Advanced Systems Engineering for DoD Systems

The Systems Engineering Center of the California Institute of Technology Industrial Relations Center provides training in advanced systems engineering specifically focused on the defense environment. The Advanced Systems Engineering for DoD Systems certificate program focuses on the application of sophisticated tools and methods to address today’s issues in DoD system development and maintenance.

The 5-day certificate program is designed for the experienced system engineer who wants to build on basic systems engineering concepts. In addition to expanding on the basic system engineering topics such as system architecture, functional analysis, and system design and development, it also addresses the advanced topics of system engineering estimation and planning, systems engineering metrics, and system of systems.

The program focuses on the real-life challenges of managing state-of-the-art systems acquisition in today’s defense environment. It consists of lectures, case studies, and exercises completed by participants during class. The case studies reinforce key concepts and enable participants to apply the program content to challenges in their current work environment.

• Terms, concepts, and definitions
• Relationship to component engineering
• Current trends and challenges

• Requirements elicitation
• Specifications

• Functional flow
• Value Analysis

• Defining, controlling, and managing interfaces
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)

System Design and Development

• Hardware and software design
• System modeling and effectiveness
• Defining and managing system performance parameters
• Trade-off analyses

Engineering Specialties

• Reliability
• Failure analysis
• Lifecycle cost

Configuration Management

• Managing baselines
• Physical Configuration Audits

Quality Management

• The effective use of quality standards
• Key SE standards
• Service-specific guidance
• ISO 9000
• CMMI
• Six Sigma

SE Estimation and Planning

• Effective estimation techniques
• Cost models

SE Metrics

• Leading indicators
• Technical performance measures
• Earned value

Risk Management

• Identification, assessment, mitigation, control, reporting

Technical Reviews and Audits

• Roles and responsibilities
• Review strategies and planning
• Conducting Program Management Reviews

Systems of Systems

• Technical, contractual, political challenges of large scale integration programs, family of systems, DoD guidance.