Yes systems engineering, you are a discipline

Abstract

Systems engineering is currently characterized by conflicting and contradictory opinions on its nature. The paper begins by describing the evolution of systems engineering in the National Council on Systems Engineering (NCOSE)/ International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) and the difficulty in defining and differentiating systems engineering as a discipline. The paper then identifies and discusses six different and somewhat contradictory camps or perspectives of systems engineering. After identifying the cause of the contradictions the paper suggests one way to reconcile the camps is to dissolve the problem to distinguish between the activity known as systems engineering and the role of the systems engineer with a return to the old pre-NCOSE systems engineering paradigm. The paper then continues by testing the hypothesis and shows that systems engineering is a discipline that can be differentiated from other disciplines. However, it is not a traditional engineering discipline. © 2012 by J. Kasser and D. Hitchins.