TUTORIALS
Systems Engineering in Practice
Learn by doing, not by reading textbooks
A practical walkthrough of the ISO 15288 systems engineering lifecycle, applied to a real-world defence project. Each tutorial covers one phase with concrete examples, decisions, and trade-offs you'd face on an actual programme.
The Tutorial Series
These tutorials walk through each phase of the ISO 15288 systems engineering lifecycle using a single running example. You'll see how decisions in one phase cascade into the next, how trade-offs are made under real constraints, and what the deliverables actually look like — not the sanitized versions you find in textbooks.
Running Example: MALE UAV ISR System
Throughout the series we use a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle designed for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operations. The programme is set in a contested operational environment with tight budget constraints, demanding safety certification, and a mix of heritage and new technology. This gives us a realistic canvas to explore the full breadth of systems engineering — from mission analysis through to operational support.
Mission Analysis
Understanding the operational need. Defining mission scenarios, identifying stakeholders, and establishing the capability gap that drives the whole programme.
Stakeholder Needs Analysis
Translating mission requirements into stakeholder needs. Eliciting, prioritising and validating what each stakeholder actually requires.
System Design
Architecting the solution. Functional analysis, allocation, interface definition and the first real trade studies.
System Implementation
Turning design into hardware and software. Subsystem development, procurement decisions and configuration management.
Integration & Verification
Building it up and proving it works. Integration strategy, verification planning and test design.
Validation & Transition
Did we build the right system? Operational evaluation, acceptance criteria and transition to service.
Operation & Support
The system in the field. Logistics, sustainment, configuration changes and the feedback loop back to engineering.