International Council on Systems Engineering
Encyclopedia
The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE; pronounced in-co-see) is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the advancement of systems engineering
and to raise the professional stature of systems engineers.
and engineering
to business development
. Members work together to advance their technical knowledge, exchange ideas with colleagues, and collaborate to advance systems engineering.
The organization's mission is to advance the state of the art and practice of systems engineering in industry
, academia
, and government
by promoting interdisciplinary, scalable approaches to produce technologically appropriate solutions that meet societal needs.
INCOSE is governed by a Board of Directors. Its technical activities are led by a Technical Board with oversight over thirty-nine working groups operating under seven technical committees focused on Education & Research, Modeling & Tools, Process & Improvement, SE Management, SE Initiatives, Standards, and SE Applications. It publishes periodicals, manuals and instructional materials; sponsors conference
s; develops standard
s; and works to promote education and registration of systems engineers.
at the University of California
, San Diego, California. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the apparent shortage of qualified engineer
s who could think in terms of a total system, rather than just a specific discipline. In the summer of 1990, Boeing
hosted a follow-up meeting at the Battelle Conference Center in Seattle, Washington. This meeting was attended by about 30 people, and shared similar concerns. The group adopted a charter, formed ad hoc committees to tackle the systems engineering issues, and formed the National Council on Systems Engineering (NCOSE). Harry Carlson from Lockheed
, Jerry Lake from the Defense System Management College , and Brian Mar from the University of Washington
were selected as the provisional co-chairpersons. More meetings and workshops were held in 1990 and 1991, sponsored by the Aerospace Corporation, IBM
, and TRW
.
The first NCOSE conference was held in cooperation with the American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM) in Chattanooga, Tennessee
in October 1991. Other conferences were held annually, at various locations in the United States.
In the summer of 1995, the organization officially changed its name to the International Council on Systems Engineering or INCOSE, to reflect the growing participation of professionals from ten different countries around the world. Since the 1990s INCOSE has continued to grow and by the end of 2007 "there were over six thousand members representing a broad spectrum – from student to senior practitioner, from technical engineer to program and corporate management, from science and engineering to business development".
s, corporation
s, and academic institution
s. There are three types of individual memberships: Regular, Student, and Senior.
INCOSE is organized into six geographic regions, with about 50 local chapters:
Systems engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed over the life cycle of the project. Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more...
and to raise the professional stature of systems engineers.
Overview
Founded in 1990, INCOSE has over six thousand members representing a broad spectrum – from student to senior practitioner, from technical engineer to program and corporate management, from scienceScience
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
to business development
Business development
A subset of the field of commerce, business development comprises a number of techniques and responsibilities which aim at:1. Researching new types of business/products/services with an emphasis on identifying gaps in the mitigation of needs of potential clients .2. Attracting new customers3...
. Members work together to advance their technical knowledge, exchange ideas with colleagues, and collaborate to advance systems engineering.
The organization's mission is to advance the state of the art and practice of systems engineering in industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
, academia
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
, and government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
by promoting interdisciplinary, scalable approaches to produce technologically appropriate solutions that meet societal needs.
INCOSE is governed by a Board of Directors. Its technical activities are led by a Technical Board with oversight over thirty-nine working groups operating under seven technical committees focused on Education & Research, Modeling & Tools, Process & Improvement, SE Management, SE Initiatives, Standards, and SE Applications. It publishes periodicals, manuals and instructional materials; sponsors conference
Academic conference
An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
s; develops standard
Standardization
Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards.The goals of standardization can be to help with independence of single suppliers , compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality....
s; and works to promote education and registration of systems engineers.
History
The beginnings of INCOSE may be traced back to a meeting in 1989, hosted by General DynamicsGeneral Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, San Diego, California. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the apparent shortage of qualified engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
s who could think in terms of a total system, rather than just a specific discipline. In the summer of 1990, Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
hosted a follow-up meeting at the Battelle Conference Center in Seattle, Washington. This meeting was attended by about 30 people, and shared similar concerns. The group adopted a charter, formed ad hoc committees to tackle the systems engineering issues, and formed the National Council on Systems Engineering (NCOSE). Harry Carlson from Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
, Jerry Lake from the Defense System Management College , and Brian Mar from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
were selected as the provisional co-chairpersons. More meetings and workshops were held in 1990 and 1991, sponsored by the Aerospace Corporation, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, and TRW
TRW
TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, automotive, and credit reporting. It was a pioneer in multiple fields including electronic components, integrated circuits, computers, software and systems engineering. TRW built many spacecraft,...
.
The first NCOSE conference was held in cooperation with the American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM) in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
in October 1991. Other conferences were held annually, at various locations in the United States.
In the summer of 1995, the organization officially changed its name to the International Council on Systems Engineering or INCOSE, to reflect the growing participation of professionals from ten different countries around the world. Since the 1990s INCOSE has continued to grow and by the end of 2007 "there were over six thousand members representing a broad spectrum – from student to senior practitioner, from technical engineer to program and corporate management, from science and engineering to business development".
Membership
INCOSE is open to individualIndividual
An individual is a person or any specific object or thing in a collection. Individuality is the state or quality of being an individual; a person separate from other persons and possessing his or her own needs, goals, and desires. Being self expressive...
s, corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
s, and academic institution
Academic institution
Academic institution is an educational institution dedicated to education and research, which grants academic degrees. See also academy and university.- Types of academic institutions include :...
s. There are three types of individual memberships: Regular, Student, and Senior.
INCOSE is organized into six geographic regions, with about 50 local chapters:
- Region I: Northwest North America
- Region II: Southwest United States
- Region III: Europe, Israel, South Africa, Turkey
- Region IV: Northeast North America
- Region V: South America, Central America and South Eastern United States
- Region VI: Australia, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East
Past presidents
- 2008–2009 Patrick Hale
- 2006–2007 Paul Robitaille
- 2004–2005 Heinz Stoewer
- 2002–2003 John Snoderly
- 2001 John Clouet
- 2000 Donna H. Rhodes
- 1999 Kenneth Ptack
- 1998 William Schoening
- 1997 Eric Honour
- 1996 Ginny Lentz
- 1995 James Brill
- 1994 George Friedman
- 1993 Brian Mar
- 1992 Jerome Lake
Publications and products
- INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook
- Journal of Systems Engineering
- INSIGHT newsletter
- Metrics Guidebook for Integrated Systems and Product Development
- I-pub publication database
- Systems Engineering Tools Database
Standards
INCOSE's International Council on Systems Engineering Standards Technical Committee (STC) is working to advance and harmonize systems engineering standards used worldwide. Some of the notable standards the STC has been involved with are:- ECSSEuropean Cooperation for Space StandardizationThe European Cooperation for Space Standardization , established in 1993, is an organization which works to improve standardization within the European space sector. The ECSS frequently publishes standards, to which contractors working for ESA must adhere to.-References:*- External links :* * at...
-E-10 Space Engineering - Systems Engineering Part 1B: Requirements and process, 18 Nov 2004 - ECSSEuropean Cooperation for Space StandardizationThe European Cooperation for Space Standardization , established in 1993, is an organization which works to improve standardization within the European space sector. The ECSS frequently publishes standards, to which contractors working for ESA must adhere to.-References:*- External links :* * at...
-E-10 Space Engineering - Systems Engineering Part 6A: Functional and technical specifications, 09 Jan 2004 - ECSSEuropean Cooperation for Space StandardizationThe European Cooperation for Space Standardization , established in 1993, is an organization which works to improve standardization within the European space sector. The ECSS frequently publishes standards, to which contractors working for ESA must adhere to.-References:*- External links :* * at...
-E-10 Space Engineering - Systems Engineering Part 7A: Product data exchange, 25 August 2004 - ISO/IEC 15288: 2002 - System Life Cycle Processes
- OMG Systems Modeling Language (OMG SysML), July 2006