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Abstract
This paper provides a timeline of the development of a Perspectives on Systems Engineering (PoSE) course, including integrated on-campus and online lecture delivery. Based on the original discussion of PoSE in a 2009 IERC paper, the course described four distinct approaches to SE. In addition, this paper describes associated elements of the development of a cross-disciplinary education, engagement, and research initiative at the authors institution that provided additional emphases on the development and delivery of the PoSE course as a multi-dimensional hybrid course. After 11 years and multiple offerings of the course, the current paper discusses the evolution of the course and emphasis on flavors of SE, including the elaboration of a fifth SE flavor. Descriptions of two phases of course development and delivery in both in-class and online contexts help to identify critical aspects of PoSE relevant to different learner needs and priorities. Lessons learned from multiple iterations of the PoSE course provide guidance for future versions of SE education for both traditional student and other working professional contexts.
Keywords
Systems engineering; engineering education; human factors; distance learning; sociotechnical systems
1. Introduction
Between 2005 and 2008, the U.S. space agency NASA began a number of initiatives to improve the technical knowledge and learning bases for the understanding and application of Systems Engineering (SE). The NASA program emphasis included a number of discussions regarding the complexity of spacecraft mission components, mission operations, and program management concerns that had been highlighted in several previous mission failures [1, 2]. One resulting outcome of this effort was the development of the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook, a volume originally released as a technical standard document [3]. In addition, NASA commissioned a number of authors to participate in an Exploration Systems Mission Directorate workshop to develop educational modules for NASAs SE education efforts.
Upon reviewing available literature and contributions of human factors engineering (HFE) for a module on human factors in SE, I noted that there were at least four different approaches to studying systems structures, functions, and behavior that could all be variously described as systems engineering. I published a conference paper describing perspectives on systems engineering and its potential impacts on SE education in the proceedings of the 2009 Industrial Engineering Research Conference [4]. The remainder...