Systems Engineering Summary - Basic Systems Engineering concepts

Oct 25, 2026

Systems Engineering Summary introduces foundational concepts for building successful systems. It explains what systems are, how closed versus open systems interact with environments, and how deterministic, stochastic, and emergent behaviors differ in predictability. The summary outlines system hierarchy, from systems and subsystems to assemblies, components, and parts, including relations shown via a System Hierarchy Diagram. It also presents key SE tools such as the Project Objective Statement, Mission Need Statement, Work Flow Diagram, and Work Breakdown Structure, and begins examining markets and market segmentation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryTechnology

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Basic Systems Engineering concepts

Introduction to Systems Engineering

Systems Engineering tools

The Project Objective Statement

The Work Flow Diagram

The Work Breakdown Structure

Examining markets

What is a market?

The Supply Chain

Systems Engineering Summary 1 . Basic Systems Engineering concepts Before we delve into the world of Systems Engineering, we 􀀌rst need to get to know some basic concepts. What is Systems Engineering? What tools does it have? And what is a market? 1.1 Introduction to Systems Engineering 1.1.1 What are Systems? A system is a combination of elements. These elements interact with each other to accomplish an objective. Systems can be very big (like the Apollo Project) or very small (like a USB-stick) . There is also a distinction between closed and open systems. A closed system has no relationship with the environment at all. On the other hand, a open system does have in􀀍uence on/gets in􀀍uenced by the environment. Finally, we can distinguish systems, based on their behaviour. Deterministic systems behave in a fully predictable way. We can always predict what they will do. Stochastic systems, on the other hand, have an element of chance in them. We can only estimate the probability that a certain output will occur. Finally, when dealing with emergent systems, we can not predict anything. Nothing is known about the behaviour of such systems. 1.1.2 What is Systems Engineering? In Systems Engineering (SE) we examine how we can make succesful systems. There are a lot of tools that can be used for that. We will examine several in this summary. Over the past decades, quite some good ideas have come forth from Systems Engineering. Processes like Parts Traceability (knowing where parts come from) and Formal Interface Control (making sure parts 􀀌t together) are all part of the SE toolbox. 1.1.3 System Hierarchy Diagram As we just saw, a system consists of elements. These elements often again consist of subsystems. Below these subsystems, we can distinguish assemblies, subassemblies, components and parts. The parts are the lowest level of separately identi􀀌able items. There are often also links between elements. These links are called relations. The set of relations between the system, its elements, the subsystems, etcetera, is called the System Hierarchy. This hierarchy is often displayed in a System Hierarchy Diagram (SHD) . An example System Hierarchy Diagram of a camera can be seen in 􀀌gure 1.1 . Figure 1.1: A System Hierarchy Diagram for a camera. 1.2 Systems Engineering tools 1.2.1 The Project Objective Statement Systems Engineering has several tools, with which systems can be evaluated. The 􀀌rst tool we examine is the Project Objective Statement (POS) . Let's suppose we're developing a system. It would be nice to know what this system should do, and how it should do this. This is where the POS comes in. The POS mentions, in about 25 words 􀀏 the expected result. 􀀏 the available resources to reach this result. 􀀏 the time span in which the result should be reached. An example POS for the Del􀀍y is: Impress the jury of the 􀀌rst US-European Micro UAV Competition by designing a 􀀍apping wing, vision based MAV, using commercially o􀀋 the shelf products within a budget of 5000 euro, by 11 students in 10 weeks time. Something similar to the POS is the Mission Need Statement (MNS) . The MNS states what the system (product) should do. 1.2.2 The Work Flow Diagram A system usually has a certain input. By using this input, the system should give a certain output. Todo this, the system often needs to do quite a lot of things. The steps necessary to get the output can be visualized in a Work Flow Diagram (WFD) . A general example of such a diagram can be seen in 􀀌gure 1.2 . In a WFD, we always start with the input, given in hexagonal blocks. The work steps are indicated by rectangle blocks. At every work step, there is an indication of the responsible person, the e􀀋ort (in hours) necessary to perform the step, and the throughput time. Eventually, we arrive at the output of the system, which is again in an hexagonal block. 1.2.3 The Work Breakdown Structure A Work Flow Diagram contains several tasks

FAQs

What is a system in Systems Engineering, and how do systems differ by interaction with the environment?

A system combines elements that interact to accomplish an objective. Closed systems have no relationship with the environment, while open systems influence and are influenced by the environment.

How do deterministic, stochastic, and emergent systems differ in predictability?

Deterministic systems behave in fully predictable ways. Stochastic systems include chance, so outputs are estimated by probability. Emergent systems cannot be predicted because nothing is known about their behavior.

Which Systems Engineering tools are introduced for evaluating or planning a system?

The summary presents the Project Objective Statement (POS) and Mission Need Statement (MNS), the Work Flow Diagram (WFD), and the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), each supporting structured understanding of objectives, workflows, and task decomposition.

Oct 25, 2026

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