A DoD-Centric Guide To Systems Engineering

The DoD systems engineering process is a collection of technical management processes and technical processes applied through the acquisition lifecycle. The term “systems engineering” was first coined in the early 1940s, and DoD began practicing the concept later that decade with the initial development of missiles and missile-defense systems. Systems engineering started gaining momentum following World War II. Because of its role in acquiring and developing large-scale, complex systems, DoD led the way in codifying the fledgling discipline by developing and releasing the first systems engineering standard in 1969. The principles in that baseline military standard (and later revisions) are still valid. Efforts aimed at revitalizing systems engineering have retained those aspects of the discipline that have proven successful in developing complex systems in the past in a framework that has evolved over time.