Systems Engg

    Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how to design and manage complex engineering projects over their life cycles. Issues such as reliability, logistics, coordination of different teams (requirements management), evaluation measurements, and other disciplines become more difficult when dealing with large, complex projects.

1. State the problem. Stating the problem is the most important systems engineering task. It entails identifying customers, understanding customer needs, establishing the need for change, discovering requirements and defining system functions.
2. Investigate alternatives. Alternatives are investigated and evaluated based on performance, cost and risk.
3. Model the system. Running models clarifies requirements, reveals bottlenecks and fragmented activities, reduces cost and exposes duplication of efforts.
4. Integrate. Integration means designing interfaces and bringing system elements together so they work as a whole. This requires extensive communication and coordination.
5. Launch the system. Launching the system means running the system and producing outputs -- making the system do what it was intended to do.
6. Assess performance. Performance is assessed using evaluation criteria, technical performance measures and measures -- measurement is the key. If you cannot measure it, you cannot control it. If you cannot control it, you cannot improve it.
7. Re-evaluation. Re-evaluation should be a continual and iterative process with many parallel loops.

Life Cycle of Systems Engineering:

There are many definitions of what a system is in the field of systems engineering. Below are a few authoritative definitions:

• ANSI/EIA-632-1999: "An aggregation of end products and enabling products to achieve a given purpose."
• DAU Systems Engineering Fundamentals: "an integrated composite of people, products, and processes that provide a capability to satisfy a stated need or objective."
  
• IEEE Std 1220-1998: "A set or arrangement of elements and processes that are related and whose behavior satisfies customer/operational needs and provides for life cycle sustainment of the products."^[31]
• ISO/IEC 15288:2008: "A combination of interacting elements organized to achieve one or more stated purposes."
• NASA Systems Engineering Handbook: "(1) The combination of elements that function together to produce the capability to meet a need. The elements include all hardware, software, equipment, facilities, personnel, processes, and procedures needed for this purpose. (2) The end product (which performs operational functions) and enabling products (which provide life-cycle support services to the operational end products) that make up a system.

Graphical Representations:

• Functional flow block diagram (FFBD)
• Model-based design, for example Simulink, VisSim, etc.
• Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
• N2 Chart etc...

Systems and Control Engineering is in a position of great importance in almost all aspects of our lives. Modern life depends crucially on systems that have to operate independently to achieve a specified purpose accurately and safely.


Given its widespread use in industry, commerce and the professions you will benefit from studying a wide range of subjects. At Sheffield you will obtain an understanding of aspects of computing, electronics, mechanical engineering and control principles supported by relevant aspects of other topics such as aeronautics, biomechanics and techniques for the analysis and design of complex systems and data. The precise mix of topics will depend on your degree choice and the specialization selected.

System engineering has a widespread impact on many industries, so career opportunities are excellent. System modelling, design and analysis skills can also be applied in many disciplines outside engineering, for instance weather forecasting, economic system modelling, financial forecasting and the analysis of geological and medical data. This means that our graduates are highly employable both within engineering and in numerous other fields. There are still too few systems engineers to meet the demands of employers, so graduates are in demand in a buoyant careers market.