A systems engineering primer for every engineer and scientist

The Systems Engineering (SE) staff at LBNL has generated the following artifacts to assist projects with implementing a systems approach: (1) The present document that focuses on the what, why, and when of SE. It also provides a simple case-study to illustrate several SE tasks. (2) A web site with primary emphasis on the project life-cycle and workflow, (http://www-eng.LBNL.gov/Systems/index.html). It includes: SE guidelines and principles; A list of in-house tools; Templates; Case studies with ''how to'' examples; and Links to useful SE material. These sources are living documents to be updated as necessary. The viewpoint adopted in this document is that what LBNL engineers and scientists need is a set of principles and guiding practices for developing R and D systems rather than a ''cookbook''. There are many excellent ''how to'' resources such as the ''INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook'' to guide those in search of more details. The SE staff is another resource available to consult and support projects. This document specifies SE principles and activities that are applicable to all LBNL projects independent of their specific differences. Each project should tailor the SE implementation to meet its individual needs and culture including project-specific resources, procedures, products, and tools