| Examining the Necessity
and Benefits of Systems Engineering in the Trenches
March 2000
Gregory G. Chapin, The MITRE Corporation
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the necessity and benefits of systems engineering
in the trenches. Planner, orchestrator, negotiator, relationship builder,
and communicator are key roles for a systems engineer to take in the
trenches. The systems engineering approaches used and roles taken to
provide technical and business process engineering solutions required
to implement collaboration that operators used successfully to coordinate
and approve fixed targets during the Operation Allied Force air campaign
are documented. System objectives were: modify the existing process,
leveraging collaboration to improve the effectiveness of information
processes; improve product quality; and benefit federated efforts by
geographically separated partners. This systems engineering effort took
place at the United States European Command (USEUCOM) from February
1998 to June 1999 and continues as of this publication. USEUCOM targets
community representatives estimate that using collaboration decreased
target approval time from 2-4 days to 2-3 hours. Participants indicated
collaboration improved process efficiencies, product quality, and synchronization.
The success increased interest in and expansion of collaboration within
the intelligence and operations communities, including expansion to
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Clearly, the results
and impact on mission effectiveness indicate systems engineering in
the trenches is both necessary and beneficial.
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