Customer Reviews

Handbook of Systems Engineering and Management (Wiley series in systems engineering)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was very dissapointed with this book. Essentially it is a collection of essays on various topics with no logical flow or organization. In addition, no time was taken to present the material in any way useful to a student of Systems Engineering. I was required to purchase this book for a graduate class I am taking. Initially I believed that it was a sound investment and that I would retain the book as a valuable reference. Now I can't wait to sell it back. I question whether or not the editors did more than just staple together 30 essays.

Prof Sage is the gold standard wrt all things SE.

This is a comprehensive handbook that covers most SE topics.
It is not a cookbook or guide to doing SE. Nor is it a software handbook.
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It is intended for people with some knowledge and experience that want to fill in or refresh their understanding of a given area concerning systems engineering.

There is no real competition. incose members have their orgs handbook which is in a constant state of flux as incose cant even agree on what SE is.
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There are some govt tutorial books such as those from dsmc and dau. The cost is free and should also be in everybodies library.
Nasa and some other agencies have some dated compilations of their view of SE. Again free. Good for reference if you have the KSAs to know what is valid and what is obsolete or incorrect.
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Sage's handbook is due to be updated and revised. Whether we will see another edition remains to be seen. He is currently busy working on Systems ARchitecture. Hopefully his classes and research will result in another book on that topic if not also inclusion of that with other new material in the SE hbk.
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This book belongs in libraries. Have your company order one.
Whether an individual would want to spend this much depends on how much use they would make of it. Some program managers who are not SE experts may find it worth buyign for their own use.
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The two star review above was clearly by a disgruntled student who had it as a class reference. My students bellyache about every book they are required to buy. None of them ever buy an optional book. Judge the book for your needs not by a student who got a bad grade.
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