In 1989 General Dynamics hosted a meeting at the University of California , San Diego , to discuss the apparent shortage of qualified engineers, those who could think in terms of a total system—rather than just a specific discipline—and could implement the systems engineering process. The group concluded that this shortage was of national scope, and agreed to recruit more representatives of government, industry, and academia to examine the problem.
Boeing hosted the next meeting at the Battelle Conference Center , in Seattle , during the summer of 1990. Over 30 individuals attended this meeting, which organized participants into three groups based on their views of systems engineering. Surprisingly, all three groups identified similar concerns, recorded in Table 1.
The group agreed that a national organization was needed to address these concerns. It then adopted a charter, formed ad hoc committees to tackle the issues of Table 1, and formed the National Council on Systems Engineering (NCOSE). Harry Carlson from Lockheed, Jerry Lake from the Defense System Management College , and Brian Mar from the University of Washington were selected as the provisional co-chairpersons. These three, with the help of the council, organized the activities and led the meetings during 1990 and 1991.
The Aerospace Corporation hosted the January 1991 NCOSE meeting in Los Angeles . Over 60 individuals attended this meeting, which included working sessions and a few selected papers. The initial committees reorganized into (1) a Communications Committee to address the transfer of knowledge through various media including national conferences, (2) a Systems Engineering Practices Committee to address process and practices, and (3) a Systems Engineering Development Committee to address education, training, and certification. The committees continued to explore the issues identified in Table 1, with a focus on defining the process as well as educating and training systems engineers. |
A steering group was created to deal with administrative issues associated with NCOSE as an incorporated council open to national membership. The major decisions of this meeting were (1) to hold the first national open meeting, (2) to sponsor an academic workshop, (3) to develop a position paper on the proposed MIL - STD -499 revision, and (4) to incorporate NCOSE.
IBM sponsored the first academic workshop, held in Rockville , Maryland , during June 1991. This workshop was organized by Odd Asbjornsen of the University of Maryland . The first day featured a number of papers describing different university systems engineering programs and in-house training programs. This was followed by a one-day workshop that addressed: (1) the definition of systems engineering as a process and the development of a professional profile for a systems engineer, (2) tools and computer aids that support systems engineering practice and education, and (3) the design of systems engineering curricula at various levels.
Immediately after the workshop, TRW hosted a business meeting of NCOSE in Alexandria , Virginia , to plan the first annual conference, continue committee work, and pursue incorporation. A major issue was the review and critique of the proposed changes to MIL - STD -499. The council provided a neutral forum for discussion of the 499 proposals since the authors of the changes, as well as government and industry representatives on the 499 steering group, were members of NCOSE. Proposed changes of particular concern were (1) using the systems engineering management plan (SEMP) to define contractual work and (2) the lack of a high- level coordinating organization to resolve conflicting standards. The communication group selected papers for presentation at the first annual NCOSE conference to be held in cooperation with the American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM) in Chattanooga , Tennessee , during October 1991. The Development Group completed surveys of undergraduate and graduate systems engineering programs as well as employer requirements and desired personal characteristics of a qualified systems engineer. The surveys revealed that less than 20 universities offered one systems engineering undergraduate course, and only a few offered two. Most of these courses addressed simulation and optimization rather than the systems engineering process. The NCOSE administrative efforts were formalized to include incorporation, membership, election of officers, and ways and means.
The first annual conference of NCOSE attracted over 100 attendees. Paper presentations addressed practice, process, and tools, and were published in the conference proceedings. During the business meeting that followed the conference, Seattle was selected as the location of the second annual conference, and the newly formed Seattle chapter volunteered to host this conference in 1992. Larry Pohlmann, of Boeing, presented a comprehensive report of the Practices Committee featuring the use of the systems engineering process to develop committee tasks and products. Groups of four to eight individuals were assigned to address specific issues, which included the continued review of policy and standards, the definition of best practices, the search for better automation tools and process metrics, and the identification of pragmatic principles. Groups also recognized the need to diversify the focus of NCOSE activities to include commercial, governmental, and industrial sectors outside of the defense and space sectors.
Hughes hosted the January 1992 business meeting in Los Angeles with NCOSE now formally incorporated. Barney Morais, Synergistic Application, Inc. headed the incorporation effort. The first set of elected officers were Harry Carlson, past president, Jerry Lake, president, Brian Mar, president-elect, Barney Morais, treasurer, and Jeff Grady from General Dynamics, secretary. The six directors elected were Jim Brill from Hughes, Jim Cloud from Motorola, Dave Clemons from General Dynamics, George Friedman from Northrop, Jim Lacy from Texas Instruments, and Wayne Wymore from SANDS.
Over 400 attended the second annual NCOSE symposium, held in August 1992 in Seattle by the Seattle Chapter. Participants accomplished several major tasks: developing plans for working groups to address practices and development issues; planning the July 1993 symposium in Washington , DC ; selecting San Francisco for the 1994 symposium; and publishing over 80 papers in the symposium proceedings.
The third annual symposium hosted by the Washington Metropolitan Area Chapter drew over 600 attendees and distributed more than 120 papers. The fourth symposium, held in San Jose , California , attracted over 700 participants and nearly 170 papers were presented. At this symposium, participants continued developing metrics for measuring systems engineering activities and provided an initial model for gauging the maturity of the systems engineering process. This model, driven by NCOSE's corporate members, was broadened to encompass non-military enterprises. This San Francisco Bay Area Chapter event inaugurated NCOSE's first proceedings on CD-ROM.
The Midwest Gateway Chapter hosted the fifth symposium in St. Louis , Missouri in July 1995. Over 600 attendees explored issues associated with the diversity and complexity of systems engineering in multi-national settings. Featured speaker Scott Adams, the syndicated Dilbert cartoonist, lent an upbeat tone to the conference.
Also in the summer of 1995, the organization officially changed its name to the International Council on Systems Engineering or INCOSE, to reflect the growing participation of professionals from 10 different countries around the world. (NCOSE is used here whenever describing activities prior to this name change.)
The sixth symposium took place in Boston in July 1996 and focused on tools and practices. The New England Chapter hosted this record-setting INCOSE event drawing over 800 attendees. Supporting the international direction for the organization, over 90 attended from outside the U.S.
The Los Angeles Area Chapter hosted the seventh symposium held at Century City in Los Angeles in August 1997. Over 870 people attended and 107 papers were presented. A highlight at this symposium was the exhibits with 50 vendors demonstrating systems engineering tools.
The Vancouver Chapter hosted the eighth symposium in 1998 in Vancouver , British Columbia in July. This symposium was INCOSE's first international event.
Since that initial meeting hosted by General Dynamics in 1990, INCOSE has grown to a thriving professional organization of more than 5,000 members with 50 chapters located worldwide. Forty-four Corporate Advisory Board members from industry, government, and academia provide guidance and recommendations, acting as the voice of the consumer for INCOSE. Building on Larry Pohlmann's 1991 report on systems engineering practices, INCOSE's technical activities are now led by a Technical Board with oversight over thirty-nine working groups operating under the umbrella of seven technical committees focused on Education & Research, Modeling & Tools, Process & Improvement, SE Management, SE Initiatives, Standards, and SE Applications. Examples of products now available that advance the practice of systems engineering include the Systems Engineering Handbook, now undergoing its third revision, the Metrics Guide, and the online SE tools database. |