The  discipline of systems engineering is vital to the delivery of the right capability on time and under cost.  I fist saw the complexity of systems engineering as the laser communications lead for a satellite communication program.

 

We had requirements and interfaces driving designs from at least four different sources, risk reduction efforts to manage technology on- and off-ramps to allow for successful launch and payload operation, and a ton of technical and sciopolitical scrutiny/visibility.

 

I had to work with a very diverse and sdstributed team to implement controls and documentation than would help lock-down configurations and formalize changes.  We worked within and expanded upon architectures to ensure connectivity from user expectations to capability delivered. We were able to demonstrate risk reduction with a government fly-off demo, and to define a first-of-its-kind lasercom interoperability standard.  Since then I have carried that discipline with me.