The Roles of Systems Engineers Revisited

Abstract

AbstractSystems engineers sometimes have a bit of an identity crisis. As a multidisciplinary approach, systems engineering overlaps with other disciplines and this can make it difficult to differentiate between what systems engineering “is” and “is not”. Using Sheard's 1996 work on systems engineering roles as a starting point, in 2014 the Helix project began examining the activities systems engineers reported performing in a combination of detailed resumes (or curriculum vitae) and in‐depth interviews. After reviewing the data from nearly 300 systems engineers, leaders and managers of systems engineers, and close peers of systems engineers, the Helix team has updated these roles and developed a structure for thinking about the major types of roles systems engineers play based on the focus of activities: on the system, the organization, or the team. There are now 15 roles, some of which have been modified from Sheard's original 12.