The derivation of a theory of systems engineering has long been complicated by the  
fact that there is little consensus within the systems engineering community regarding  
precisely what systems engineering is, what systems engineers do, and what might con-  
stitute reasonable systems engineering practices. To date, attempts at theories fail to  
accommodate even a sizable fraction of the current systems engineering community, and  
they fail to present a test of validity of systems theories, analytical methods, procedures  
or practices. This paper presents a more theoretical and more abstract approach to the  
derivation of a theory of systems engineering that has the potential to accommodate a  
wide cross-section of the systems engineering community, present a validity test and  
touch upon every aspect of the eld. It is based on the simple preference statement:  
"I want the best system I can get." From this statement, it is argued that a very rich  
theory can be obtained. Whereas most engineering disciplines are framed around a core  
set of widely accepted physical laws, to the authors' knowledge, this is the rst attempt  
to frame an engineering discipline explicitly around a preference.


Toward a Theory of Systems Engineering

Division / Sponsors: 
Design Engineering Division and Computers & Information In Engineering Division


Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/IDETC-CIE/IDETC-CIE2020/volume/83907

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