Explicating System Value through First Principles: Re-Uniting Decision Analysis with Systems Engineering

Abstract

System complexity continues to grow, creating many new challenges for engineers and decision makers. To maximize value delivery, “both” systems engineering and decision analysis are essential. The systems engineering profession has had a significant focus on improving systems engineering processes. While process plays an important role, the focus on process was often at the expense of foundational engineering axioms and their contribution to system value. As a consequence, systems engineers were viewed as process developers and managers versus technical leaders with a deep understanding of how system interactions are linked to stakeholder value. With the recent shift toward model-based systems engineering (MBSE), systems engineering is “getting back to basics,” focusing on value delivery via first principles, using established laws of engineering and science. This paper describes how pattern-based systems engineering (PBSE), as outlined within INCOSE's model-based systems engineering (MBSE) initiative, explicates system value through modeling of first principles, re-uniting systems engineering and decision analysis capabilities.