This comprehensive textbook provides a logical process for fact-based decision making for the most challenging systems problems. It is composed of three bedrock elements to improve readers' understanding and analysis of the most challenging systems problems that exist today: systems thinking, which identifies important interconnections between a system and its environment; systems engineering, which describes the activities of professional systems engineers; and, systems decision making, which provides fact-based information to support major system decisions made at every life cycle stage.

Table of Contents:
Foreword. Preface. Thoughts for Instructors. Contributors. Acknowledgments. Acronyms. 1. Introduction (Gregory S. Parnell and Patrick J. Driscoll). 1.1 Purpose. 1.2 System. 1.3 Stakeholders. 1.4 System Life Cycle. 1.5 Systems Thinking. 1.6 Systems Engineering Thought Process. 1.7 Systems Engineering. 1.8 Engineering Management. 1.9 Systems Decision Process. 1.10 Overview. 1.11 Exercises. References. Part I: System Thinking. 2. Systems Thinking (Patrick J. Driscoll). 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Structure. 2.3 Classification. 2.4 Boundaries. 2.5 Visibility. 2.6 IDEFphi Models. 2.7 Mathematical Structure. 2.8 Spatial Arrangement. 2.9 Evolution. 2.10 Summary. 2.11 Exercises. References. 3. System Life Cycle (Patrick J. Driscoll). 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 System Life Cycle Model. 3.3 Other Major System Life Cycle Models. 3.4 Risk Analysis in the System Life Cycle. 3.5 Summary. 3.6 Exercises. References. 4. Systems Modeling and Analysis (Paul D. West, John E. Kobza, and Simon R. Goerger) 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Developing System Measures. 4.3 Modeling the System Design. 4.4 The Modeling Process - How We Build Models. 4.5 The Model Toolbox: Types of Models,Their Characteristics, and Uses. 4.6 Simulation Modeling . 4.7 Determining Required Sample Size. 4.8 Summary. 4.9 Exercises. References. 5. Life Cycle Costing (Edward Pohl and Heather Nachtmann). 5.1 Introduction to Life Cycle Costing. 5.2 Introduction to Cost Estimating Techniques. 5.3 Cost Estimation Techniques. 5.4 System Cost for Systems Decision Making. 5.5 Risk and Uncertainty in Cost Estimation. 5.6 Summary. 5.7 Exercises. References, Part II: Systems Engineering. 6. Introduction to Systems Engineering (Gregory S. Parnell). 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Definition of System. 6.3 Brief History of Systems Engineering. 6.4 Systems Trends that Challenge System Engineers. 6.5 Three Fundamental Tasks of Systems Engineers. 6.6 Relationship of Systems Engineers to Other Engineering Disciplines. 6.7 Education and Training of Systems Engineers. 6.8 Exercises. References. 7. Systems Engineering In Professional Practice (Roger C. Burk). 7.1 The Systems Engineer in the Engineering Organization. 7.2 Systems Engineering Activities. 7.3 The Systems Engineer and Others. 7.4 Building an Interdisciplinary Team. 7.5 Systems Engineering Responsibilities. 7.6 Roles of the System Engineer. 7.7 Characteristics of the Ideal Systems Engineer. 7.8 Summary. 7.9 Exercises. References. 8. System Effectiveness (Edward Pohl). 8.1 Introduction to System Effectiveness. 8.2 Reliability Modeling. 8.3 Mathematical Models in Reliability. 8.4 Basic System Models. 8.5 Component Reliability Importance Measures. 8.6 Reliability Allocation and Improvement. 8.7 Markov Models of Repairable Systems. 8.8 Exercises. References. Part III: Systems Decision Making. 9. Systems Decision Process Overview (Gregory S. Parnell and Paul D. West). 9.1 Introduction. 9.2 Value-Focused Versus Alternative-Focused Thinking. 9.3 Decision Quality. 9.4 Systems Decision Process. 9.5 Role of Stakeholders. 9.6 Role of Decision Makers. 9.7 Environment. 9.8 Comparison with Other Processes. 9.9 When to Use the Systems Decision Process. 9.10 Tailoring the Systems Decision Process to the Systems Engineering Project. 9.11 Example of Use of the Systems Decision Process. 9.12 Illustrative Example: Systems Engineering Curriculum Management System (CMS)-Summary and Introduction. 9.13 Exercises. References. 10. Problem Definition (Timothy Trainor and Gregory S. Parnell). 10.1 Introduction. 10.2 Stakeholder Analysis. 10.3 Functional Analysis. 10.4 Value Modeling. 10.5 Output of the Problem Definition Phase: Problem Statement, Screening Criteria, and Value Model. 10.6 Illustrative Example: Systems Engineering Curriculum Management System (CMS)-Problem Definition. 10.7 Exercises. References. 11. Solution Design (Paul D. West). 11.1 Introduction to Solution Design. 11.2 Survey of Idea Generation Techniques. 11.3 Turning Ideas into Alternatives. 11.4 Enhancing Solution Candidates. 11.5 Summary. 11.6 Illustrative Example: Systems Engineering Curriculum Management System (CMS)-Solution Design. 11.7 Exercises. References. 12. Decision Making (Michael J. Kwinn, Jr. and Gregory S. Parnell). 12.1 Introduction. 12.2 Preparing to Score Candidate Solutions. 12.3 Four Scoring Methods. 12.4 Score Candidate Solutions or Candidate Components. 12.5 Conduct Sensitivity Analysis. 12.6 Use Value-Focused Thinking to Improve Solutions. 12.7 Conduct Cost Analysis. 12.8 Conduct Cost/Benefit Analysis. 12.9 Prepare Recommendation Report and Presentation. 12.10 Prepare for Solution Implementation. 12.11 Illustrative Example: Systems Engineering Curriculum Management System (CMS)-Decision Making. 12.12 Exercises. References. 13. Solution Implementation (Robert Powell). 13.1 Introduction. 13.2 The Solution Implementation Phase. 13.3 Planning for Action: The Work Breakdown Structure. 13.4 System Performance Measurement. 13.5 Solution Implementation Strategy. 13.6 Implementation for the "Produce the System" Life Cycle Stage. 13.7 Implementation for the "Deploy the System" Life Cycle Stage. 13.8 Implementation in the "Operate the System" Life Cycle Stage. 13.9 Summary. 13.10 Illustrative Example: Systems Engineering Curriculum Management System (CMS)-Implementation. 13.11 Exercises. References. 14. Summary (Gregory S. Parnell). 14.1 Systems Thinking is the Key to Systems Engineering. 14.2 Systems Engineers Play a Critical Role in the System Life Cycle. 14.3 A Systems Decision Process is Required for Complex. 14.4 Systems Engineering will Become More Challenging. Index.