About this course: "Introduction to Systems Engineering" uses a structured yet flexible approach to provide a holistic, solid foundation to the successful development of complicated systems. The course takes you step by step through the system life cycle, from design to development, production and management. You will learn how the different components of a system interrelate, and how each contributes to a project’s goals and success. The discipline’s terminology, which can so often confuse the newcomer, is presented in an easily digestible form. Weekly video lectures introduce and synthesise key concepts, which are then reinforced with quizzes and practical exercises to help you measure your learning. This course welcomes anyone who wants to find out how complex systems can be developed and implemented successfully. It is relevant to anyone in project management, engineering, QA, logistic support, operations, management, maintenance and other work areas. No specific background is required, and we welcome learners with all levels of interest and experience.
Created by: UNSW Australia (The University of New South Wales)
Taught by: Dr Mike Ryan, Senior Lecturer
School of Engineering and IT
Taught by: Dr Ian Faulconbridge , Industry Fellow
School of Engineering and IT
| Commitment | 4-5 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Course Welcome & Module 1 (Introduction to Systems and System Life Cycle)
Welcome to 'Introduction to Systems Engineering'! To help you in getting started with this course, we have a course introduction video that will provide you with an overview of the course syllabus.We then begin the course with this introductory module in which...
10 videos, 6 readings, 1 practice quiz
Graded: Module 1 Extension Exercise
WEEK 2
Systems Engineering and its Relevance and Benefits
In this module, we describe the discipline of systems engineering and outline its relevance and benefits. We introduce what we mean by the ‘systems engineering’ and provide a framework within which we can consider the major processes, activities, and artefacts...
8 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
Graded: Module 2 Extension Exercise
WEEK 3
Needs and Requirements
Before we look at the various systems engineering activities in more detail in forthcoming modules, in this module we look at what we mean when we refer to the ‘needs’ and ‘requirements’ for a system. We examine the needs and requirements views developed by bu...
7 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
Graded: Module 3 Extension Exercise
WEEK 4
Requirements Elicitation and Elaboration
In this module, we explore requirements engineering and the processes by which requirements are elicited and defined formally through a process called elaboration (which involves derivation and decomposition of lower-level requirements from their parent requir...
6 videos, 3 readings, 2 practice quizzes
Graded: Module 4 Extension Exercise
Graded: Mid-Course Exam - (Modules 1 -4)
WEEK 5
Conceptual Design
In this module we examine Conceptual Design, during which we investigate how business needs and requirements and stakeholder needs and requirements are translated into a system-level understanding of the requirements of our system. This understanding will tell...
6 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
Graded: Module 5 Extension Exercise
WEEK 6
Preliminary and Detailed Design
In this module we pick up from where we left off at the end of Conceptual Design and we start to make some more detailed design decisions. During preliminary design, we will look at identifying the various subsystems that will need to come together to form our...
6 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
Graded: Module 6 Extension Exercise
WEEK 7
Construction, Production, and Utilisation
We now move onto the construction and production of the system based on the detailed design from the previous stage. During construction and production, we look at critical systems engineering activities such as configuration audits and system verification. Th...
6 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz
Graded: Module 7 Extension Exercise
WEEK 8
Systems Engineering Management
In this final module, we explore some of the key management issues that systems engineering must address in order to maintain balance and control across the systems engineering effort. We look specifically at issues such as verification and validation managem...
6 videos, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz
WEEK 9
Final Exam and Information About Further Study
Having finished the modules, you are now in a position to complete the final exam covering Modules 6 to 9. Before you finish the course we also thought that you may be interested in knowing about the Master of Systems Engineering program offered by UNSW Canber...
1 video
Graded: Final Exam - (Modules 5-8)
FAQs
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UNSW Australia (The University of New South Wales)
UNSW Australia, based in Sydney, was established in 1949 and is one of Australia’s leading research and teaching universities with more than 50,000 students from over 120 countries. UNSW aspires to provide students with an outstanding educational experience, which both reflects our strong traditions of excellence, innovation and social justice, and builds on our strengths in scientific, technological and professional disciplines.
Ratings and Reviews
Excelent
Insightful. Definitely recommend.
Field is covered from perspective of military complexity and focused generally on waterfall approach. Test are complex and require thorough analysis. Excersises are interesting and usefull for day to day life. Thanks
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VB
The first part was very interesting and useful. The exercices very interesting as well. The second part was less structured, with a bit strange and unrelated exercises. Although, it was still useful.
On overall I rank it as four, because it was a really good introduction to System Engineering. Despite the above mentioned drawbacks, after accomplishment of the course, I could easily work with terms related to System Engineering and could understand much more better the design process of the systems.