The way we engineer systems has to change if we are to make cost-effective use of many of the products and new technologies in the marketplace. These changes must address the relationship between system requirements definition, allocation of requirements to software, and selection of software technologies and off-the-shelf software packages. At the same time, we do not want to lose the benefit of the many lessons we have learned, the hard way, over the last 20-30 years about how to engineer systems that work and are supportable through their needed lifespans.

This talk discusses the impact of new technologies and the software marketplace on how systems engineering can and should be done. Classical systems engineering first understands customer's needs, and then translates these into system requirements, which are then allocated to hardware and software for design and implementation. However, COTS packages often offer much of the needed functionality at a small fraction of the cost of new development, but may include no easy way to add the remaining functionality needed. So the largest challenge of systems engineering so COTS can be used cost-effectively is how to define customer needs and system requirements so that available COTS packages can effectively be used in the system solution. Effective approaches change both systems engineering processes and the relationship between the systems builder and the customers, as well as the relationship between systems engineering and software engineering.

This session shares observations on the current state of the practice, as well as hard-learned lessons about what can work in the real world. In addition, participants will be asked to do exercises which give them a chance to make hands-on decisions of the type facing systems engineers today, with results illustrating the impacts on software engineering. (These exercises have no right or wrong answers, just a variety of possible consequences of the various choices). Participants should gain an appreciation of the key choices companies face today in how to approach systems engineering, and the circumstances under which they should choose specific alternatives.

Biography: Dorothy McKinney is currently employed by the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space company as Mission Success Director for Ground Systems and Software. Previously, Dorothy worked at Lockheed Martin headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland as Director of Technical Operations and Processes in the Information & Services Sector. This assignment followed one as Director of Software and Systems Processes in Lockheed Martin's C3I & Systems Integration Sector (formerly Loral corporate). Dorothy began working for Lockheed Martin heritage companies in November, 1979. Her past assignments include helping to rescue a very large air traffic control program at Air Traffic Management in Rockville, Maryland. She started in the corporation as a systems engineer, later serving as Manager of Software Engineering, Director of Systems Engineering, and Executive Director of Engineering at Space and Range Systems in Sunnyvale, California. From 1985 to 1994, Dorothy was also an Adjunct Professor in the graduate Engineering program at San Jose State University, teaching such subjects as Engineering Management and Software Project Management. Other industry experience included three years at ARGO Systems (a Boeing subsidiary), and nine years at SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute). Dorothy has an M.S. in Computer Engineering from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University. Dorothy is active in the International Council On System Engineering (INCOSE); has chaired national working groups and a technical committee, developed a train-the-trainer tutorial for the 1994 Symposium, delivering tutorials to INCOSE chapters around the U.S., and participated in panels at INCOSE Symposia. She is now President-elect of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter.

Coordinator: Rick Hefner, TRW, rick.hefner@trw.com

UCI Maps and Directions to meeting are available.

Next Meeting:

Date: Friday, September 25, 1998
Topic: Software Process Culture Influences and Enablers
Speakers: Jane Moon, Raytheon Systems Company
                  Paul Dickerson, Motorola
Coordinator: George W. O'Mary, The Boeing Company,
                      george.w.o'mary@boeing.com

The Irvine Research Unit in Software wishes to thank its corporate sponsors:

Sustaining:

The Boeing Company * Boeing North American, Inc. * Microsoft Corporation
Northrop Grumman Corporation * Raytheon Company * Sun Microsystems Laboratories * TRW

Supporting:

Beckman Coulter * FileNet Corporation * Printronix, Inc.*

Continuus Software Corporation * Hewlett Packard

For further information on SPIN or IRUS,