Effectiveness is a measure of the extent to which a system is successful in meeting its objectives or fulfilling its purpose. It is the highest technical parameter(s) associated with a system. A Measure Of Effectiveness (MOE) is a quantifiable parameter associated with effectiveness.
Introduction
Factors Contributing to Effectiveness
Examples of Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs)
The importance of effectiveness
The Quantification of Effectiveness
In an engineering sense Efficiency is often concerned with usage of energy. In a software context a piece of code is termed efficient if it minimises in some way memory and/or processor usage to do a given job. In a management sense efficiency is a measure of how well a given set of resources, usually people, are being used.
There is a difference in emphasis between efficiency and effectiveness. Persons concerned with efficiency tend to focus on identifying where there is waste in existing processes and on how what is being done can be done better. People concerned with effectiveness focus on asking whether the right things are being done and whether or not something completely different should be being done.
Introduction
Examples of inefficiencies and possibly inappropriate solutions
EMC is a specialist systems engineering topic concerned with the potential for electromagnetic interference (EMI) with, within, or between equipments/systems, or the threat to equipments from an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP).
The potential for EMI arises whenever there is an electromagnetic signal, as for example there is whenever current flows, be this within a man-made equipment or occurring naturally (such as lightning). It arises because electromagnetic signals interfere with one another.
Introduction
Examples of Potential Sources of EMI
Examples of Design Guidelines
Enhancement Potential relates to the need to consider future enhancements to a system during the initial system design. Most systems would benefit from being improved during their life, and for some systems if this is not done they will become obsolete long before originally intended.
The ease and cost with which enhancements can be done is to a large extent determined by the system's original design, and whether or not their is willingness to spend a little more up front to provide lower cost and more effective systems through life.
Introduction
Reasons for building in enhancement potential
Identifying the Enhancement Requirement
Design for Enhancement
Responsibilities for Design for Enhancement
In its most general sense the environment of a system or process is those things about which the system or process has no control. The principle characteristics of the environment are:
Whilst we may not be able to do much about the environment itself, if we fail to adequately understand it and take it into account in the system design then the system will perform below expectations, and maybe even not at all.
Introduction
Physical Environmental Features
More General Use of term Environment
Design For Environment
Design for Shock
Examples of Potential Build up of Problems in Harsh Environment
Features to help survive harsh environments
Internal Contributions to Environment
Management of Design for Environment
Acceptance against Environmental Requirements
An evolutionary design is one deliberately based upon a design that already exists, but with improvements arising from taking account of experience with the system, and taking advantages of new technologies and components where they are well proven. In truth most designs are evolutionary, but because this is not explicitly recognised they are not formally managed as such.
The power of evolutionary design should not be overlooked. Almost everything we see around us, including ourselves, is the result of evolutionary design. It does not take very many relatively small changes to achieve what would be almost unrecognisable as a few generations from a predecessor. It is not necessary to radically change a design in order to gain significant performance improvements.
Introduction
Benefits of Evolutionary Design
Disadvantages of Evolutionary Design
Features of an Evolutionary Design Process
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Systems engineering and project management processes are and should be tailored in particular ways to different types of systems, noting that:
Differentiating between these two concerns requires an understanding of the key concerns for different types of systems, which is what this chapter is about.
Introduction
Aircraft - Generally
Military Fighter Aircraft
Commercial Aircraft
Miscellaneous Aircraft
Missiles
Unmanned and Manned Spacecraft
Ships
Submarines
Land Vehicles in General
Military Land Vehicles
Commercial Land Vehicles, eg. Cars
Telecommunication Systems
Software Systems
Commonality between different types of 'mobile' systems
Bridges