Is an Engineer responsible?

You can look at practically any part of anything man made around you and think "... some engineer was frustrated while designing this ... " It's a little human connection. —Randall Munroe

(original comic from http://xkcd.com/277/)

What's saves more energy? Hummer vs Prius

Trade Studies

Another tool in the engineer tool belt is the trade study. Need a decision among many alternatives? Do a trade study. The hardest part, what criteria to use. For instance, looking for the best car for the environment? Well you want to look a gas mileage, fuel used, and emissions emitted. But here's a trade study which took a more holistic view by taking into account the environmental impact of the cars production and most importantly, DISPOSAL. The winner: The Hummer. Controversial but true. Trade Studies, specially a 479 page report, can't lie. Can it?

How would you test the world's first Electronic Calculator

Here's a great NPR report on the creation of the first handheld calculator about 40 years ago. It was marvel for its time: It could perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Input was with a small keyboard with 18 keys and a visual output that displayed up to 12 decimal digits using a thermal printhead and paper tape.

The First Handheld CalculatorIn 1967, Texas Instruments introduced the first
handheld calculator. The opened unit in
 the picture shows the paper tape used as output. 

As you listen to this report you'll notice the engineer Jerry Merryman was concerned about how to test this brand new innovation at the time. The solution was to create a Simulator which could show how the circuitry would react to inputs. This simulator was many times bigger then the final device but it was a necessary step in proving the design.

As you start planning a new project, testing and verification has to be taken into account, not only technically, but from a fiscal and schedule standpoint as well . It takes time and money and can not be ignored. It's considered a key Systems Engineering Process Activity with in INCOSE's Systems Engineering Handbook vs 3

9.6 Modeling, Simulation, and Prototyping

Modeling, simulation, and prototyping used during architecture design can significantly reduce the risk of failure in the finished system. These techniques enable the development of complex and costly enabling systems, such as a flight simulator or a high-volume production line, which allow validation of the system’s concepts, or supports training of personnel in ways that would otherwise be cost prohibitive. Systems engineers use modeling and simulation on large complex projects to manage the risk of failure to meet system mission and performance requirements. This form of analysis is best conducted by subject matter experts who develop and validate the models, conduct the simulations, and analyze the results.

The importance of Marketing to the engineer

When I first meet my future wife and she told me she was in marketing I quickly explained that I was her slave ... in a professional sense. Engineers are just totally dependent on Marketing to tell us what the customer wants and needs. Once we know that we can go about actually creating the product to meet these desires.

The present according to a past future

Some times a Systems Engineer is called upon to make long term predictions about the future so they can then start the actual process of creating the devices which will then make these predictions come true. Of course predictions can be fought with our own prejudice and wrong headed opinions. Take the famous example of the Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, in 1943, who said, "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."

But every now and then we get close but not in the way we first thought. In 1967 Philco-Ford Corporation came out with a short film called 1999 A.D. which missed by only a decade some of the idea's put forth. Take a look here. Of course we don't have "Split second lunches, color-keyed disposable dishes" but we do have ultra-cool flat screens.

The end of the line ... for time.

One area my Systems Engineering class covers is the concept that the Systems Engineer has to be concern about a system from "cradle to grave' or "lust to dust." When you start your design, you need to think through how your system will eventually be dismantled and disposed of. The new INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook actually has a section dedicated to this process.

4.12.1 Purpose
The purpose of the Disposal Process is to remove a system element from the operational environment with the intent of permanently terminating its use; and to deal with any hazardous or toxic materials or waste products in accordance with applicable guidance, policy, regulations, and statutes.

Below is a story from the LA Times where a system, the AT&T automatic time-teller system, that was in service since the '50s is finally coming to an end. Even though the story focuses on the human element, it does make you wonder where all the equipment will be trashed. Even good and useful systems come to an end.

---

From the Los Angeles Times

Time of day calling it quits at AT&T

David Lazarus --- Consumer Confidential

August 29, 2007
It's the end of time, at least as far as AT&T is concerned.

The brief note in customers' bills hardly does justice to the momentousness of the decision. "Service withdrawal," it blandly declares. "Effective September 2007, Time of Day information service will be discontinued."

What that means is that people throughout Southern California will no longer be able to call 853-1212 to hear a woman's recorded voice state that "at the tone,Pacific Daylight Time will be . . ." with the recording automatically updating at 10-second intervals.

"Times change," said John Britton, an AT&T spokesman. "In today's world, there are just too many other ways to get this information. You can look at your cellphone or your computer. You no longer have to pick up the telephone."

Indeed, time already has stopped in 48 other states, he said. California and Nevada are the two remaining holdouts.

In Northern California, the prefix for calling time is 767, or P-O-P on a telephone keypad. For decades, locals up there have dialed POPCORN any time they have had to reset their watches or reprogram electronic gadgets after a power failure.

"In California, our equipment has gotten old," Britton said. "It's reached the end of its life span."

Time's up statewide Sept. 19. Britton said Nevada service would live on borrowed time for an unspecified period, until the equipment in that state similarly starts breaking down.

One upside: AT&T says doing away with time would enable the creation of about 300,000 new phone numbers in California beginning with the 853 or 767 prefixes. (No such numbers have been issued to date because, when coupled with any four other digits, you get time.)

To be sure, time marches on. Yet for many Californians, the looming demise of the "time lady," as she's come to be known, marks the end of a more genteel era, when we all had time to share.

"It was always there," said Orlo Brown, 70, who for many years kept Pacific Bell's (and subsequently SBC's) time machines running in a downtown Los Angeles office building. "Everybody knew the number."

Richard Frenkiel was assigned to work on the time machines when he joined Bell Labs in the early 1960s. He described the devices as large drums about 2 feet in diameter, with as many as 100 album-like audio tracks on the exterior. Whenever someone called time, the drums would start turning and a message would begin, with different tracks mixed together on the fly.

"The people who worked on it took it very seriously," Frenkiel, 64, recalled. "They took a lot of pride in it."

In a twist of historical irony, Frenkiel went on to play a leading role in development of the technology that makes cellphones possible -- the very device that's now instrumental in killing time.

Phone companies have been providing the time to callers since the 1920s. In the early days, live operators read the time off clocks on the wall.

In the 1930s, an Atlanta company called Audichron devised a system for the time to be provided automatically. Audichron leased its technology to phone companies nationwide, often with sponsorship from local businesses.

Time ladies -- and a few gentlemen -- came and went over the years. Then, in the 1950s, a woman named Mary Moore emerged as the nation's leading time-teller.

Her reading of hours, minutes and seconds was delivered in a distinctive if somewhat prissy tone. Moore's odd pronunciation of the numbers 5 ("fiyev") and 9 ("niyun") influenced a generation of operators, much as flying ace Chuck Yeager's West Virginia drawl is said to have been adopted by innumerable airline pilots.

By far the most prominent time lady was Jane Barbe, who succeeded Moore at Audichron in the 1960s. A former big band singer, Barbe (pronounced "Barbie") went on to become the voice of recorded telephone messages in the 1970s and '80s in the United States and elsewhere.

Along with her interpretations of the time and current temperature, Barbe delivered the bad news too, telling you that circuits in a specific area were busy, please try again later, or that your call cannot be completed as dialed.

And who will ever forget her heartbreaking rendition of "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service"?

Barbe died of cancer-related complications in 2003 at age 74. It's estimated that at the height of her fame, Barbe's voice was heard worldwide about 40 million times a day.

AT&T's Britton said the company started using Audichron's machines in 1948 and then switched to a different system manufactured by rival Weatherchron, also of Atlanta, in the 1960s. He was unable to identify the current time lady, saying that perhaps no one at AT&T knows who she is.

Ellis Bryant, the 83-year-old president of Weatherchron, also was unsure whose voice Californians hear when they call time. So he dialed 853-1212 and listened to the recording.

"Oh, that's Joanne," Bryant said without hesitation. "Joanne Daniels. No doubt about it."

He said Daniels started recording the time for Weatherchron about 25 years ago. At some point after Pacific Bell switched to his company's system, Daniels became California's time lady.

Reached at her Atlanta home, Daniels, 65, estimated that her reach was once nearly as extensive as that of Barbe, who was a friend. Daniels is now retired.

"I've done the time in many areas -- Eastern Standard Time, central time, Pacific time," she said. "The fun part was doing the temperatures for places like Alaska."

Daniels switched to her professional voice, her soft Southern accent instantly vanishing. "At the tone," she said, "the temperature is minus 12 degrees." She laughed and her accent returned. "I liked that."

No one had told her that AT&T was about to stop time.

"I think that's very sad," Daniels said. "I was told at one time that my voice would last until well into the 21st century. Now it looks like I'm about to be laid to rest."

When that day comes, Daniels said, she knows what her epitaph will be: "She knew the time."

---

Consumer Confidential runs Wednesdays and Sundays in the LA Times.

Funny Flow Charts

Flow charts are a required Systems Engineering tool for communicating a requirement or design. Here's an interesting and actually funny flow chart on the use of "Oh Snap"

Here's a more complicated but still funny that's been around for ages. The original is too vulgar for this family friendly site so I cleaned it up.

And of course the CLASSIC super complicated flow chart that destroyed the Neanderthals. Here's one of the conversations from one of the many Hunting Process Review (HPR) meetings they had.

The founder of Calculus??

One of the fundamentals of Engineering is an understanding and appreciation of Calculus. Of course we all have to thank Newton for this. Or do we? It turns out that a school of mathematics and astronomy in Kerala, South India, between the 14th and 16th centuries had the basis for Calculus figured out. Some 250 years before Newton. Read about this controversy here and here.

Jet Packs - for real

Back in the late '60s and early 70's, I was a Lost in Space junkie. Love the idea of Space travel, ray guns, and when I saw John Robinson fly in that Jet Pack. Man, I wanted to get one of those.

Here it is, some 40 years later and there is no safe personal jet packs available on the open market that you can use to commute to work. But it looks like there are some serious enthusiast out there. Check out this report from the second annual Rocketbelt Convention. Cool stuff. I love the last line: "... paraphrasing the words of the great Stephen Colbert: For years we’ve been promised little wrist-sized televisions, a meal in a pill and jetpacks —- let’s hope this year that promise finally becomes a reality."

Are you a techno-translator?

One point I try to make to my students is the importance of being a translator in our job as a Systems Engineer. You're a translator between the customer and the technical specialist. You have to understand the customer domain and needs enough to convey those needs to the techno-geeks, all the while speaking their techno-bable. And you have to understand the technology capabilities and limitations enough in order to explain them to lay people using lay terms. That's the challenge.

And it doesn't help when each technical domain has its own phraseology. Take IT with its bewildering array of terms and buzzwords. Here's an article that highlights the difficulty we System Engineers face as Techno-Translators.

Buzzwords: Making Sense of the IT World by Mary K. Pratt, October 09, 2006 (Computerworld)

How I was able to become part of the exclusive CSEP club

On March 23rd, at around 1:45pm, I clicked the "end test" button and then I confirmed that I did indeed want to end the test. Then I waited, staring at the blank screen This is not as instantaneous as they made it sound. As I waited I thought about how much time and effort it took me to get to this place. Would it be enough? Will I be able to say to my peers that I am a "Certified Systems Engineering Professional"? I was seconds from finding out. To think I started this process 254 days (or 9 months and 11 days) earlier, back on . . .

13 June 2006: I e-mailed four of my colleagues who knew my background in System Engineering. Three where engineers and the forth was my program manager. I did this several weeks before I started my INCOSE application. This was to (1) give them warning of what I was about to do; (2) make sure they were willing to do it and (3) get their contact information. Keep in mind that once I submitted the application, my references only have TWO WEEKS to submit their recommendation. So I wanted to give them plenty of time to think about what they were going to say about me. Also I wanted be sure I could get at least three. If any refused I would have to keep looking. When I e-mailed them I attached the recommendation instructions and form. I also related what activities they would be aware I did back to the SE Roles located on the back of the instructions. Here's a sample e-mail:

Dear so and so,

I’m applying for a Certification as a Systems Engineering Professional with the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE). Part of the certification process requires three references who can attest to my systems engineering acumen. So I thought of you and how you can explain my work in [place here Systems engineering function(s) i.e. Requirements Engineering] for [place here the activity you did i.e. the SpaceAge contract where I analyzed the customer comments against the system spec and went through the CM process in order to incorporate the changes.]

Attached are the instructions and form. They need a two week turn around, so before I submit my application and start the clock I wanted to make sure my references where agreeable and available to help me out. So let me know if you can. No pressure if you’re uncomfortable with the request or, more likely, too busy. Just let me know so I can keep looking around.

Thanks for the consideration. Just let me know if you can or can’t. If you can, please send me back your “reference information” for the application. Thanks again, Paul

20 July 2006: Fortunately, three of the four did respond in the affirmative. (I found out later one of the engineers was on vacation and got inundated with work when he got back.) Once I had my references, along with their addresses, I sat down to fill out the application. It had two parts:

1. The application itself -- where you supply general information about you, your education and, of course, your experiences at you places of employment. I just copied my resume (which turned out to be a BIG mistake.) Also the name and addresses/phone number of your references.
2. and the proof of my education. -- They do allow you to scan your college transcript or diploma. Which was fine for my Master’s Degree from George Mason University. However, my diploma for BS in Engineering from Widener University was laminated into a 22x34 frame. I couldn't get it on the scanner so I took a digital picture, but it took several attempts to get the lighting, glare and shadows just right.

Finally ready, I sent in my application and digital images of my college transcript/diploma to secert@incose.org. I also got on the INCOSE website and paid my $300 Certification fee.

Also on the same day I sent out e-mails to my references, again with the recommendation instructions and form. I filled out as much as I could for them. I also reminded them to e-mail the completed recommendation form electronically to INCOSE. Here’s a sample e-mail:

Dear so and so,

I finally got my application off to INCOSE for a certification as a Systems Engineering Professional. As I explained in my last e-mail, part of the certification process requires three references who can attest to my systems engineering prowess. I was thinking you could explain my work on [relate your experience to “Systems engineering functions”]

Attached are the instructions and form. To expedite processing, it is preferred that you submit your response to them electronically at secert@incose.org. If you sent it off a few weeks back, would you mind sending it off again. They need a two week turn around so let me know if that's a problem.

Thanks for the help, Paul

3 Aug 2006: All my references sent INCOSE recommendations within the time required. I did have to follow up with a few reminder e-mails but they did come through for me. I sent INCOSE a note to say I had jumped through their hoops -- now what? They responded -- Yes, your application and references have been sent to the review committee. Once it is approved, you will be notified as to how to take the exam. -- Now all I could do is wait.

23 Aug 2006: E-Mail received -- Hi Paul, written notice was mailed to you on August 14th. Unfortunately, your application was denied. I have attached a copy of the letter. There is an opportunity for you to appeal the decision. -- Wow, didn't see that coming. Looks like I got more work to get this to stick. After reading the rejection letter and evaluating their reasons for rejecting me, it looks like I made a few major mistakes in my application submission -- one was asking my Program Manager for a recommendation (he wasn't a qualified reference) and another was I just cut and paste my resume without giving thought to the 13 SE roles. I also should have tried better to get references from further in my past.

To address these issues:

1. I asked two additional references to provide recommendations, to replace the Program Manager from my original application. A few years back I left my Government job as a NAVSEA systems engineer to become an official "belt-way bandit." Everyone I worked with at NAVSEA had retired or moved to different positions. Having no way to contact them I originally stuck to peers at my present work place, where I've been for almost three years. However, it was now more important then ever to find someone from NAVSEA to attest to my over15 years of SE activities there. This required some real Internet detective work. I finally found old NAVSEA comrade and called him up in Colorado, where he retired. We had great time catching up and, thankfully, he was more then willing to help.
2. I completely revised “Section 5 Experience” part of my application. This was at the suggestion of the rejection letter. For each job I mapped my experience to the 13 SE roles. For each role and experience I put the number of months I worked that area. This helped when I filled out the optional summary table because I just added up the number of months for each SE Role I worked.

28 Aug 2006: I sent in my appeal application to INCOSE. After a few days they said -- I received your appeal. I have not received information from your references yet, so I have not proceeded. Any idea when I should expect to receive that information? -- This led me to prod my friends on the references.

11 Oct 2006: Talk about a comedy of errors. I lost a week when I mistyped my NAVSEA friend's e-mail address. By the time I realized my mistake my friend was off to a family reunion for a week. Looks like retirement is just a busy as working. When he got back we had several exchanges about his write-up. Finally he sent in his recommendation but it took another week to notice that my friend had mistyped INCOSE's e-mail address. By now I couldn't get a hold of him, he was on another trip. When he got back he apologized and resent it. Today INCOSE informed me -- I received [the recommendation] today. I will now forward your appeal information back to the committee. I will notify you once they have reached a decision. -- This is taking longer then I planned but I'm getting closer.

07 Dec 2006: Oh happy Day. The INCOSE e-mail I've been waiting for has come. -- Your application for certification as a Systems Engineering Professional has been reviewed by the Certification Program Office and your education and work experience have been determined to satisfy the minimum standards for certification. The next step is for you to take the Certification Examination through Prometrics. If you pass the exam, you will be certified as a Certified Systems Engineering Professional. -- The ball is officially in my court.

23 January 2007: OK, up to this point I didn't even dribble the ball. I guess I should confess I am a family man, with a beautiful wife and six wonderful kids. So December and January was filled with family matter ... a one week trip Christmas trip with the whole family to visit my wife's sister in Tampa Fla; a nieces wedding; a murder mystery party for my oldest daughter's 18th birthday; and a concentration on taxes and FAFSA to help my daughter with her college ambitions. However, things have now calmed down sufficiently enough for me to at least look at the ball in my hand. A few days ago I got a very pleasant surprise came within my e-mail inbox. The latest INCOSE newsletter had an article about a Tutorial on the INCOSE SE Handbook in Preparation for SE Certification. The teacher is no other then a friend from my days with NAVSEA -- John Clark. What are the odds? The Tutorial is every Friday from 12 -1330 for 11 weeks John was using teleconference technology and provided slides before hand. My plan is to take this class and then take the exam. With this in mind, I went to http://www.prometric.com, following the step by step instructions given in the 07 Dec 2006 INCOSE e-mail. I scheduled the test for March 23rd.

23 March 2007: I indeed called into the class every week and for this past week I re-read the handbook. I arrived at the Prometric test center around noon. They would only allow me to take my reading glasses and driver's license into the testing area. Everything else went into a locker. They gave me 2 hours to answer 120 questions. I took a hour and 45 minutes. Some questions where easy, some where hard, some didn't make sense, and I found all of them where awkwardly worded. I did the best I could and hit the "end test" button. The moment of truth had arrived. Seconds ticked by. A screen came up which announced: I PASSED!

Man, what a relief. The test was hard enough that I wouldn't have been surprised if I failed. But I PASSED! I am a Certified Systems Engineering Professional. And according to the INCOSE website, it looks like I one of about 130 people on the planet with this designation. It was definitely worth the time and effort.