

164

165

166

167

168

169

170

171

172

173

174

175

176

177

178

179

180

181

182

183

184

185

186

187

188

189

190

191

192

193

194

195

196

197

198

199

200

201

202

203

204

205

206

207

208

209

210

211

212

213

214

215

216

217

218

219

220

221

222

223

224

225

226

227

228

229

230

231

232

233

234

235

236

237

238

239

240

241

242

243

244

245

246

247

248

249

250

251

252

253

254

255

256

257

258

259

260

261

262

263

264

265

266

267

268

269

270

271

272

273

274

275

276

277

278

279

280

281

282

283

284

285

286

287

288

289

290

291

292

293

294

295

296

297

298

299

300

301

302

303

304

305

306

307

308

309

310

311

312

313

314

315

316

317

318

320

321

322

323

324

325

327

328

329

330

331

332

333

334

335

336

337

338

339

340

341

342

343

344

345

346

347

348

349

350

351

352

353

355

356

357

358

359

360

361

362

363

364

365

366

367

368

369

370

371

372

373

374

375

376

377

378

379

380

381

382

383

384

385

386

387

388

389

390

391

392

393

394

395

396

397

398

399

400

401

402

403

404

405

406

407

408

409

410

411

412

413

414

415

416

417

418

419

420

421

422

423

424

425

426

427

428

429

430

431

432

433

434

435

436

437

438

439

440

441

442

443

444

445

446

447

448

449

450

451

452

453

454

455

456

457

458

459

460

461

462

463

464

465

466

467

469

470

471

472

473

475

476

477

478

479

480

481

491

492

493

494

495

483

484

485

486

487

488

489

490

WILEY SERIES IN SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT

William Rouse, Series Editor

Andrew P. Sage, Founding Editor

A complete list of the titles in this series appears at the end of this volume.

Front Cover

Iconic of Japanese gardens, the Zen‐Style Garden is designed to invite contemplation and seclusion. This image is part of a dry rock garden consisting of gravel and massive boulders placed by Hoichi Kurisu. Photo courtesy of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.

Practical Creativity and Innovation in Systems Engineering

Avner Engel

This edition first published 2018© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

The right of Avner Engel to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

Registered OfficeJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA

Editorial Office111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA

For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at www.wiley.com.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print‐on‐demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of WarrantyThe publisher and the authors make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties; including without limitation any implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. In view of on‐going research, equipment modifications, changes in governmental regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to the use of experimental reagents, equipment, and devices, the reader is urged to review and evaluate the information provided in the package insert or instructions for each chemical, piece of equipment, reagent, or device for, among other things, any changes in the instructions or indication of usage and for added warnings and precautions. The fact that an organization or website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this works was written and when it is read. No warranty may be created or extended by any promotional statements for this work. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any damages arising here from.

Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data

Names: Engel, Avner, author.Title: Practical creativity and innovation in systems engineering / by Avner Engel.Description: Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, 2018. | Series: Wiley series in systems engineering and management |Identifiers: LCCN 2018007226 (print) | LCCN 2018012978 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119383352 (pdf) | ISBN 9781119383383 (epub) | ISBN 9781119383239 (cloth)Subjects: LCSH: Creative ability in technology. | Systems engineering–Technological innovations–Management.Classification: LCC T49.5 (ebook) | LCC T49.5 .E525 2018 (print) | DDC 620/.0042–dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018007226

Cover design: WileyCover image: © Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

To Rachel

Preface

The aim of this book is to acquaint systems engineers with the practical art of creativity and innovation. The concept of creativity has evolved throughout history. The Greeks considered poetry the only legitimate creative practice. That is, poets, as opposed to artisans, merchants, and even nobility could create poetry freely with no restrictions or rules. Later, the Romans considered the visual arts as a creative practice, too. However, during the Middle Ages, creativity evolved to strictly mean God's creations. Therefore, the concept of creativity was no longer applicable to any human activity. Thereafter, during the Renaissance and beyond, creativity slowly progressed to imply freedom of expression in the arts. Only at the turn of the twentieth century did the concept of creativity began to be applied to science and engineering.

The basic premise of this book is that creative abilities of human beings are not fixed, inborn traits but, rather, are changing over their lifetime. For example, researchers show that children exhibit remarkable abilities to look at problems and come up with new, different, and creative solutions. However, as they grow to adulthood, these abilities diminish substantially. Fortunately, creative skills can also be learned. Many studies show that well‐designed training programs enhance creativity across different domains and criteria. Hopefully, engineers adopting some of the creative methods discussed in this book will achieve improved creative skills as well.

Another premise of this book is that many creative engineers are stalled in their innovative efforts by organizations that claim to promote innovation but that, in fact, crush such efforts. Indeed, it is the author’s impression (as well as other researchers) that, beyond boasting, the vast majority of companies and other organizations are creativity‐averse. Naturally, creative engineers working for such organizations are frustrated and discouraged. Not less important are the accumulated losses for the organizations themselves as well as to society at large from neglecting many creative ideas without due consideration. The book attempts to explore this phenomenon and offer practical advice to organizations as well as to the multitudes of demoralized engineers. In particular, engineers are advised to expand their professional and intellectual horizons, seek to reduce risks inherent in their new ideas, and learn to obtain colleagues’ support as well as deal with reactionary management. In short, adopt a more entrepreneurial attitude.

This book is organized in five parts: Part I: Introduction, contains material about the principles of the book and its content. Part II: Systems Engineering, describes basic systems engineering concepts and a partial and abbreviated summary of Standard 15288 systems’ life cycle processes. In addition, this part includes a recommended set of creative methods for each life cycle process. Finally, this part provides some philosophical thoughts about engineering. Part III: Creative Methods, the heart of the book, provides an extensive repertoire of practical creative methods engineers may use. Part IV: Promoting Innovative Culture, deals with ways and means to enhance innovative culture within organizations. In addition, this part provides advice to creative engineers employed by non‐creative organizations. Finally, Part V: Creative and Innovative Case Study, presents an exemplary creative and innovative research and implementation undertaking.

Fundamentally, this book is written with two categories of audience in mind. The first category is composed of practicing engineers in general and system engineers in particular as well as first‐ and second‐line technical managers. These people may be employed by various development and manufacturing industries (e.g. aerospace, automobile, communication, healthcare equipment, etc.), by various civilian agencies (e.g. NASA, ESA, etc.) or with the military (e.g. Air Force, Navy, Army, etc.). The second category is composed of faculties and students within universities and colleges who are involved in Systems, Electrical, Aerospace, Mechanical, and Industrial Engineering. This book may be used as a supplemental graduate level textbook in creativity and innovation courses related to systems engineering. Selected portions of the book may be covered in one or two semesters.

Finally, readers should note that this book does not pursue new theories or theses with regards to creativity and innovation. To the contrary, the author seeks to acquaint systems engineers with well‐established facets of creativity and innovation. In order to achieve this objective, the author drew upon his engineering experience, communicated with many people, and collected information from many sources, books, articles, internet blogs, and the like (giving credit where credit's due). Bibliographies at the end of each part of the book identify invaluable sources for deeper understanding of the various subject matters discussed in the book. The author gained much knowledge from these resources and is indebted to the individuals, researchers, and experts who created them.

Acknowledgments

Many people have generously contributed to the writing of this book. To all of them, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation.

In particular, I wish to thank Shalom Shachar, formerly from the Israel Aerospace Industries, and Professor Tyson Browning from the Texas Christian University, tireless colleagues and friends, much of whose scientific and engineering writings and words of wisdom are embedded in this book.

The AMISA project, funded by the European Commission, focused my attention onto the value of creativity and innovation within systems engineering. My appreciation goes to all the consortium members and in particular to Professor Yoram Reich of the Tel Aviv University for his steadfast support and advice and also to Michael Garber of Adi Mainly Software (AMS), who developed the DFA‐Tool software package, which embodies the Architecture Option model.

Two people had direct impact on the manuscript of the book. Professor Shulamith Kreitler of the Tel Aviv University encouraged my book project and advised me on its structure. Professor Cecilia Haskins of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology volunteered to review the manuscript and contributed numerous and valuable suggestions to improve it. Also, I would like to thank my good friend, Menachem Cahani (Pampam) for contributing two caricatures to the book. I am indebted to them both. I would also like to express my deep appreciation to the dedicated and tireless Wiley editing team, especially to Victoria Bradshaw and Grace Paulin, as well as to Cheryl Ferguson for her diligent assistance with preparing the manuscript.

Several researchers empowered me to share their research with the readers of this book, and I am beholden to them all: Professor Sang Joon Lee of the Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea on biomimicry engineering, Professor Emeritus Ravi Jain of the University of the Pacific, California, on managing research, development, and innovation, Professor Christian Richter Østergaard of the Aalborg University, Denmark, on innovation and employee diversity, Inger Danilda of Quadruple Learning, Sweden, and Jennie Granat Thorslund of the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) on gendered innovation, and lastly, Professor T.K. DAS of the City University of New York on cognitive biases.

My deep appreciation also goes to the Standards Institution of Israel (SII), which permitted me, on behalf of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to reproduce a partial and abridged portion of the International Standard ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288. My thanks also go to the Royal Academy of Engineering, London, United Kingdom, for permission to reproduce intriguing portions of papers presented during seminars on the philosophy of engineering held at the academy in June 2010.

Most of all, my deepest thanks go to my wife, Rachel, and my sons, Ofer, Amir, Jonathan, and Michael, who encouraged my book efforts with advice, patience and love.

Avner EngelTel‐Aviv, Israel

Part IIntroduction

“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.”

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)

1.1 Introduction to Part I

The aim of this book is to acquaint engineers in general and systems engineers in particular with the practical art of creativity and innovation. Systems engineers are people with a capacity to understand many engineering, scientific, and management disciplines. In addition, systems engineers tend to examine issues in a holistic way considering the total system life cycle. This capacity is obtained through formal education, as well as experience in leading multidisciplinary teams in creating, manufacturing, and maintaining complex systems within sustainable environments.1

The basic premise of this book is that creative abilities of human beings are not fixed, inborn traits but, rather, change over their lifetime. For example, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, George Land tested the level of creativity among children and adults.2 The results, presented in Figure 1.1, are quite shocking. According to the study, 98% of five‐year‐old children could be categorized as geniuses in terms of their abilities to look at problems and come up with new, different, and creative solutions. This percentage drops to 2% within the average adults’ population. Land and Jarman (1998) concluded from this longitudinal study that non‐creative behavior is learned.

Figure 1.1 Age versus imagination

Fortunately, creativity skills can also be learned. For example, Scott et al. (2004) analyzed some 70 studies related to creativity training and concluded that well‐designed training programs promoted distinct creativity performance gains across different domains and criteria. Hopefully, engineers adopting some of the creative methods discussed in this book will achieve improved creative skills as well.

Another premise of this book is that many creative engineers are stalled in their innovative efforts by organizations that claim to promote innovation but, in fact, consistently crush such efforts. Indeed, it is the author’s impression (as well as other researchers3) that, beyond boasting, the vast majority of companies and other organizations are creativity‐averse. Naturally, creative engineers working for such organizations are frustrated and discouraged. Not less important are the accumulated losses for the organizations themselves as well as to society at large from neglecting many creative ideas without due consideration. The book attempts to explore this phenomenon and offer practical advice to organizations as well as to the multitudes of demoralized engineers. In particular, engineers are advised to expand their professional and intellectual horizons, seek to reduce risks inherent in their new ideas, and learn to obtain colleagues’ support as well as deal with reactionary management. In short, adopt a more entrepreneurial attitude.

Beyond this introductory chapter, Part I of this book provides some key points and a short outline related to the other four parts of the book, namely: (1) systems engineering, (2) creative methods, (3) promoting innovative culture, and (4) creative and innovative case study. In addition, Part I closes with a relevant bibliography. Figure 1.2 depicts the overall structure and contents of the entire book.

Figure 1.2 Book’s overall structure

Part I: Introduction, true to its name, provides an introductory material to this book. Part II: Systems Engineering, describes basic systems engineering concepts as well as a partial and abbreviated depiction of Standard 15288 systems’ life cycle processes. In addition, for each process, the book identifies a relevant small set of recommended creative methods. Finally, this part presents some intriguing philosophical insights about engineering. Part III: Creative Methods, provides an extensive repertoire of practical creative methods. Part IV: Promoting Innovative Culture, describes ways and means to enhance innovative culture within organizations. In addition, this part provides advice to creative engineers employed by non‐creative organizations. Part V: Creative and Innovative Case Study, describes an exemplary creative and innovative case study. Lastly, the back matter of the book contains relevant appendices.

The book contains a massive number of visuals. This is because the author believes engineers (and probably other people) tend to focus on visuals as their immediate and primary source of understanding. Many of these visuals require permission to use third‐party copyright so, in order to reduce clutter and ease the reading process, these permissions are provided in Appendix D.

Finally, readers should note that this book does not pursue new theories or theses with regards to creativity and innovation. To the contrary, the author seeks to acquaint systems engineers with well‐established facets of creativity and innovation. In order to achieve this objective, the author drew on his engineering experience, communicated with many people, and collected information from many sources, books, articles, internet blogs, and the like (giving credit where credit's due). Sections on further reading at the end of individual chapters, as well as the bibliographies at the end of each part of the book, identify invaluable sources for deeper understanding of the various subject matters discussed in this book. The author gained much knowledge from these resources and is indebted to the individuals, researchers, and experts who created them.

1.2 Systems Engineering

There are many books dedicated to the art of systems engineering, and it is not the purpose of this book to devote much space to this subject. Therefore, the intent of Part II is to construct scaffolding, bridging the gap between the domain of systems engineering and the domains of creativity and innovation. This is done by identifying some basic systems engineering concepts and then describing some 30 systems’ life cycle processes in accordance with an abridged International Standard ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288. Each life cycle process is then associated with a specific and relevant set of recommended creative methods. Systems engineers can use these and other creative methods described in Part III to expand their creative skills and enhance their engineering output. Finally, this part provides some philosophical thoughts about engineering.

Chapter 2.2 describes basic systems engineering concepts. More specifically, it includes four basic concepts, namely: (1) organizations and projects concepts, (2) system concepts, (3) life cycle concepts, and (4) process concepts.

Chapter 2.3 describes systems life cycle processes harmonized with Standard 15288. The standard clusters these life cycle processes into four groups: (1) agreement process group, (2) organizational project‐enabling process group, (3) technical management process group, and (4) technical process group.

Chapter 2.4 describes some key issues in philosophy of engineering. This includes: (1) engineering and truth, (2) The logic of engineering design, (3) the context and nature of engineering design, (4) roles and rules and the modeling of socio‐technical systems, and (5) engineering as synthesis – doing right things and doing things right.

1.3 Creative Methods

Creativity may be defined as “The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, interpretations, etc.”4 According to Teresa Amabile (1998), creativity is composed of three components: expertise, creative thinking, and motivation (Figure 1.3). Expertise consists of everything a person knows. Among others, this includes technical, procedural, and intellectual knowledge a person may possess. Creative thinking refers to ones’ abilities to create meaningful new ideas and blend existing ideas together in new structures. Lastly, motivation determines what people will actually do. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside a person by way of offering person amenities like money, promotion, and the like. Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, stems from a person’s internal desire to pursue one’s passion and interest.

Figure 1.3 Three components of creativity

Fundamentally, creative methods may be partitioned along two axes: (1) divergent versus convergent creative methods and (2) creative methods primarily used by individuals versus teams. Along the first axis, divergent creative methods help in generating multiple creative solutions, whereas convergent creative methods help in trimming the number of creative solutions. Along the second axis, some creative methods are primarily appropriate for individuals, whereas other creative methods are primarily appropriate for teams.

Chapter 3.2 describes divergent methods for individuals, including: (1) lateral thinking, (2) resolving contradictions, (3) biomimicry engineering, and (4) visual creativity.

Chapter 3.3 describes divergent methods for teams, including: (1) classic brainstorming, (2) six thinking hats, (3) SWOT analysis, (4) SCAMPER analysis, and (5) focus groups.

Chapter 3.4 describes convergent methods for individuals, including: (1) PMI analysis, (2) morphological analysis, (3) decision tree analysis, (4) value analysis / value engineering, and (5) Pareto analysis.

Chapter 3.5 describes convergent methods for teams, including: (1) Delphi method, (2) SAST analysis, (3) cause‐and‐effect diagrams, (4) Kano model analysis, and (5) group decisions.

Chapter 3.6 describes other creative methods, including: (1) process map analysis, (2) nine screens analysis, (3) technology forecasting, (4) Design Structure Matrix analysis, (5) failure mode effect analysis, (6) anticipatory failure determination, and (7) conflict analysis and resolution.

1.4 Promoting Innovative Culture

Innovation may be defined as “the process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay.”5 Now readers can appreciate the fundamental difference between creativity and innovation. Whereas creativity refers to conceiving new and unique ideas, innovation implies introducing new systems, artifacts, processes, and the like into the market.

There is a natural conflict between the creative person, the dreamer, and the innovative person, the top‐notch, down‐to‐earth leader and manager. This is why individuals rarely combine these two attributes within one person. Towering above them all is Moses (approx. 1390–1270 BC) the biblical prophet who presented the most fundamental and concise laws of ethics and worship and brought forth the creative idea of releasing the Israelites (and by extension, all mankind) from slavery in Egypt (Figure 1.4). Then, during 40 years of wandering in the desert, he forged a nation and a culture that propagated throughout the world to this day.

Figure 1.4 Moses, a creative and innovative giant

Innovation culture is the work environment that engineers and leaders cultivate within organizations in order to nurture individualistic thinking and give fair hearing to the implementation of new and often unorthodox ideas. Accordingly, this chapter examines the following issues: How do systems evolve? How should we model the innovation process? How is creativity and innovation measured? What are the obstacles to innovation? How can an organization promote its innovative culture? and, most importantly, how can an organization push creative ideas by individual engineers? Finally, this part of the book discusses human diversity and gendered innovation as well as cognitive biases and decisions making.

Chapter 4.2 describes systems evolution, including: (1) modeling systems evolution, S‐curve, and (2) laws of systems evolution.

Chapter 4.3 describes modeling the innovation process, including: (1) classes and types of innovations, (2) technological innovation process, and (3) innovation funding.

Chapter 4.4 describes measuring creativity and innovation, including: (1) defining innovation objectives, (2) measuring the innovation process, and (3) innovation capability maturity model.

Chapter 4.5 describes obstacles to innovation, including: (1) human habits factors, (2) cost factors, (3) institutional factors, (4) knowledge factors, (5) market factors, and (6) innovation obstacles and classes of innovations.

Chapter 4.6 describes promoting organization’s innovative culture, including: (1) innovation and leadership, (2) innovation and organization, (3) innovation and people, (4) innovation and assets, (5) innovation and culture, (6) innovation and values, (7) innovation and processes, (8) innovation and tools, and (9) ascent to innovation – practical steps.

Chapter 4.7 describes pushing creative ideas by individual engineers, including: (1) large organizations seldom innovate, (2) characteristics of innovative engineers, and (3) innovation advice to creative engineers.

Chapter 4.8 describes human diversity and gendered innovation, including: (1) human diversity, (2) shift in gender paradigm, (3) gender disparity and innovation implications, (4) advancing gendered innovation, and (5) gendered innovation example.

Chapter 4.9 describes cognitive biases and decisions making, including: (1) cognitive biases, and (2) cognitive biases and strategic decisions.

1.5 Creative and Innovative Case Study

The purpose of Part V is to tell the story of an exemplary creative and innovative case study that started in 2003 and continued to 2016. The research question that emerged over time was: “How can adaptability6 be designed into systems so that they will provide maximum lifetime value to stakeholders?”

The WOW factor was revealed in two papers (Engel and Browning, 2006, 2008) proposing to solve the problem using well‐accepted economic theories: the financial option theory (FOT) and the transaction cost theory (TCT). Transforming each theory into the engineering domain and then blending them together was dubbed the architecture option (AO).

Transitioning to the innovation portion, a consortium (AMISA7) composed of two universities, four industries, and two small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were created. Then, a three‐year funding request for a research project costing €4 million was submitted to the European Commission (EC), and after approval, the AMISA project started on April 2011, ending three years later.

End‐project reports from the AMISA participants confirmed that the AO approach was indeed helpful, allowing participants to increase product adaptability, cost‐efficiency, lifespan, and overall value. According to a post‐project review by the EC, this research delivered a “step‐change” in the performance of European industry, characterized by a higher reactivity to market needs and more economically compatible products and services. Bottom line, the AMISA partners seem to understand the importance of designing systems for future unforeseen upgrades, yet no partner truly incorporated this approach into their day‐to‐day systems’ design operations.

Chapter 5.2 describes the problem at hand, including: (1) the problem and its inception and (2) initial funding effort.

Chapter 5.3 describes how the people involved in this undertaking gained deeper insight. It includes: (1) the problem and the approach, (2) main ideas of the proposed work, (3) measurable project objectives, (4) basis for predicting the objectives, and (5) systems adaptability – state of the art.

Chapter 5.4 describes the project planning, including: (1) project planned activities, (2) detailed work package descriptions, (3) risks and contingency plans, (4) management structure and procedures, (5) project participants, and (6) resources needed.

Chapter 5.5 describes the AMISA project, including: (1) AMISA initiation, (2) identifying the DFA state of the art, (3) establishing requirements for AMISA, (4) implementing a software support tool, (5) developing six pilot projects, (6) generating deliverables, (7) planning exploitation beyond AMISA, (8) disseminating project results, (9) assessing the AMISA project, (10) consortium meetings, and (11) EC summary of the project.

Chapter 5.6 describes architecture options theory, including: (1) financial and engineering options, (2) transaction cost and interface cost, (3) architecture adaptability value, (4) Design Structure Matrix, and (5) dynamic system value modeling.

Chapter 5.7 describes an AO example, including: (1) general architecture option process, and (2) AO example – solid state power amplifier (SSPA).

Chapter 5.8 provides a summation of the AMISA project.

Note

Readers mostly interested in the creative aspects of this case study are advised to focus on chapters 5.2, 5.3, 5.6, and 5.7. Readers primarily interested in the innovative aspects of this case study are advised to consider chapters 5.4 and 5.5.

1.6 Back Matter

The back matter part of the book contains several relevant appendices and the index.

Appendix A

: Depicts a table associating systems’ life cycle processes with recommended creative methods.

Appendix B

: Provides an extended set of technical systems evolution laws.

Appendix C

: Provides a list of relevant acronyms.

Appendix D

: Provides permissions to use third‐party copyright material.

An index of important terms.

1.7 Bibliography

Amabile (1998). How to kill creativity.

Harvard Business Review

(September–October).

Cropley, D.H. (2015).

Creativity in Engineering: Novel Solutions to Complex Problems

. Academic Press.

Engel, A., and Browning T. (2006). Designing systems for adaptability by means of architecture options, INCOSE‐2006, the 16th International Symposium, Florida, USA (July 09–13, 2006).

Engel, A., and Browning R.T. (2008). Designing systems for adaptability by means of architecture options.

Systems Engineering Journal

11 (2): 125–146.

Kasser, J.E. (2015).

Holistic Thinking: Creating Innovative Solutions to Complex Problems

,

2nd ed. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Land, G., and Jarman B. (1998).

Breakpoint and Beyond: Mastering the Future Today

. Leadership 2000 Inc.

Ruggiero, V.R. (2014).

The Art of Thinking: A Guide to Critical and Creative Thought

, 11

th

ed. Pearson.

Scott, G., Leritz, L.E., and Mumford M.D. (2004). The effectiveness of creativity training: a quantitative review.

Creativity Research Journal

16 (4): 361–388.

Notes

1

Adapted from: Urban Dictionary,

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=super‐systems‐engineer

. Accessed: July, 2017.

2

See: TEDxTucson George Land, The failure of success,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfKMq‐rYtnc

. Accessed: July, 2017.

3

See for example T. Amabile, “How to Kill Creativity,”

https://hbr.org/1998/09/how‐to‐kill‐creativity

. Accessed: July, 2017.

4

See Dictionary.com,

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/creativity

. Accessed: July 2017.

5

See BusinessDictionary.com,

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/innovation.html

. Accessed: July 2017.

6

According to the Merriam‐Webster dictionary, to adapt means “to make fit, often by modification” (…from the outside). Adaptability is distinguished from “Flexibility,” which is derived from the Latin word

flexus

and literally refers to what is capable of withstanding stress without injury and figuratively to what may naturally adjust itself as needed.

7

AMISA stands for: “Architecting Manufacturing Industries and Systems for Adaptability.”

Part IISystems Engineering

“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910)

2.1 Introduction to Part II

The assumption embodied in this book is that there are sufficient books and other means from which to learn about system engineering, i.e. the author expects readers to be reasonably familiar with this art. The key motivation for including Part II in this book is to launch systems engineers onto the focal point of this book, namely, Part III: Creative Methods and Part IV: Promoting Innovative Culture. This is done by characterizing some basic systems engineering concepts and then providing a condensed and abridged description of systems life cycle processes as defined in the International Standard ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288.1 Each life cycle process is then associated with a specific set of recommended creative methods, exemplifying potential benefits that systems engineers may attain by using creative methods.

Among others, standard 15288 provides a total of 30 processes covering the life cycle of virtually any engineered system. These processes are applicable at the system level and express a coherent and cohesive set that satisfies a variety of needs. In addition, the standard provides conformance criteria that users can easily understand and apply. Finally, the standard supports tailoring by adding or subtracting processes or their constituents, making these processes widely applicable, yet adaptable to individual needs.

Engineering standards exhibit several advantages. First, they are developed by experts as well as practitioners. As such, they capture widespread communal engineering knowledge and experience. Second, engineering standards define common terminology, thus reducing confusion as well as communication problems. Lastly, engineering standards provide an effective tool guiding the various engineering processes in a methodic and organized manner.

Be that as it may, readers involved in developing, manufacturing, maintaining, or disposing engineered systems are urged to utilize the authentic standard 15288 and not substitute it with the following partial and abridged variation of the standard.

Some philosophical discussion about engineering and science in general concludes this part of the book.

Part II: Systems Engineering is composed of five chapters (Figure 2.1).

Figure 2.1 Structure and contents of Part II

Chapter 2.1 Introduction to Part II

. This chapter describes the contents and structure of

Part II

.

Chapter 2.2 Basic Systems Engineering Concepts

. This chapter describes the basic concepts of systems engineering, including (1) organizations and projects concepts, (2) system concepts, (3) life cycle concepts, and (4) process concepts.

Chapter 2.3 Standard 15288 Processes

. This chapter summarizes portions of standard 15288 processes within the following four categories: (1) agreement processes, (2) organizational project‐enabling processes, (3) technical management processes, and (4) technical processes.

Chapter 2.4 Philosophy of Engineering

. This chapter provides illuminating philosophical thoughts about engineering, including: (1) engineering and truth, (2) the logic of engineering design, (3) the context and nature of engineering design, (4) roles and rules and the modeling of socio‐technical systems, and (5) engineering as synthesis – doing right things and doing things right.

Chapter 2.5 Bibliography

. This chapter provides bibliography related to

Part II

topics.

2.2 Basic Systems Engineering Concepts

2.2.1 Essence of Systems Engineering

According to the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), systems engineering2 is “an interdisciplinary approach and means to enable the realization of successful systems. It focuses on defining customer needs and required functionality early in the development cycle, documenting requirements, and then proceeding with design synthesis and system validation while considering the complete problem.”

INCOSE further upholds that: “Systems engineering integrates all the disciplines and specialty groups into a team effort forming a structured development process that proceeds from concept to production to operation. Systems engineering considers both the business and the technical needs of all customers with the goal of providing a quality product that meets the user needs.”

Based on standard 15288, the author considers systems engineering as resting on four basic pillars: (1) organization and project concepts, (2) system concepts, (3) life cycle concepts, and (4) process concepts.

2.2.2 Organizations and Projects Concepts

System engineering is a human‐intensive endeavor. Success or failure depends on individual scientists, engineers, managers and professional staff. Therefore, organizations and projects‐related processes constitute a major part of standard 15288.

According to the BusinessDictionary (BD),3organization is: “A social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals. All organizations have some type of management structure that determines relationships between the different activities and the members, and subdivides and assigns roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out different tasks. Organizations are open systems. They affect and are affected by their environment.” The reader should note that a part of an organization (e.g. a department within an organization) as well as a single person constitutes, by definition, an organization. The same source defines a project as: “A planned set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations.”

Again, the reader should note that organizations make agreements with other organizations in order to acquire / supply products or services (Figure 2.2). When an organization enters into such an agreement, it is sometimes called a party to the agreement. A party that is responsible for certain aspect of the project is usually referred to by the name of that responsibility. For example, the organization that supplies certain raw material or subsystems to the project is often called the supplier.

Figure 2.2 Organizations and projects concepts

2.2.3 System Concepts

The term system in this book refers, in fact, to manmade systems or engineered system rather than to any system (e.g. the human body). INCOSE adopted Eberhardt Rechtin’s definition of system, which states: “A system is a construct or collection of different elements that together produce results not obtainable by the elements alone. The elements, or parts, can include people, hardware, software, facilities, policies, and documents; that is, all things required to produce systems‐level results. The results include system level qualities, properties, characteristics, functions, behavior, and performance. The value added by the system as a whole, beyond that contributed independently by the parts, is primarily created by the relationship among the parts; that is, how they are interconnected”4 (Figure 2.3).

Figure 2.3 Example of an engineered system

Engineered systems are characterized by the following attributes:

Engineered systems exist within a given environment with which the system interacts in one way or another. The environment could be one or more defined entities like other systems, people, and the like.

Engineered systems have boundaries that delineate and separate the system from its environment. A system engineer can define such boundary between a system and its environment at will.

Engineered systems are composed of various entities, typically subsystems or parts that carry out processes and functions, and there are specific relations among these systems’ entities.

Entities within engineered systems have inputs and outputs supporting internal flow of materials, energy, and/or information among them. Similarly, virtually all engineered systems have external input and output flow, consisting of materials, energy, and/or information between the system and its environment.

Any entity within an engineered system may be comprised of a hierarchically structured set of subordinate system entities.

Systems engineers distinguish between operational products and enabling products; both are constituents of engineered systems (Figure 2.4).

Figure 2.4 Engineered system: example of operational and enabling products

Operational products are the elements that, in total, perform the operational functionalities of the system. Enabling products do not contribute directly to the operational functioning of the system but provide essential services to the