What you need to know about SYSMOD
SYSMOD by Tim Weilkiens sees itself as a „toolbox for pragmatic, model-based systems engineering.“
Five trends in systems engineering
The Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey has a beautiful view of the New York skyline. It also has a program in Systems Engineering. There is a white paper from Stevens Institute of Technology on the Five Trends Transforming Systems Engineering, which I comment on below: 1. Systems Engineering is becoming a career path for...
Can Germany keep up in systems engineering?
Germany is worried: Digital Agenda, Industry 4.0 - all the buzzwords are buzzing around, but will Germany be able to keep up with the rapid pace of development? While Google, Apple and Tessla are developing new cars, VW is grappling with the emissions scandal. While Tessla relies on open source, German board members are worried that their knowledge could be stolen. And...
Review: Just Enough Systems Engineering
Summary: This relatively short, free eBook explains in an entertaining way what system development actually is. Using everyday examples such as a pantry or watering can, it explains what architecture is, what design is, why traceability is important and how to test. And most importantly, how to deal with people. Update 2025: Even 15 years later, I still think...
Agile system development, ca. 1973
Everyone has been talking about agile development for a few years now. This surprises me, because agility is nothing new, not even in system development. This is documented in the INCOSE SE Handbook, which quotes Wilton Perry Chase's 1974 book Management of System Engineering: "Chase identified three simple criteria (...):...
What is PolarSys?
PolarSys is two things: an "Eclipse Industry Working Group", i.e. a working group at the Eclipse Foundation, membership of which is subject to a fee. A collection of tools for use in system development, which is managed by the aforementioned group. Behind the Industry Working Group (IWG) are industrial heavyweights such as Thales, Airbus and Ericsson. These have been using...
Systems Engineering at the EclipseCon Europe 2015
Eclipse - traditionally better known for Java development - has been trying to get a foothold in systems development for several years now. There was plenty of evidence of this at EclipseCon Europe this year, and my own talk, openETCS - Eclipse in the Rail Domain, was also about this topic. Not only in...
Artificial intelligence and systems engineering
Self-driving cars need artificial intelligence (AI), and after several vehicle manufacturers have already followed Google and developed self-driving cars, Toyota has now also joined this group. One problem I see with regard to SE is that the system should be deterministic, especially with embedded systems: Given the same input, the same output should come. That should...
What is Systems Engineering? (Updated in 2025)
Systems engineering is an approach to developing and realizing complex technical systems in large projects.
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About SE-Trends & Michael Jastram (2025 Update)
Dr. Michael Jastram is the founder and publisher of SE-Trends, the German-language blog on systems engineering.
About Michael Jastram
I came to system development via requirements management, which is a sub-discipline of system development, and a very important one at that. You can reach me in many ways >> I worked for several years as a consultant for the HOOD Group in the field of requirements management and got to know this discipline in practice at companies such as Volkswagen Hella and Continental....
