SYLLABUS - SAE 541 Spring 2008
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING THEORY AND PRACTICE
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Instructor: John Schroeder
Phone: (949) 922-3264
E-mail:
Office Hours: Mondays 5:00-6:00 PM GER 205
Class: Mondays 6:30-9:10 PM RTH 109
Phone during office hours: (949) 922-3264
Teaching Assistant: Indrajeet Dixit
Phone during office hours: (323) 740-6664
E-mail:
Office Hours: Thursdays 2:00-4:00 PM GER 207
Textbooks: Systems Engineering and Analysis, 4th edition. Benjamin S. Blanchard and Wolter J. Fabrycky, 2005 Prentice Hall, Inc. and INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook v 3.1
Class Notes: Class notes will be posted on the Distance Education Network (DEN).
Additional Reading Assignments: Supplemental reading will occasionally be required. Such material will be posted on DEN prior to the assignment. Two supplemental sources provided and referenced in the Course Schedule below are:
1. The INCOSE Systems Engineering Vision
2. The Air Force SMC Systems Engineering Handbook (SMC)
Other sources will be posted during the semester from INCOSE, NASA, and Subject Matter Experts.
All sources used are 2001 or later
Website: DEN Website: http://den.usc.edu
Blackboard: http://learn.usc.edu
Administrative: DEN Technical Support 213-821-1321
DEN Homework 213-740-9356
DEN Exams and Proctoring 213-821-3136
DEN Administrative Questions 213-740-4488
Mary Ordaz, Student Services Graduate Advisor 213-740-4886
Course Objectives:
To acquaint the student with the theory and practice of systems engineering with an emphasis on techniques in use today for large scale systems development. The student will become familiar with the organizations and standards most relevant in that context. Students will create selected systems engineering artifacts and perform an exercise in planning the systems engineering activities for a hypothetical program. Upon completion, the student will be conversant in most of today’s methodologies and be exposed to developments leading to the future of systems engineering. The course provides a firm foundation for subsequent classes Systems Architecture and Engineering.
Prerequisites: none
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Note: for reading assignments, SEH means INCOSE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING HANDBOOK V3.1
CLASS/DATE TOPIC(s) READING (before class)
#1 Jan 14 Introduction, Course Overview, Definitions, LifeCycles none
Jan 21 Martin Luther King Birthday NO CLASS
#2 Jan 28 SE today, trends in SE, key organizations, standards, and INCOSE VISION (posted)
Process Models; Properties of well written requirements SEH chapters 2&3
#3 Feb 4 System Level Requirements Analysis, SEH-appendix I
Sources of rqts, Systems Rqts Document, Technical
Performance Measures
#4 Feb 11 Conceptual System Design, Trade Studies SEH-sect 4.4 and L.3
Feb 18 President’s Day NO CLASS
#5 Feb 25 Functional Analysis: Functional Flows, QFD, B&F Text, Appendix A &
Use Cases SEH-Appendix J
#6 Mar 3 System Engineering Plans and the Class Project B&F-Ch 18, SMC App C5
#7 Mar 10 Preliminary System Design, Design Synthesis, SEH Appendix K
Requirements Allocation
Mar 10 Turn in Take-Home Midterm Exam (assigned March 3)
Mar 17 Spring Break NO CLASS
#8 Mar 24 Verification, Test and Evaluation-Planning and Execution B&F Chapter 6
#9 Mar 31 Risk Analysis and Mitigation B&F-Ch 19, SMC pp 89-92
#10 Apr 7 Design for Reliability, Maintainability, Human Factors, B&F-Ch 12 thru 16
Supportability, and Producibility
#11 Apr 14 Work Breakdown Structure, Integrated Master Plan, B&F Ch 18
Integrated Master Schedule
#12 Apr 21 C4ISR Architecture Framework To be provided
#13 Apr 28 Unified Modeling Language, SysML and Closing Thoughts To be provided
May 12 FINAL EXAMINATION
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS (Homework):
NUMBER NAME OF ASSIGNMENT DUE DATE (week)
1 System Specification – Well Written Requirements 3
2 Technical Performance Metrics 4
3 Plan and Metrics for one Trade Study 5
4 Functional Flow Block Diagram 6
5 Take Home Mid Term Exam 7
5 Requirements Allocation Sheet 8
6 One page essay on Verification 9
7 Example Risk Matrix and Mitigation Plan 10
CLASS PROJECT (by teams): Systems Engineering Management Plan (see below)
NOTE: The assignments are chosen to provide tangible experience in important SE methodologies.
Submission of Homework by DEN Students: (more detail in class 1 slides)
– Send your homework to DEN by email AND submit it on Blackboard
– URL for explanation: http://den.usc.edu/students/homework.htm
– DEN email submissions to:
– On Blackboard, select Assignments, click on the one to be submitted and upload file
Submission of Homework by On Campus Students:
– Bring to Class
– Alternately place in the Teaching Assistant’s box in GRE
GRADING METHOD:
The class grade is based on a combination of the assignments, midterm, project and final examination.
The weight for each category is as follows:
Assignments (lowest score not counted) 25%
Mid Term 20%
Final Examination 30%
Systems Engineering Management Plan Project 25%
100%
The grade for any homework assignment will be reduced by one letter grade per week unless prior arrangement is made with the instructor. USC Grading Policies are followed.
SEMESTER PROJECT:
Background: The Systems Engineering Management Plan documents the SE processes to be employed on the program for which it is written. When done well and done early (subject to change) it is a significant risk mitigator in terms of cost and schedule.
Teams will create a SEMP for a hypothetical program of their choosing. Guidance for the SEMP will be given during the course, but the structure is to include the following topics: Other topics usually found in a SEMP may be included, but are not required for this assignment.
Requirements Analysis
Functional Analysis and Allocation
Synthesis
Risk Management
Technical Performance Measures
Technical Reviews
Description of Systems Engineering Products
Academic Integrity Statement -"“The Viterbi School of Engineering adheres to the University's policies and procedures governing academic integrity as described in SCampus. Students are expected to be aware of and to observe the academic integrity standards described in SCampus, and to expect those standards to be enforced in this course”.
Students with Disabilities: "Any Student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213)740-0776”.