OVERVIEW & INTRODUCTION

Overview & Introduction 

By 2035, systems engineering will adapt to meet its challenges through a wide variety of new and emerging practices. Advanced technologies such as the expanded use of artificial intelligence (including machine learning), communication technologies, and new kinds of materials will impact the nature of systems, how people interact with systems, and the way in which systems are developed. Systems engineering practices will adapt to, and will be transformed by these technologies to deal with increasing systems complexity.

  • The future of systems engineering is model-based, leveraging next generation modeling, simulation, and visualization environments powered by the global digital transformation, to specify, analyze, design, and verify systems. High fidelity models, advanced visualization, and highly integrated, multi-disciplinary simulations will allow systems engineers to evaluate and assess an order of magnitude more alternative designs more quickly and thoroughly than can be done on a single design today.

  • Artificial Intelligence, powered by large data sets and expert domain knowledge will drive major changes in systems engineering methods and tools, and within systems themselves, as algorithms are developed to assist the systems engineer be more efficient and effective to deliver solutions.

  • Data science techniques will be infused into the systems engineering practice to help make sense of large-scale data sets and assess complex systems. Further, the rapidly expanding set of data science tools will be an important part of an integrated analytic framework for systems engineering.

  • Human-systems integration practices will become essential to design smart systems that can effectively interact with humans, and account for increasing levels of systems complexity and autonomy.

  • The theoretical foundations for systems engineering will be based on established science and mathematics that characterize systems phenomena and stakeholder value, and provide the basis for systems education and evolving methods and tools.

  • Ongoing education and training of systems engineers and the infusion of systems thinking across a broad range of the engineering and management workforce will meet the demands for a growing number of systems engineers with the necessary technical and leadership competencies.

  • Systems engineering will be embraced by a greater number and broader range of small and medium enterprises and will be continually adapted to manage systems complexity while also driving incremental market value.