Some Early History of Systems Engineering - 1950's in IRE Publications (Part 1):The Problem

摘要

This paper is part 1 of the first stage in a project investigating the early history of systems engineering. Many current texts refer to the post World War II era as the origin of systems engineering as a means to overcome the problems of systems development projects that failed to deliver satisfactory product systems according to budget and schedule. The present paper investigates primary sources from the 1950's period to develop an understanding of the concerns present in the engineering community when systems engineering is said to have emerged in order to develop an understanding of the objectives and issues of concern addressed. The sources have been investigated from the perspective of the evidence that they provide concerning the reasons why systems engineering emerged with the characteristics that it developed.