Robert W. Lucky, an IEEE Fellow and former VP for Applied Research at Telcordia Technologies, reflects on his experience with engineering and science program/project panels. He opines the long-puzzling conundrum: If systems engineering is so valuable, why is it so seldom practiced?
[Editor's Note: This editorial appears courtesy of IEEE 's Spectrum magazine, where it was originally published.]
Through the years, I’ve often participated on panels convened to study some particular problem, usually at the behest of the government. Typically, these concern some program, project or issue that involves engineering and science, and one that is not seen to be doing as well as was desired or anticipated. The panel, composed of scientists and engineers, gets numerous briefings from people directly involved and from outside experts. Finally, a report is prepared with recommendations about how to fix the trouble.
In my own experience, these final reports almost always contain at least one of the following three recommendations:
1. Provide more money.
2. Put someone in charge.
3. Do some systems engineering.
Such reports are invariably received courteously by the
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In the Engineering/Construcion application for Refining and Chemical facilities, the classical definition of the Systems Engineer is personified in the Project Manager/Engineer who controls the many disciplines into a focus to meet the demands of the Client/Schedule/Budget to produce a desired result.
The personified project engineer/project manager enters data into MS 2007 and concludes:
1. The project needs more money and more time
2. The project engineer should become the project manager
3. The project manager should be allowed to assign each identified task to a project engineer by discipline (electrical, mechanical, civil) with one coordination engineer assigned to assemble all systems and make a presentation to the project engineers who will coordinate the project schedule and cost for the project manager.