The Systems Engineering Research Center is the first DoD University Affiliated Research Center focused on Systems Engineering Research in the United States.

 

What is the mission of the Systems Engineering Research Center?

The mission of the Systems Engineering Research Center is to enhance and enable the Department of Defense’s (DoD) capability in Systems Engineering for the successful development, integration, testing and sustainability of complex defense systems, services and enterprises. 

 

Who is the primary sponsor for SERC?

SERC is a designated University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) supported by the Department of Defense. The DoD provides oversight and multi-year base funding for SERC.

 

How does SERC serve the DoD?

The Systems Engineering Research Center will operate as the systems engineering research engine for the DoD.  SERC will be responsible for identifying, evaluating, creating and integrating methods, and processes and tools that support effective systems engineering practice in the acquisition of weapons platforms, major defense systems, systems of systems, network-centric systems, and enterprise systems.

 

What are the core competencies of the SERC?

The SERC will provide the following core competencies addressing advanced research, innovative methods, processes, tools, and technology, and concept prototype and development in the following areas:

 

Conduct long-term, comprehensive systems engineering research focused on DoD acquisition including:

• Systems Engineering (SE) methods, processes, and tools (MPTs) to enable integrated development and management of requirements, design, interfaces, verification and validation, technical baselines, and risk
• Exploration of new ways of linking requirements to design
• SE MPTs to fully leverage modeling and simulation advances including the use of formal languages (e.g., XML, SAML) and modeling techniques (e.g., UML, SysML) to capture and document requirements along with other program artifacts and to support design trade studies
• Linkage of technical baselines to architectures
• Application of SE to acquisition of services

Leverage developments in systems architecting, complex systems theory, systems thinking, systems science, knowledge management, and software engineering to perform research to advance the design and development of complex systems across all DoD domains, including:

• System and open systems architecture practices and systems analysis
• Systems Engineering in complex systems of systems and family of systems environments
• Enterprise systems engineering
• Software-unique extensions and modern software development techniques and how they relate to SE
• Flexible SE environments to support complex software systems and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software integration
• Knowledge management SE repositories
• Undergraduate/graduate SE education needs
• Leverage developments in open systems standards, organizational theory, program management, systems engineering management, and information technology to provide needed integration of program / technical management MPTs including:
• Integrating technical performance measures (TPM) with earned value management (EVM)
• Role of maturity reviews in SE planning – technology, manufacturing, and software, and their integration
• Systems engineering team structures, communication mechanisms, internal and external collaboration, and other mechanisms for continuous process improvement
• Improved SE information sharing across the enterprise, program, and engineering team using technologies such as wikis, blogs, portals, search engines, etc.
• Rationale and way ahead for standards harmonization
• Consideration of tool sets throughout the system life cycle
• Analyzing SE costs, cost accounts, and return on investment (ROI)
• SE metrics and use of leading indicators to track/forecast program success

Under what type of contract does SERC operate?

Stevens Institute of Technology was awarded under a 10 USC 2304(c)(3) (B) five-year renewable IDIQ task order contract, with the University of Southern California (USC) serving as its principal collaborator.

 

How will SERC receive tasking from the DoD?

The DoD has established a government Program Management Office to oversee the SERC. The Program Management Office will provide Technical Task Orders to which the SERC will respond.

 

What role does SERC play in regards to Systems Engineering (SE) education?

SERC will develop and enhance SE skills and competencies in the DoD and its supporting community of contractors through education programs and workshops, and by transferring its research results to degree granting SE programs.

Which universities are involved in the SERC? 

SERC is a collaborative research center comprised of 20 collaborator schools and research organizations led by Stevens Institute of Technology.  Collectively, the SERC collaborators are unparalleled in the depth and breath, leadership and citizenship in Systems Engineering research.  SERC collaborators include:

                                        

Who is responsible for managing and operating SERC?

SERC is managed by Stevens Institute of Technology, with principal collaboration by the University of Southern California. Its executive leaders are:

 

Deputy Executive Director: Dr. Arthur Pyster, Distinguished Research Professor, School of Systems and Enterprises at Stevens

 

Director of Research: Dr. Barry Boehm, Director of the University of Southern California (USC) Center for Systems and Software Engineering and TRW Professor of Software Engineering

 

Business Manager: Ms. Doris Schultz, Director of Procurement, Stevens Institute of Technology

 

How do the collaborators interact with Stevens?

Each collaborator is a subcontractor to Stevens. Each collaborator has named a lead senior researcher, who is the primary technical contact between the collaborator school of research center, and Stevens.  The lead senior researcher will help identify faculty to perform research and will be responsible for the overall technical performance by the collaborator school or research center.