INCOSE eNote: News and Notes from the INCOSE Network
Volume 3   Issue 6, 8 July 2006

INCOSE Releases SE Handbook v3. Version 3 of the INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook represents a shift in paradigm toward global industry application consistent with the Systems Engineering Vision. Developed for the new systems engineer, the engineer in another discipline who needs to perform systems engineering, as well as the experienced systems engineer who needs a convenient reference, the handbook provides an updated description of the key process activities performed by systems engineers. Members who have renewed for the 2006/2007 member year may download the handbook free of charge from the product area on INCOSE Connect. Hardcopies of the handbook are also available for purchase from the INCOSE Office.

The descriptions in this handbook show what each systems engineering process activity entails, in the context of designing for affordability and performance. On some projects, a given activity may be performed very informally (e.g., on the back of an envelope, or in an engineer’s notebook); on other projects, very formally, with interim products under formal configuration control. The handbook is not intended to advocate any level of formality as necessary or appropriate in all situations.

INCOSE Connect Deployed for INCOSE Members. INCOSE Connect is your portal to INCOSE member resources and collaboration with members from around the world. For the past two years, INCOSE Connect has supported distributed, asynchronous collaboration for INCOSE's many teams — international leadership bodies, chapter leadership teams, working groups, project teams, and symposia host committees. Now it's home to the INCOSE product area —- a portal to make it even easier for you to access the latest INCOSE materials — and the INCOSE event archive — a site including all plenary presentations plus other artifacts from major INCOSE events.

All members who have renewed for the 2006/2007 membership year have now received personalized login information via email. This login will be your key to INCOSE Connect as well as many other online resources set for release over the next few months: a threaded discussion forum, IPAL (the INCOSE Product Asset Library), and iPub (the online INCOSE publications database including papers and presentations from INCOSE events).

The current Members Only Area on the main INCOSE website will be retired on 1 August. Renew your membership today and continue to enjoy the many member benefits.

OMG Formally Adopts SysML. On July 6, the Object Management Group announced the adoption of the Systems Modeling Language (OMG SysML™). See the OMG SysML website for the official announcement and information on SysML. Several tool vendors are currently implementing the standard and are expected to demonstrate their tools at the 2006 INCOSE International Symposium in Orlando. A full day OMG SysML tutorial is being given at the INCOSE Symposium, and is available under the publications section of the OMG SysML web site.

A new OMG SysML discussion group open to all is being hosted on Yahoo Groups. Help establish an active OMG SysML community by joining this group today.

Stay Involved with IS 2006 Online. For those unable to attend this year's International Symposium in Orlando, INCOSE will post all plenary presentations in the Events Archive on INCOSE Connect. Presentations will be posted each day so check back often to learn the latest from the symposium. While this will never convey the full richness of the symposium, we hope everyone can share in the value of this wonderful event.

Israeli Chapter to Host ICSEM'07. Scheduled for 20-23 March 2007 in Herzeliya and Haifa, Israel, the International Conference on Systems Engineering and Modeling (ICSEM) will focus on the issues and problems regarding systems engineering and its relation to the development, evolution, adoption, evaluation, and dissemination of approaches for conceptual models of complex systems. The objective of the conference is to improve the practice of systems engineering modeling by endowing this evolving discipline with missing theoretical and methodological underpinnings and improving the communication of complex systems' function, structure, and performance among stakeholders.  In addition to research and practice papers, the conference will feature invited speakers, tutorials, and an industrial exhibition.

For more information including the Call for Papers (abstracts due 6 September) and the Call for Tutorials (submissions due 6 November), see the ICSEM'07 website.

Enjoy the Latest Systems Engineering Journal Online. Volume 9, issue 3 of the Systems Engineering Journal is now available on the Wiley Interscience site. Members should receive their printed copy in late July.

This issue includes:

• "Integration of risk identification with business process models" by James H. Lambert, Rachel K. Jennings, and Nilesh N. Joshi
• "Using value-focused thinking to select a simulation tool for the acquisition of infantry soldier systems" by Gregory L. Boylan, Major Eric S. Tollefson, Lieutenant Colonel Michael J. Kwinn Jr., and Ross R. Guckert
• "Toward mission assurance: a framework for systems engineering management" by Brian Sauser
• "When are observable states necessary?" by Rick Botta, Zach Bahill, and Terry Bahill
• "Managing the risk of terrorism to interdependent infrastructure systems through the dynamic inoperability input-output model" by Chenyang Lian and Yacov Y. Haimes
• "Measuring and optimizing systems' quality costs and project duration" by Avner Engel and Shalom Shachar

INCOSE members can enjoy these articles online today. Instructions for accessing the Wiley Interscience website can be found in the INCOSE Members Area.