|
|
Systems Engineering at GMU
Systems Engineering is concerned with the effective design,
production, deployment, operation, maintenance, refinement, and retirement
of reliable systems within cost and time constraints. Systems Engineering
applies an appropriate combination of theories and tools, carried out
through the use of a suitable methodology and a set of system management
procedures, to address real world problems that are often of large scale
and scope. Systems engineering activities vary from requirements definition
or specification to the conceptual and functional development of systems.
Our efforts are focused on architectural concerns, on behavioral factors
as they affect the human-machine interaction and the design of decision
support systems, on system performance and evaluation, and on systems
management.
In dealing with the various phases of the system life cycle, the
systems engineer's perspective is different from that of a product engineer
or technology developer. Whereas the product engineer deals with details,
the systems engineer takes a "top down" perspective dealing with details
only as needed to guarantee successful implementation. Whereas the product
engineer deals with system internals, the systems engineer also addresses
the external view of the system through the system's interface to other
systems, users, and managers. Our educational program reflects the systems
engineer's unique perspective on the system life cycle.
GMU's educational and research program in Systems Engineering
addresses a broad range of issues relevant to the design, implementation,
analysis and management of systems. Specialization areas include Systems
Engineering Methods (SEM), Systems Management (SMG), Command, Control,
Communications, Computers, and Intelligence Systems (C4I), and Systems Engineering
of Computer-Based Systems (CBS). Research activities include both fundamental
and applied research. GMU's graduate program in Systems Engineering recognizes
the importance of balancing an education in quantitative models and engineering
tools with a proper understanding of the systems "perspective".
|
|
|