What Is Systems Engineering?
“Systems Engineering” is a development approach featuring radical focus on identifying and solving the true needs of a customer. This method encourages crossing boundaries that otherwise hamper innovation: preconceived notions, design heritage, or even what fits in a single brain.
Here at Special Teams, we believe in the power of Systems Engineering, and its applicability across industries (medical, mining, clean tech., etc.), domains (electrical, mechanical, software, etc.), and& organizational silos (product development, operations, etc.). We’ve seen the fruits of this technique applied well: effective solutions that address the root problem, sometimes surprising a customer originally focused on a symptom.
Systems Engineering is not a rulebook or a one-size-fits-all process; real-world projects are as unique as their teams & customers. If leadership decides to ignore project context and use any given “one weird trick” process, it usually results in frustrated engineers and products which are behind schedule, overbudget, and unsatisfying to the customer. A better approach is to elevate principle above process, with the former motivating the latter. When done well, principles remain consistent even as process adapts to project context & scope.
The Systems Engineering principles below are hard-won lessons collected over decades of experience & discussions with the mentors we’ve had over the years, and you get them all in a free blog post!
First, Define the Need. The quickest & cheapest path to the actual solution starts with defining the problem. This is opposed to a “just get going” approach which runs in a direction before locating the finish line.
Question Why. If you cannot describe the motivation for a given feature and/or action, it may be an unnecessary distraction. Asking why exposes weak motivations such as “we’ve always done it this way” or “because they said so”.
Tell the Story. Most problems are due to communication gaps. Telling the story of your product (i.e. the physics in play, how it is operated, what it will do) both ensures you understand the solution and bridges the gap to other brains. Clearly communicating intent takes practice & effort, but the payoff is worth it - solutions improve exponentially as they are exposed to (and crafted by) diverse perspectives.
Look for Plot Holes. As projects progress and the solution coalesces into existence, it takes more money & time to fix problems. With this in mind, systems-minded folks actively search for issues: breaking fundamental laws, insufficient power, sequencing catch 22s, undefined ownership, etc. We strive to be objective & honest when prioritizing & raising issues; anything less is likely wasting resources. Don’t cry wolf, but if you notice what big teeth grandma has, it’s time to say something.
Understand How. There are limits to what can be understood by a single human brain [citation needed]. That said, building up a catalog of “how it works” helps Systems Engineers cross domain boundaries (electrical, mechanical, software, finance, etc.) by enabling translation between domains (e.g. capacitor ≈ accumulator ≈ buffer ≈ liquidity). Systems thinkers learn from the deeper in-domain knowledge of their colleagues by bringing curiosity & humility with them to work every day.
Relationships Matter. The dependencies & links between elements are often more important than the element itself. Systems engineers question and describe the interfaces between requirements / parts / activities / functions / people / etc. This illuminates dependencies and enables following concepts across boundaries to gain wholistic understanding.
Truth is Sacred. Systems Engineers believe in absolute truth and put in the work to keep it holy: writing down what matters, elevating key documents, deleting outdated and/or duplicated info, or enacting change control. When done properly, everyone tracks the same source-of-truth through rapid developmental changes.
Special Teams brings these Systems Engineering principles to work each day because they result in the best outcomes for our customers. These principles are applied via process (tailored for a given project scope) and tools (we’ll outline these in a later blog post).
Systems Engineering is not a checklist or a one-size-fits-all process. Instead, it’s a way of interacting with the world, a development approach guided by the principles above. These principals are all in pursuit of finding and properly solving the real problem. It takes curiosity, honesty, and good communication to effectively invest the limited resources available for a development effort. When applied well, Systems Engineering is an efficient and scalable method to define and solve the true needs of a customer.
Special Teams believes our Systems Engineering approach can help you too; reach out and let’s discuss how we can help.