Garrett Shea - Systems engineering handbook.

S ince the initial writing of NASA/SP-6105 in 1995 and the following revision (Rev 1) in 2007, systems engineering as a discipline at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has undergone rapid and continued evolution. Changes include using Model-Based Systems Engineering to improve development and delivery of products, and accommodating updates to NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) 7123.1. Lessons learned on systems engineering were documented in reports such as those by the NASA Integrated Action Team (NIAT), the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), and the follow-on Diaz Report. Other lessons learned were garnered from the robotic missions such as Genesis and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as well as from mishaps from ground operations and the commercial space flight industry. Out of these reports came the NASA Office of the Chief Engineer (OCE) initiative to improve the overall Agency systems engineering infrastructure and capability for the efficient and effective engineering of NASA systems, to produce quality products, and to achieve mission success. This handbook update is a part of that OCE-sponsored Agency-wide systems engineering initiative.

In 1995, SP-6105 was initially published to bring the fundamental concepts and techniques of systems engineering to NASA personnel in a way that recognized the nature of NASA systems and the NASA environment. This revision (Rev 2) of SP-6105 maintains that original philosophy while updating the Agencys systems engineering body of knowledge, providing guidance for insight into current best Agency practices, and maintaining the alignment of the handbook with the Agencys systems engineering policy.

The update of this handbook continues the methodology of the previous revision: a top-down compatibility with higher level Agency policy and a bottom-up infusion of guidance from the NASA practitioners in the field. This approach provides the opportunity to obtain best practices from across NASA and bridge the information to the established NASA systems engineering processes and to communicate principles of good practice as well as alternative approaches rather than specify a particular way to accomplish a task. The result embodied in this handbook is a top-level implementation approach on the practice of systems engineering unique to NASA. Material used for updating this handbook has been drawn from many sources, including NPRs, Center systems engineering handbooks and processes, other Agency best practices, and external systems engineering textbooks and guides.

This handbook consists of six chapters: (1) an introduction, (2) a systems engineering fundamentals discussion, (3) the NASA program/project life cycles, (4) systems engineering processes to get from a concept to a design, (5) systems engineering processes to get from a design to a final product, and (6) crosscutting management processes in systems engineering. The chapters are supplemented by appendices that provide outlines, examples, and further information to illustrate topics in the chapters. The handbook makes extensive use of boxes and figures to define, refine, illustrate, and extend concepts in the chapters.

Finally, it should be noted that this handbook provides top-level guidance for good systems engineering practices; it is not intended in any way to be a directive.

NASA/SP-2016-6105 Rev2 supersedes SP-2007-6105 Rev 1 dated December, 2007.