An integrated process model for systems engineering-based development at small commercial enterprises

Systems Engineering (SE) is a well-established international discipline in application areas such as the defense, space and aerospace industries, Government agencies and organizations that serve those domains. Popular history places its genesis just prior to World War II, with significant growth in post-war activities, through the latter half of the twentieth century and into present day.;Research shows that SE provides positive benefits for ensuring the successful development of complex engineered systems. Research shows that perhaps the most significant threat to project success typically relates to requirements that were not correctly determined and defined at the outset or were not well managed as the project progressed. The related disciplines of Requirements Analysis, Management and Traceability are core Systems Engineering processes that begin at the start of a project, continue until project termination and mitigate that risk to project success.;If a "standard" enterprise can be defined as one that practices "Systems Engineering in the large" for a customer such as the US Department of Defense, this research is decidedly aimed at a "non-standard" small commercial enterprise, which can be thought of as a small company producing complex engineered systems. The primary goal of this research is to describe how traditional SE processes can be directly applied to the small commercial enterprise. This is accomplished through the execution of four (4) research objectives.;Research Objective No. 1 identifies, reviews and characterizes current significant SE process standards from both individual and group perspectives. Objective No. 2 defines a target "small commercial enterprise" and its anticipated SE process element needs. Objective No. 3 synthesizes Readiness Transformation ideas from industry and Lean perspectives to define a Systems Engineering Organizational Readiness Transformation Assessment Criteria that can be used to assess whether a small commercial enterprise is ready to move forward with a process improvement transformation. A supporting Questionnaire is also defined.;Objective No. 4 documents a Hybrid Process Model for System Development. This Hybrid Process Model defines those key Systems Engineering-related elements judged to be essential to optimal development of a complex system and of highest value to a small commercial enterprise.