INCOSE eNote: News and Notes from the INCOSE Network
Volume 3 Issue 4, 26 May 2006
As May draws to a close, so does the 2005/2006 INCOSE membership year. Renew today to maintain the many benefits of membership including the Members Area, conferences and symposia, working groups, and the benefits provided by your chapter. With several new member resources set to deploy in June and July, the value of membership is higher than ever. US and Australian members are encouraged to renew online using the information from your dues reminder (the invoice number is your member number). All other members should renew directly with their national chapter.
 Early registrations and hotel bookings continue to flow in as we look forward to IS2006 in Orlando, Florida, USA. Register by Friday, 26 May to take advantage of early registration discounts, and don't forget to book your hotel rooms as soon as possible. Discounted group and government rates apply until the reservation deadline of 10 June or until all rooms in the group block have been reserved, whichever occurs first. The hotel has expanded our block several times already, so make your arrangements today (oh, what a difference — in price — a few days can make).
Visit the symposium website for more details on this year’s premier systems engineering event. The theme Systems Engineering: Shining Light on the Tough Issues focuses on the extreme challenges that systems engineers face in bringing products and services to the market at top speed. Expect over 100 fascinating papers and 17 interesting tutorials in many areas related to future systems engineering challenges. Orlando is a central location for visits to Disney, Universal, Sea World, Cypress Gardens, NASCAR Daytona, Kennedy Space Center, and Busch Gardens plus many other leisure family activities including museums and art galleries. While you are enjoying the technical sessions – plus a great exhibit area – the convenience of a well-appointed hotel and the tourism mecca of Orlando await your family. See you in Orlando!
Planning a meeting at the 2006 International Symposium? Board, committee, and working group chairs should complete the meeting space request form and return it no later than Friday, 26 May. The best availability for committee meeting space is all day Saturday, 8 July and Sunday, 9 July. A limited amount of meeting space is available throughout the week. Meeting space will be reserved on a first-requested, first-assigned basis, so we encourage you to submit your request early. If you have any questions, or need further assistance, please contact
Michelle Freeland.
While the 2006 International Symposium may be the premier systems event of the year, don’t forget about these other fine events sponsored by INCOSE:
- Practical Software and Systems Measurement (PSM) 10th Annual Users' Group Conference, 24-28 July, Vail, Colorado, USA. Sponsored by the PSM Support Center and INCOSE in cooperation with ASQ Software Division, this year’s conference will focus on how we use measurement and risk information for evaluating performance and making decisions. The conference provides the opportunity for PSM users and measurement practitioners to share experiences in issue-driven measurement and learn about changes in the measurement and acquisition communities. The conference will include a PSM tutorial, user presentations, and workshops. www.psmsc.com/Events.asp
- RE'06 - 14th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, 11-15 September, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society in cooperation with INCOSE and others, the IEEE International Requirements Engineering conference is the premier requirements engineering conference, providing a forum for researchers, practitioners, educators, and students to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, experiences, and concerns in the field of requirements engineering. www.re06.org
- European Systems Engineering Conference 2006, 18-20 September, Edinburgh, Scotland. The 5th biennial European Systems Engineering Conference focuses on the effectiveness of interdisciplinary and multi-cultural collaboration. Systems engineering has proved its ability to add value to enterprises seeking to cope with increasingly complex and dynamic environments and in particular: the integration of diverse technologies and disciplines to create breakthrough products and dependable systems; and, more effective collaboration in international multi-cultural enterprises and projects. This conference will explore how these objectives can be achieved, and what are the pitfalls to be avoided. www.incose.org/eusec2006/
- 2006 Joint PMI/INCOSE Region II Conference, 25 September, Berkeley Marina, California, USA. INCOSE's Region II chapters and the the Project Management Institute San Francisco Bay Area Chapter will join forces to host a one day conference AVOID THE BIG RISK: Align Conceptual Design, Systems Engineering and Project Management with Strategy. It is the first time that conceptual design, systems engineering and project management experts will be brought together for the express purpose of presenting essential interactions among the disciplines within the context of systems thinking. www.pmi-sfbac.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=15
- Systems Engineering and Test & Evaluation Conference 2006, 25-27 September, Melbourne, Australia. The Systems Engineering Society of Australia, the Southern Cross Chapter of The International Test and Evaluation Association, and INCOSE Region VI come together to host SETE 2006 Project Success – Maximising Customer Satisfaction. Despite best endeavours to "keep it simple", the ever-increasing burden of demands and constraints, including environmental and technical factors, legal ramifications, rates of change of technology, etc. mean that many projects and systems become exceedingly complex. Regardless of the increased complexity, the Project Manager strives to achieve project success, thus ensuring the client is satisfied. Use this SETE 2006 conference to increase the probability of achieving project success in areas where there are complex projects, and maximise client satisfaction. www.iceaustralia.com/sete2006/
As a learned society, INCOSE cares about the education and training of new entrants in the profession, about the continuing education of the professionals it represents, and about research conducted in the field. INCOSE is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Dinesh Verma as Director for Academic Matters to help INCOSE continue to advance our initiatives and further our relationships in these areas. As an appointed director, Dr. Verma will be a non-voting member of the Board of Directors specifically charged with providing leadership and guidance for academic and research matters.
A respected member of the systems community, Dr. Verma has an impressive background in industry and academia. He currently serves as the Associate Dean for Outreach and Executive Education, and Professor in Systems Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. We look forward to the experience and insight that Dinesh will bring in supporting INCOSE's efforts.
After a thorough review of all responses to the call for services, INCOSE is pleased to announce the selection of David Erickson as the Program Manager of the Professional Certification Office. Reporting to the INCOSE Certification Advisory Group, David will establish and manage a professional certification program office for implementing the INCOSE Certified System Engineering Professional (CSEP) Program. His challenges include balancing the long term view of the CSEP program with short term requirements to improve customer service and program performance. Behind David’s leadership, we look forward to advancing and growing the CSEP program globally and across non-traditional system engineering domains.
Thanks to the generosity of the authors and publishers, INCOSE is pleased to make the following books available free to all those interested in systems and the systems approach.
 Engineering Complex Systems with Models and Objects by David W. Oliver, Timothy P. Kelliher, and James G. Keegan, Jr., 1997. This book explains how to apply systems engineering modeling approaches not only to products, processes and business enterprises, but also to the description of the process of systems engineering. The result is an easily understood description of the systems engineering process which can be tailored to the many methodologies, notations and tools that compete for adoption. The book provides an engineering basis for: specification of near-optimal products and processes; tailoring the systems engineering process to commercial or aerospace projects; selection of a specific methodlogy and notation; selection and development of tools for automation; and training students in a systems development disciplines.- The Systems Approach: Fresh Solutions to Complex Problems Through Combining Science and Practical Common Sense by Simon Ramo and Robin K. St.Clair, 1998. (From the first chapter) The systems approach has beginnings far back in history. But as modern systems analysis has broadened, it has already begun to be controversial and misunderstood. The systems approach has quickly attracted overly zealous proponents and, as often, misinformed detractors. Substantial disagreement exists among the professionals as to how useful the approach is for the bigger problems of society, or for smaller ones when they are more "social" than "technological."
Both books can be downloaded from the community resources page of the INCOSE website.
At the April Object Management Group (OMG) Technical meeting, the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) Specification v 1.0 was unanimously accepted to begin the adoption process. This represents a critical milestone towards implementation and use of the standard by tool vendors and users respectively. The OMG SysML Specification will now enter the finalization process through the OMG that will lead to a formally available specification. The specification and supporting documentation can be found on the OMG SysML site. A one-day SysML tutorial will be offered at the INCOSE Symposium in July along with SysML tool vendor demonstrations on the exhibitor floor.
SysML is a general-purpose graphical modeling language for specifying, analyzing, designing, and verifying complex systems that may include hardware, software, information, personnel, procedures, and facilities. In particular, the language provides graphical representations with a semantic foundation for modeling system requirements, behavior, structure, and integration with a broad range of engineering analysis. SysML represents a subset of UML 2.0 with extensions needed to satisfy the requirements of the UML for Systems Engineering RFP developed jointly by the OMG and INCOSE and issued by the OMG in March 2003. The SysML specification was developed in response to these requirements by a diverse group of tool vendors, end users, academia, and government representatives.
Since debuting in 2004, INCOSE eNote has become a valued addition to INCOSE communications. INCOSE is seeking a volunteer to lead the continued development and evolution of eNote. The perfect candidate will have strong writing skills and the desire to help share news within INCOSE and the SE community. Make a difference in just four to eight hours a month. Contact the Communications Committee for details.
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