To better encourage and recognize contributions to our profession, INCOSE recognizes one outstanding paper from Systems Engineering each year. In 2004, the Journal editorial board selected two papers published between 1998 and 2003 for recognition. The following papers have been recognized with the Outstanding Journal Paper Award.

• 2005: Charles R. Weisbin, Guillermo Rodriguez, Alberto Elfes, and Jeffrey H. Smith, “Toward a Systematic Approach for Selection of NASA Technology Portfolios”, Systems Engineering, Vol. 7, No. 4, 2004, pp. 285-302.
• 2003: Lee W. Wagenhals, Sajjad Haider, and Alexander H. Levis, “Synthesizing Executable Models of Object Oriented Architectures,” Systems Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 4, 2003, pp 266-300.
• 2000: Armin P. Schulz, Don P. Clausing, Ernst Fricke, and Herbert Negele, “Development and Integration of Winning Technologies as Key to Competitive Advantage,” Systems Engineering, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2000, pp. 180-211.