Editing Systems engineering (section)

{{Short description|Interdisciplinary field of engineering}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
[[File:Systems engineering application projects collage.jpg|thumb|Systems engineering techniques are used in complex projects: [[Printed circuit board|printed-circuit-board]] design, robotics, bridge building, software integration, and spacecraft design. Systems engineering uses a host of tools that include [[modeling and simulation]], requirements [[analysis]], and scheduling to manage complexity.]]

'''Systems engineering''' is an [[interdisciplinary]] field of [[engineering]] and [[engineering management]] that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage [[complex system]]s over their [[Enterprise life cycle|life cycles]]. At its core, systems engineering utilizes [[systems thinking]] principles to organize this [[body of knowledge]]. The individual outcome of such efforts, an '''engineered system''', can be defined as a combination of components that work in [[synergy]] to collectively perform a useful [[Function (engineering)|function]].

Issues such as [[requirements engineering]], [[Reliability engineering|reliability]], [[logistics]], coordination of different teams, testing and evaluation, maintainability, and many other [[Discipline (academia)|disciplines]], aka [[List of system quality attributes|"ilities"]], necessary for successful [[system design]], development, [[implementation]], and ultimate decommission become more difficult when dealing with large or complex [[project]]s. Systems engineering deals with work processes, optimization methods, and [[risk management]] tools in such projects. It overlaps technical and human-centered disciplines such as [[industrial engineering]], [[production systems engineering]], [[process systems engineering]], [[mechanical engineering]], [[manufacturing engineering]], [[production engineering]], [[control engineering]], [[software engineering]], [[electrical engineering]], [[cybernetics]], [[aerospace engineering]], [[organizational studies]], [[civil engineering]] and [[project management]]. Systems engineering ensures that all likely aspects of a project or system are considered and integrated into a whole.

The systems engineering process is a discovery process that is quite unlike a [[manufacturing]] process. A manufacturing process is focused on repetitive activities that achieve high-quality outputs with minimum cost and time. The systems engineering process must begin by discovering the real problems that need to be resolved and identifying the most probable or highest-impact failures that can occur. Systems engineering involves finding solutions to these problems.