Guideline for oriented systems engineering process in small and medium sized enterprises

Technical systems of tomorrow will go beyond current traditional mechatronics designs by incorporating inherent intelligence. This adds high demands on the product development process, such as the need for a comprehensive understanding of the system and consideration of the full product life-cycle. Systems engineering (SE) is an approach that has a potential to fulfill these requirements. However, until now it could not be applied through a wide range of different industries and segments, especially in small and medium sized enterprises. This paper discusses different obstacles for the use of SE and presents a concept for a systems engineering guideline to face these challenges. The aim of the systems engineering guideline is to enable a target-oriented application of systems engineering methods and tools. The objective is to overcome the barriers of introduction of SE for enterprises. It links a design process to methods and tools in the field of systems engineering.