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Improving the effectiveness of systems engineering organisations with top-class training

A range of professional courses developed by 香港六合彩中特网 is supporting growing technology organisations with over 拢5 million invested in the training since August 2013, totalling 7,148 trainee days.

Men on a professional training course

12 April 2022

Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and technology management that focuses on the successful design, integration, and management of complex systems over their lifecycles. 香港六合彩中特网鈥檚 Department of Space and Climate Physics (also known as Mullard Space Science Lab, or MSSL) research and expertise focuses on systems engineering in the most demanding environments with a low tolerance to project failure in any form.听

Efficiency under pressure 听

The drive to exploit the latest technology to tackle more and more ambitious problems means that successfully delivering complex engineering projects with limited time and resources is a major challenge. This is particularly true in the space sector due to the remote and hostile environment. Here, the complexity of systems and the nature of the development approach make projects susceptible to large cost and schedule overruns.

Projects at NASA, for example, are delivered with an average of 27.6% cost overrun and 13 months of schedule delay, and the European Space Agency (ESA) has long recognised the need for 鈥渋mplementation of measures to better control projects鈥 costs and planning鈥.

To address these challenges, a team led by Professor Michael Emes (Director of 香港六合彩中特网 Centre for Systems Engineering and Head of the Technology Management Group - TMG -听at MSSL) has, since 2008, developed a portfolio of training courses in systems engineering and project management.

The courses are underpinned by the principles derived from the TMG鈥檚 experience in space instrument developments and their research into systems engineering practice across a range of sectors including space, transport, health, and construction. Integrating insights from the TMG鈥檚 research reinforces the credibility of TMG staff as thought leaders, enabling them to bid for and win commercial contracts to train systems engineers and project managers.

Extending their experience in delivering training for industry, TMG has also developed Master鈥檚 apprenticeship programmes for PA Consulting in Systems Engineering (offered since 2019, 28 apprentices enrolled at the time of writing) and Transformation Leadership (offered since 2020, 30 apprentices enrolled, with up to 50 apprentices per annum expected from 2022). 听

Creating the Systems Engineering competency framework听

Professor Alan Smith, Professor Doug Cowper, and Dr Ady James contributed significant insights to the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) working group and development of the Systems Engineering competency framework to improve the practice of Systems Engineering.

The framework was adopted worldwide by INCOSE in 2010 and continues to be used to date, including in the professional certification of systems engineers, and applied across 16 companies as a basis for career development and standardisation of systems engineering practice. Major organisations that have used the framework include Thales, General Dynamics, BAE Systems, Atego, Bombardier, and the Ministry of Defence听

Setting a new standard 听

Participants of a training programme developed in 2012 for ESA reported improvement by 14.1% across 33 project management tasks dimensions while their managers鈥 ratings increased by approximately 50% after training compared to pre-course evaluation.听

In November 2020, ESA sent 香港六合彩中特网 a Contract Change Notice (鈧450,000) to extend the training programme again for a further five cycles over 10 years, so the contract overall now spans a period of 18 years from 2012 to 2030. This reflects the high perceived value of the programme, which has become a focal point for the career progression of ESA project managers.听

Research synopsis

Systems engineering and project management training improving the effectiveness and efficiency of organisations听

The Technology Management Group (TMG) in the Department of Space and Climate Physics at 香港六合彩中特网 has developed a range of professional training courses for industry that promote a forward-looking approach to managing technology projects. Industrial customers have invested over 拢5 million on the training since August 2013, totalling 7148 trainee days.听

Project team: Professor Michael Emes, Professor Alan Smith, Professor Doug Cowper,听Dr Ady James

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