Principles of Systems Engineering

Course aim

The aim of this course is to foster an understanding that engineering design and analysis are not ends in themselves but are a means for satisfying human wants and needs; that one aspect of modern engineering focuses on the materials and forces of nature; the other is concerned with the needs of people.

Course content

Systems thinking; theoretical foundations: development and philosophy of science, disciplinary divisions, philosophy of engineering, introduction to systems sciences, limitations of traditional methods for systems development, complexity, constraints in general, decision analysis processes; definition of systems integration; concept of total system of interest; system lifecycle from concept to disposal; systems engineering standards including ISO 15288, EIA 632, IEEE 1220, MIL-STD-499; systems engineering process; analysis, synthesis and evaluation; project lifecycle models, strengths and weaknesses, applicability, interaction with acquisition processes; value of SE processes; model-based systems engineering; role of engineering discipline; COTS and MOTS elements in systems engineering; Contraints in the defence and commercial systems engineering process.

Textbook(s)

Blanchard S.B and Fabrycky W.J. 2006, Systems Engineering and Analysis, 4, Pearson Education Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA

Prerequisite(s)

Nil

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Assessment 4: Class Participation, Assignment 1 - Group Assignment (consolidation of group presentation on conceptual design), Assignment 1 - Individual written report, Assignment 2 - Group (pairs) written report, Assignment 2 - Individual Assignment (expansion of analysis to preliminary design), Assignment 3 - Group written report, Participation in the practicals during the course, Presentation on the last day

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 2)
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Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
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* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.