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Overview

The Systems Engineering Project is the capstone experience designed to demonstrate mastery of Systems Thinking and Systems Engineering principles learned throughout the MSSE program. This team project spans two consecutive semesters:

• SE 6500 – Systems Engineering Project Overview & CONOPS
• SE 6510 – Systems Engineering Project Engineering Development and Advanced Development LCM phases

Important:

• SE 6500 must be completed prior to starting SE 6510 (cannot be taken concurrently).
• No more than 3 credits of foundational courses may be completed concurrently with SE 6500
• No more than 6 credits of electives may be taken during the SE 6500/6510 series.
• Note, taking electives during the senior series could necessitate additional preparation and study.

• Required Textbooks
  • Systems Engineering Principles and Practice 3rd Edition, Kossiakoff
  • Latest released version of INCOSE Handbook
  • MITRE Systems Engineering Guide SEG MITRE SEG
  • PMBOK
  • Systems Engineering and Analysis (Prentice Hall International 5th Edition), Blanchard
  • Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter) by Garr Reynolds
• Project Scope & Requirements

  Project Categories

  Your project must fall into one of the following categories:

  Develop & Design: Applying systems engineering methods to create and design a new complex system. Continuous Improvement: Evaluating and recommending improvements to an existing complex system.

   

  Address relevant system characteristics such as safety, scalability, reliability, and supportability.

  Advisors may request optional deliverables such as test planning, cost analysis, modeling, interfaces, and quality reports.

  • Conceptual Design Report (CDR)
  • Trade Study (TS)
  • Risk Management Report (RMR)
  • System Specification (A-Spec) (as needed)
  • Final Report (FR)
  • Oral Presentation (OP)
     

  
  Clearly defining your category is essential, as it sets expectations and required deliverables.

  Required Project Components

  Core deliverables include:

  Requirements Analysis Report (RAR) / Concept of Operations (CONOPS) Functional Analysis Report (FAR) (as needed)
• Selecting Your Project

  Project Selection Criteria

  Projects should address complex, interdisciplinary systems, and can be connected to your professional role, community, or personal innovation. Selection criteria include:

  • Scope: Involve multiple subsystems and interdisciplinary solutions.
  • Domain Knowledge: Leverage your professional expertise.
  • Demonstrable Need: Clearly valuable to stakeholders beyond personal interest.
  • Feasibility: Realistically achievable within the project timeline.
  • System Focus: Must require comprehensive systems engineering application.
     

  Avoid common pitfalls such as overly simple projects, excessively ambitious goals, purely software solutions, or simple integrations of off-the-shelf components.

• Faculty Guidance & Support

  Project Selection Criteria

  Faculty Advisors and Industry Mentors

  • Each student receives guidance from a dedicated faculty advisor and possibly an industry mentor.
  • Advisors provide iterative feedback throughout the project.
• Grading Rubric

  The grading rubric is defined as per the syllabus and faculty member upon start of the
  series. The series uses the INCOSE as the foundation for grading.

• Examples Projects
  • Research of DoD data strategies and the Zero Trust Framework
  • Saving the Great Salt Lake
  • Utilizing CDC data for better allocation of medical resources and aid in moving to a preventative healthcare system instead of a reactive healthcare system
  • Maintenance Analysis of Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT)
  • Big Cottonwood Canyon Advanced Canyon Access Transportation System
  • Development of Missile Protection System For Thermal and Lightning 
  • Environmental Threats

   

• General Software, Hardware, and Presentation requirements

  • Canvas is the primary tool for project management and submissions
  • Working webcam and microphone are required for virtual presentations
  • Access to tools needed for Model-Based and executable artifacts