Systems engineering

• Abstraction. The ability of engineers to think of design concepts that are not dependent on specific solutions.
• Boundary. A separation between the interior of a system and what lies outside.
• Context. The users, other systems and other features of the environment of the system that the system will interact with.
• Customer. The organization or individual that has requested (and will pay for) a product or service.
• Engineering. The application of scientific principles to practical ends.
• Feedback. Information about the output of a system that can be used to adjust it.
• Gantt Chart. A project management tool in the form of a bar chart showing the start and finish dates of activities.
• Input. A material, service or support item that is processed by the system.
• Interdisciplinarity. People from different disciplines working together to design systems.
• Lifecycle. Important phases in the development of a system from initial concept through design, testing, use, maintenance, to retirement.
• Mission. An undertaking that is supported by the system to be designed to be successful (e.g. space mission).
• Optimization. The process of choosing the best alternative that will satisfy the needs of the stakeholders under the constraints given (e.g. cost, schedule and available technology).
• Output. What is produced by a system.
• Process. A set of activities used to convert inputs into desired outputs.
• Project. An activity having goals, objectives, a beginning and an end.
• Requirement. A statement of required behavior, performance and other characteristics of the system to be developed.
• Risk Management. A process of identifying what can go wrong and making plans that will enable a system to achieve its goals.
• Specifications. The technical requirements for systems design.
• Stakeholder. An individual or group affected in some way by the undertaking. Stakeholders are valuable sources for requirements.
• System. A set of interrelated components working together to produce a desired result.
• Systems Approach. The application of a systematic disciplined engineering approach that considers the system as a whole, its impact on its environment and continues throughout the lifecycle of a project.
• System Design. The identification of all the necessary components, their role, and how they have to interact for the system to fulfill its purpose.
• System Integration. The activity of integrating all the components of a system to make sure they work together as intended.
• Systems Engineering. The orderly process of bringing a system into being using a systems approach.
• Trade-off. losing one quality or aspect of something in return for gaining another quality or aspect.
• Value. The benefit enjoyed by the stakeholders of the system when the system is in operation.
• Validation. Testing to insure that the created system actually provides the value intended to its stakeholders. (Did we build the right system?).
• Verification. The process of proving that a finished product meets specifications and requirements. (Did we build the system right?)