A brief history of Systems Engineering
It may be argued that Systems Engineering has been employed ever since mankind started building and developing complex systems. It could also be said that the pyramids in ancient Egypt are examples of complex systems, along with simple stone structures, such as henges, which may actually form part of a larger astrological system. Furthermore, mankind has observed complex systems such as the Solar System since the ancient Greeks first observed the motion of the planets and created the model of the geocentric universe.
In more recent times, the term Systems Engineering may be traced back to the early part of the 20th century in Bell Laboratories in the USA (Fagen, 1978). Examples of Systems Engineering may be observed in the Second World War, and the first attempt to teach Systems Engineering is claimed to have been in 1950 at MIT (Hall, 1962).
The 1960s saw the formulation of the field of study known as systems theory, which was first postulated by Ludwig von Bertalanffy (Bertalanffy, 1968) as “general systems theory.”
The main tenet of systems theory is that it is a conceptual framework based on the principle that the component parts of a system can best be understood in the context of the relationships with each other and with other systems, rather than in isolation (Wilkinson, 2011). This is essential for all Systems Engineering as it means that elements in a System, or the systems themselves, are never considered by themselves but in relation to other elements or systems.
As systems became more complex, the need for a new approach to developing systems became more prevalent. Throughout the latter part of the 20th century, this need grew until it reached the point, in 1990, at which the National Council on Systems Engineering (NCOSE) was founded in the USA. Since then, this organization has evolved into the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), founded in 1995, which is the world’s foremost authority on Systems Engineering and has over 70 chapters throughout the world.
Today, as the Complexity of the world that we live in and the systems that are being developed are increasing at an ever-expanding rate, there is an increased need for approaches that are rigorous and robust and can cope with these high levels of Complexity. Systems Engineering is such an approach.