Systems engineering tools

Abstract

There are many definitions and perceptions of "system" and "system engineer". There are also many computer-aided tools that claim to be "systems engineering" tools. Many of these are highly productive in a narrowly defined problem domain. Others are more generic, but still cover only a subset of a system engineer's tasks. We find a shortage of tools that fit the broad needs of system engineers well. Therefore, we have designed and are prototyping a systems engineering design tool. By evaluating this tool on selected projects, we hope to: expose the target community to computer-aided system engineering tools, assess the cultural fit and effective methodologies, and refine the requirements and implementation methods. In addition to providing some badly needed capabilities, evaluation of this prototype allows us to expose the system engineering community to a new class of tools.<>