SAE 541 Systems Engineering Theory and Practice Spring / 2007
Scott Jackson
Office Number: GER 207
Phone Number: 949-726-2003
Fax Number: None
Email Address:
Office Hours: 5:15 pm to 6:15 pm on Mondays. Contact in advance is required.
Teaching Assistant: Yvette Torres
Phone during office hours: 213-740-6664
E-mail:
Office Hours: Wednesdays 5:00 – 7:00 PM GER 207
Course Text: Systems Engineering and Analysis, Benjamin S. Blanchard and Wolter J. Fabrycky, Prentice Hall, Fourth Edition, 2006
Pre-requisites: None
Course Objectives
To acquaint the student with both the theory and practice of the discipline of systems engineering and to enable the student to produce the various artifacts of systems engineering for a system of the student’s choice, demonstrating an understanding of the inter-relationships among these artifacts. This course is the introductory course to the Systems Architecture and Engineering master’s program. As such, it provide a framework for other ISE courses in the program, especially those pertaining to advanced topics in systems engineering (ISE 542), engineering economics (ISE 561), decision theory (ISE 562) and project management (ISE 515). Among these, ISE 542 is the only course for which ISE 541 is a prerequisite.
In the following course schedule, the order of the topics differs from the chapter topic order, especially in the second half the semester. This is so that students can prepare the sections of the term paper before the end of the semester. In addition, the order of topics may vary due to the availability of guest lecturers.
Secondly, additional emphasis is given to certain topics to reflect current systems engineering thinking. These topics include system architecture, risk management, verification and the IMP/IMS concept. When methodologies and formats provided in the class lectures differ from the textbook, students are expected to use the lecture methodologies and formats.
Course Schedule
Week / Topic / Reading1 / Introduction, Course Overview, System Definitions and Concepts (HW#1) / Ch. 1
2 / Bringing Systems Into Being, The system architecture (TP), Overview of the Systems Engineering process, Current Systems Engineering standards, Systems Engineering models, Design reviews; the system life cycle (HW#2) / Ch. 2
3 / Conceptual System Design; Synthesis, Technical Performance Measures (TPMs), Trade Studies, Operational Requirements (TP) / Ch. 3
4 / Functional analysis, Requirements analysis; the concept of traceability (TP) / Ch. 3, App. A
5 / Quality Function Deployment (QFD) (TP) / Ch. 3
6 / Preliminary System Design, Detail Design and Development, PDR and CDR, Model Based Definition, Interface analysis and management (TP) / Ch. 4, 5
7 / System Test and Evaluation, The concept of verification; Mid-term exam review / Ch. 6, 7
8 / Mid-term exam
9 / Risk Analysis (TP) / Ch. 19
10 / Risk Analysis (cont’d) (TP). Systems Engineering Planning and Organization, The Systems Engineering Management Plan (SEMP); The IMP/IMS concept* (TP); Alternatives and Models in Decision Making (HW#3) / Ch. 18, 19
11 / Constraint (Graph) Theory (guest lecture (HW#4); The Design Sheet tool (guest lecture); Decision Theory (HW#5)
12 / Design for Reliability, Maintainability, Human Factors, Supportability, Producibility, Technology integration; (guest lecture) (HW#6) / Ch. 12-17
13 / Review of Constraint Theory; Review of Decision Theory; Review of Reliability / Ch. 7
14 / Affordability, Life Cycle Cost; Cost as an Independent Variable (guest lecture); Term Paper Requirements Review; System Resilience (part 1); Design for Six Sigma (guest lecture) / Ch. 17
Course Assignments
Number / Name for assignment / Due date (week)1 / Architecture Problem / 3
2 / Life cycles of a system / 4
3 / Decision analysis / 9
4 / Decision Theory Problem / 13
5 / Constraint (Graph) theory problem / 13
6 / Reliability problems (2) / 14
Assignments will be due two weeks following the class in which it is assigned. The objective of this cycle is to allow students to ask questions during the first week and to correct and complete the assignment during the second week. Assignments may be delivered in two ways: (1) email or fax directly to the DEN office on the USC campus, or (2) given to the instructor in class.
Term Paper Sections
Number / Name for assignment / Initial Draft to teams (week)1 / Executive Overview / 12
2 / Stakeholder Summary / 4
3 / Operational Requirements Document / 5
4 / Functional Analysis / 6
5 / Requirements Allocation Sheet / 6
6 / Traceability diagram / 6
7 / Quality Function Deployment / 7
8 / Physical Architecture of the System / 4
9 / Schematic or Sketch of the System / 10
10 / Interface Diagram / 8
11 / Risk analysis / 12
12 / IMP / IMS / 12
Term paper / 12
Late assignments will not be given full credit unless the student notifies the professor in advance of special situations causing the assignments to be late. It is recognized that personal emergencies often prevent the submission of homework on the assigned dates. In these cases the student must notify the professor in advance to receive full credit for the homework.
The fact that the instructor or the TA has made comments on a homework or term paper section is no guarantee that the assignment is an “A” or any other grade.
For term paper sections, above, the initial drafts must be sent to the TA by the weeks shown. The TA will just determine that a draft has been made and that the work is on topic. She will not assess the assignment for quality or a grade.
The mid-term exam must be written on paper with pen or pencil during the allotted exam time. The use of computers is not allowed. Anyone unable to write because of a physical disability will be accommodated in accordance with University rules. See “Other Considerations” below.
Grading Method
¨ The class grade is based on a combination of the assignments, a mid-term exam and the term paper.
¨ The assignments cumulatively will be worth 20% of the total grade. Assignments that are part of the term paper will be included in the grade for the term paper. The five assignments not part of the term paper will be worth 4% of the total grade each.
¨ Assignments will be graded either by the professor or the teaching assistant. A criteria sheet is provided describing the expectations for each assignment. An assignment fulfilling all the criteria will receive a score of 4.0. Assignments not meeting the criteria will be graded proportionate to the correctness of the answer.
¨ The professor, upon request, may answer questions regarding the assignments. However, this review does not constitute a guarantee of any particular grade.
¨ A midterm exam will be given following the completion of Chapter 7 in the textbook. This exam will be worth 40% of the total grade. Local coordinators will be responsible for arranging for a room, proctoring of the exam, distribution of the exam questions, collecting the answers, and returning the completed exams to the professor.
¨ In keeping with the objectives of understanding both the theory and practice of systems engineering, the homework and term paper will focus on the artifacts, that is to say, the practice of systems engineering, while the mid-term will focus on an understanding of the theory.
¨ The term paper will be worth 40% of the total grade to be divided equally between individual contributions 20% and the term paper as a whole 20%. The term paper grade will be determined by a peer review of the members of each project team. Promptness of team drafts and review is a factor in the peer review grade.
¨ All homework, exams and the term paper (with the exception of the peer review component) will be graded by the professor or the teaching assistant.
Project
A term paper will be due on the final day of class, that is, week 14. Although there is no strict minimum or maximum size, the paper will normally be about 20 to 30 pages. The paper will consist of a systems engineering analysis of a system to be selected by the student team and will contain the various systems engineering artifacts to be described in the class.
Student teams are encouraged to select a term paper topic early in the semester so that the system they describe in the section assignments will be the same system they describe in the term paper. Teams then may incorporate the section assignments as parts of the term paper.
Term papers will be prepared by student teams of approximately five to seven students each. The teams will be responsible for selecting their own team leader. Each section of the term paper will be prepared by a different student and then reviewed by the other students on the team. The section preparer will be responsible for incorporating the comments of the other students on the team, and for assuring that the section reflects the same parameters as the other sections of the paper.
Each section leader will have one week to prepare the section and then one week to incorporate comments and turn in the section.
The professor or his teaching assistant (TA) will select the team members, the team leaders, and the section preparers. However, students may agree among themselves to change places if the changes are mutually agreeable among them. Students at the same site will normally be assigned to the same team.
The term paper is worth 40% of the total grade. The term paper is graded against the same criteria used for the assignments since the assignments become part of the term paper upon review by the professor and revision by the student. In addition, the term paper is judged in accordance with the team’s ability to integrate the assignments into an analysis of a system of their choice. As discussed above, half the term paper grade will be based on the quality of individual sections. The other half will be based on the peer review.
Each section of the term paper will contain a one-page discussion of the section in relation to the rest of the paper. The one-page discussion will summarize, first, how the individual section of the paper was developed, and secondly, how it relates to the rest of the paper.
Class Participation
Students are encouraged to call the in questions or comments during the class so that the professor and other students may hear the question and the answers during the class period. Other comments or questions may be phoned or emailed to the professor. These comments, questions and answers may also be shared with the rest of the class. Questions and comments are voluntary and do not figure into the class grade.
Other Considerations
Exams are required to be handwritten. If a student has a recognized disability with respect to writing, he or she should follow the procedure on disabilities in the last paragraph. Laptops or other electronic devices are not allowed for exams.
For students attending the lectures on campus, standard classroom courtesies are expected. Cell phone use and conversations among students are not allowed. These practices are distracting to the on-going lecture.
University policies on plagiarism will be in effect. For the term paper, material may not be directly extracted from web sites or other sources, including internal company documents. Quotations within quotation marks are expected and references cited.
Fluency in English is not a requirement for this course. Exams will be graded on content, not on writing and composition skills.
The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering adheres to the University's policies and procedures governing academic integrity. Students are expected to be aware of and to observe the academic integrity standards, and to expect those standards to be enforced in this course.
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213)740-0776.