Systems Engineering in Research and Industrial Practice: Foundations, Developments and Challenges

This book details the foundations, new developments and methods, applications, and current challenges of systems engineering (SE). It provides key insights into SE as a concept and as an approach based on the holistic view on the entire lifecycle (requirements, design, production, and exploitation) of complex engineering systems, such as spacecraft, aircraft, power plants, and ships.Written by leading international experts, the book describes the achievements of the holistic, transdisciplinary approach of SE as state of the art both in research and practice using case study examples from originating at universities and companies such as Airbus, BAE Systems, BMW, Boeing, and COMAC.The reader obtains a comprehensive insight into the still existing challenges of the concept of SE today and the various forms in which SE is applied in a variety of areas.

About the Author

Josip Stjepandic has been involved in the research and development of complex industrial products and services for almost 30 years. Since 1996, he is working for PROSTEP AG, the leading consultancy for product data integration. He is in charge of the business unit “3D product creation” with approximately 50 engineers. He has conducted many projects on engineering collaboration, supplier integration, CAD data exchange, knowledge-based engineering, intellectual property protection, development of design methods, and systems engineering for leading global companies. Many of those works were published in the past years and presented on conferences. Nel Wognum has performed research into CE-related subjects since 1995. Her background is computer science and organization studies. At the University of Twente, she moved from principles of product modelling to the organization of CE in companies and supply chains. Project management, R&D management, and operationsmanagement were subjects of study and empirical work in industrial areas like automotive, electronics, and consumer goods. Since 2007, at Wageningen University, she has studied the concept in the agricultural domain, especially collaboration, structure, and information exchange in meat supply chains. She is now a private advisor after retirement in 2014. Wim J.C. Verhagen (born 1984) works as assistant professor at the Air Transport&Operations Chair, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology. He has expertise in the field of knowledge-based engineering applications and is currently leveraging this in airline maintenance operations, while expanding his research into design for maintainability, reliability and supportability engineering, and maintenance information systems. He has published over 20 articles in internationally refereed journals and conferences.