Systems Engineering

Joseph Eli Kasser, DSc, has been a practising systems engineer for almost 50 years, a project manager for more than 35 years and an academic for 20 years. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (Singapore), the author of Systemic and Systematic Project Management; The Systems Thinkers Toolbox: Tools for Managing Complexity; Perceptions of Systems Engineering; Holistic Thinking: Creating Innovative Solutions to Complex Problems; A Framework for Understanding Systems Engineering; Applying Total Quality Management to Systems Engineering, two books on amateur radio and many International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) symposia and other conference and journal papers. He received the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Manned Space Flight Awareness Award (Silver Snoopy) for quality and technical excellence for performing and directing systems engineering. He holds a Doctor of Science in Engineering Management from George Washington University. He is a Certified Manager, a Chartered Engineer in both the UK and Singapore and holds a Certified Membership of the Association for Learning Technology. He has been a project manager in Israel and Australia, and performed and directed systems engineering in the United States, Israel and Australia. He gave up his positions as a Deputy Director and DSTO Associate Research Professor at the Systems Engineering and Evaluation Centre at the University of South Australia in early 2007 to move to the UK to develop the world’s first immersion course in systems engineering as a Leverhulme Visiting Professor at Cranfield University. He spent 2008–2016 as a Visiting Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore where he taught and researched the nature of systems engineering, systems thinking and how to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning in postgraduate and continuing education. He is currently based in Adelaide, Australia. His many awards include: • National University of Singapore, 2008–2009 Division of Engineering and Technology Management, Faculty of Engineering Innovative Teaching Award for the use of magic in class to enrich the student experience. • Best Paper, Systems Engineering Technical Processes track, at the 16th Annual Symposium of the INCOSE, 2006, and at the 17th Annual Symposium of the INCOSE, 2007. • United States Air Force (USAF) Office of Scientific Research Window on Science program visitor, 2004. • Inaugural SEEC ‘Bust a Gut’ Award, SEEC, 2004. • Employee of the Year, SEEC, 2000. • Distance Education Fellow, University System of Maryland, 1998–2000. • Outstanding Paper Presentation, Systems Engineering Management track, at the 6th Annual Symposium of the INCOSE, 1996. • Distinguished Service Award, Institute of Certified Professional Managers (ICPM), 1993. • Manned Space Flight Awareness Award (Silver Snoopy) for quality and technical excellence, for performing and directing systems engineering, NASA, 1991. • NASSA Goddard Space Flight Center Community Service Award, 1990. • The E3 award for Excellence, Endurance and Effort, Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), 1981, and three subsequent awards for outstanding performance. • Letters of commendation and certificates of appreciation from employers and satisfied customers including the: • American Radio Relay League (ARRL) • American Society for Quality (ASQ) • Association for Quality and Participation (AQP) • Communications Satellite Corporation (Comsat) • Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) • Defence Materiel Organisation (Australia) • IET Singapore Network • Institution of Engineers (Singapore) • Loral Corporation • Luz Industries, Israel • Systems Engineering Society of Australia (SESA) • United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) • University of South Australia • University System of Maryland • Wireless Institute of Australia. When not writing and lollygagging he provides consulting services and training.

1. Introduction 2. Perceptions of Systems Engineering 3. Perceptions of Problem-Solving 4. The Successful Systems Engineer’s Toolbox 5. An Introduction to Systems 6. The Nine-System Model 7. An Introduction to Managing Risk and Uncertainty over the System Lifecycle 8. The System Lifecycle 9. The Needs Identification State of the SDP 10. The System Requirements State of the SDP 11. The System and Subsystem Design State 12. The Subsystem Construction State 13. The Subsystem Test State 14. The System Integration and System Test States of the SDP 15. The Operations and Maintenance (O&M) State of the SDP 16. The System Disposal State 17. The Nuts and Bolts of Systems 18. Luz: From Light to Darkness: Lessons Learned from the Solar System 19. Jumping to the Wrong Conclusions: A Case Study on Optimizing a Postgraduate Learning Environment 20. The Engaporean ADS Upgrade Project 21. MBSE 22. Improving the Probability of Training Successful System Engineers