As the year draws down, I thought I would reflect on what
being a Systems Engineer means to me.
You may have heard the CNN story about Systems Engineering being America's
best job. Despite having gone
through two downturns as a Systems Engineer, transitioning between defense
reconnaissance to offensive weapons systems and recently to medical devices, I
still believe this to be true. The
practice of systems engineering involves a multidisciplinary view to solve problems which continues to expand my
knowledge and appreciation for all of these individual practices and it sure is
not boring!
Individual Practices
Contributing to Systems Engineering
My personality type is introvert; but I find the opportunity
to work closely with a team to understand the user’s need, synthesize a design
to address it and present it to them to validate that we correctly identified a
solution to be extremely rewarding.
There are ample examples where systems engineering was not applied and
the resulting solution fell short as seen below.
Solutions Lacking
Systems Engineering
Source: http://www.projectcartoon.com/
While degrees in Systems Engineering are being offered, I
became a Systems Engineer through career development. I do not recall when I was given the job
title of Systems Engineer because I believe that I have always looked under the
covers of every job I have worked on to understand how my contribution benefits
the whole system. I am disappointed to
say that I have not progressed on my intention stated in June newsletter to
pursue my SEP certification. Between
work, family and my duties as president, I have not found the time nor energy
necessary to complete the application, contact references and study the INCOSE Handbook. However, I want to acknowledge Clark Ince, Chapter
Treasurer, who did earn his CSEP.
I am interested in hearing from
you and welcome feedback on what the chapter can do to meet your interests and
needs. Also, as the end of the year is
near, if you are interested in volunteering to be an officer or director for
the chapter, please contact myself or any of the current officers. The current
list of officers can be found here: http://www.incose.org/sfbac/officers.html
By Rollie Olson
INCOSE SFBAC President
Source: http://www.cafepress.com/
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