Systems Engineering is Catching On

It seems to be a trend that customers are now asking for Systems Engineering Processes to be put in place on all types of contracts. It use to be just build type of contracts but now its showing up in other types of contracts for things like support programs. Systems Engineering process are a natural fit into these areas if you are flexable and can step outside of Mil-Std-1521. Those old processes are still a good standard for what they were writen for but they need some tayloring when it comes to commercial practices and support programs. With build programs you have a Physical product at the end of the process and with support programs there may be some physical elements the end product is a support process. So be creative in your design reviews and look for what is important for entry and exit criteria.