Engineering Practice and National Cultural Context

Abstract

This paper argues a case supporting the view that the practice of engineering is fundamentally culturally bound. The case is constructed through exploring the cultural boundedness of the practice of science, of technology, and then turning to the practice of engineering, including the technology produced through engineering, the engineering analysis used in the design of the technology and the enterprise processes of the organisation in which the engineering activity is performed. This theme is further explored in relation to the structure of the most recent systems engineering standard, ISO 15288 which is structured very differently than the earlier systems engineering standards in the manner in which it deals with the engineering process required to deliver a product system.