Systems engineering process standardization and cultural diversity

Systems engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the development of large complex systems, managing both the design processes and the design of the systems. As such systems engineering has both a technical and a managerial focus. SE originated during the 1950s as a means to address the problems presented by large and consequently high risk US government acquisitions. The approaches described in the 1950s were largely broad guidelines for the approach to engineering projects. In later decades an approach to systems engineering which codified the processes through the use of detailed standards such as MIL-STD-499 became prevalent. These standards codified process for the execution of projects from a set of assumptions valid in the community which wrote the standards. The success of SE methodology in the US in improving the probability of project success has led people in other countries, with quite different cultures to apply the process centric SE standards in the hope of improving outcomes. This paper explores some specific matters related to Chinese culture to illustrate limitations in the use of copying process centric standards from one context to another, and explores means by which the field of concern oriented approach of the ISO15288 SE standard can enable development of appropriate SE methodology in diverse cultures and to enable cooperation in projects involving teaming across cultural boundaries.