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EIA 731.1 - Systems Engineering Capability Model

Foreword
This Standard is intended to enable an organization to improve its capability to engineer and produce quality products, and deliver them on time at an affordable price or cost.

This Standard, EIA 73 1, is intended to be the Standard for Systems Engineering Capability. As such, it complements the usage of the EIA 632, Processes for Engineering a System, and IEEE Standard 1220-1994, IEEE Trial-Use Standard for Application and Management of the Systems Engineering Process. Those standards define the "what-to-do's" of the processes for engineering systems, and this model provides a basis for determining "how well" those processes are defined and implemented.

This Standard is intended to provide complete coverage of the EIA 632 and be consistent with both it and IEEE 1220-1994.

Part 1 of this Standard, EIA 73 1-1, is the Systems Engineering Capability Model (SECM). It is intended to be applied for measurement and improvement of systems engineering capability using Standard, EIA 73 1-2, SECM Appraisal Method.

The application of this Standard is independent of contractual arrangements. This Standard is consistent with IS0 9001: 1994. The practices and attributes of the model cover all 20 process elements.

Development of this Standard was accomplished as a joint project of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), and Enterprise Process Improvement Collaboration (EPIC). This effort was chartered by the G-47 Systems Engineering Committee of EIA and has been identified as American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Project Number PN-3879. This Standard has been approved by the EIA Engineering Department Executive Committee.

Intended users of this Standard include: (a) developers of systems or portions thereof including: subsystems, equipment, assemblies, subassemblies, items, units, components, parts and materials; (b) acquirers of systems; (c) university professors, organizational trainers, and consultants; and (d) developers of other maturity or capability models. Use is not limited to specific disciplines, industry sectors, or technology domains. This Standard may be tailored for a specific domain, organization, or program.

This Standard is intended to neither specific nor encourage the use of any particular implementation method or tool. The using organization is responsible for selecting those methods or tools necessary to support the objectives of the organization and program, and to define and implement engineering policies and procedures. Annexes A and B are normative. Normative annexes are integral parts of the standard that, for reasons of convenience, are placed after all other normative elements. The fact that an annex is normative is made clear by the way in which it is referred to in the text, by a statement to the effect in the foreword, and by an indication at the head of the annex itself.

Annexes C, D, and E are informative. Informative annexes, formerly called appendices, give additional information and are placed after the normative elements of a standard. They do not contain requirements. The fact that an annex is informative is made clear by the way in which it is referred to in the text, by a statement in the foreword, and by an indication at the beginning of the annex itself

Introduction
Background
In October 1992, the INCOSE formed the Capability Assessment Working Group (CAWG). The CAWG charter included developing a method for assessing and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of systems engineering and one of its goals was to develop a Systems Engineering Capability Assessment Model (SECAM). Generation of the INCOSE SECAM was begun in November 1993 and completed as an initial release, Version 1 .00, in February 1994. Version 1 .00 of the SECAM Assessment Method (then called Supporting Documents) was released in March 1994. Following the initial release, five major updates and several minor updates were made to the INCOSE SECAM and several updates were made to the SECAM Assessment Method. The current release of the INCOSE SECAM is Version 1.50, dated June 1996; the current release of the SECAM Assessment Method is Version 1.50, dated July 1997.

In January 1994, the EPIC (then called Industrial Collaboration) began generating the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for Systems Engineering (SE-CMM) and completed it as an initial release, Version 1.0, in December 1994. Version 1.0 of the SE-CMM Appraisal Method was released in June 1995. Following the initial release, one update was made to both the EPIC SE-CMM and the SE-CMM Appraisal Method. The current release of the EPIC SE-CMM is Version 1.1, dated November 1995; the current release of the SECMM Appraisal Method is Version 1.1, dated 1996. In March 1996, an effort was initiated under the auspices of the EIA G-47 (Systems Engineering) Committee to merge the current versions of the INCOSE SECAM and its Assessment Method with the current versions of the EPIC SE-CMM and its Appraisal Method. The resulting EIA Systems Engineering Capability Model (SECM) and SECM Appraisal Method will be proposed as a US national standard for the measurement and improvement of systems engineering capability.

Benefits Associated with the Use of this Standard Proper implementation of this Standard is intended to improve the capability to perform systems engineering.

Improved capability enables an organization to:

• Reduce cycle time from concept to deployed system products;
• Improve the match of deployed system product capability with stakeholder requirements;
• Reduce total ownership cost of system products;
• Reduce the number of engineering changes;
• Improve system quality;
• Improve communications among personnel involved in the engineering of a system;
• Improve ability to sustain and upgrade system products after deployment;
• and Reduce development risks.

By proper implementation, it is meant that:

• Processes, activities, and tasks of this Standard are appropriately tailored (see Annex A and EIA-73 1-2, EIA SECM Appraisal Method); Skilled personnel are used to accomplish the purpose of this Standard as tailored;
• Users of this Standard have training and familiarity with the usage of this Standard.

Purpose
The purpose of this Standard is to support the development and improvement of systems engineering capability.

Coverage
The scope of this standard includes all activities that associate with or enable systems engineering. Systems engineering is an inter-disciplinary approach and means to enable the realization of successful systems. In this context, systems engineering is not limited to what either Systems Engineering organizations or Systems Engineers do. Rather it is the interaction of many people, processes, and organizations resulting in the accomplishment of the required activities. This Standard is intended to provide complete coverage of EIA 632, Processes for Engineering a System, and be consistent with both it and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 1220-1994, IEEE Trial- Use Standard for Application and Management of the Systems Engineering Process.

Application
The EIA SECM, EIA 73 1 - 1, is to be used in conjunction with the SECM Appraisal Method, EIA 73 1-2, to develop, improve, and assess systems engineering capability. This Standard applies to programs and organizations doing systems engineering: small or large; simple or complex; software intensive or not; precedented or unprecedented. It applies to systems that may contain hardware, software, personnel, facilities, data, materials, services, or techniques. This Standard is applicable to the engineering of a new system or the reengineering of a legacy system, or portions thereof.

This Standard is intended solely to be used for self-development, self-improvement, and self-appraisal. Organizations should not apply this Standard to suppliers as a means of source selection or as a means of qualification to be a supplier.

Limitations
This Standard is not intended to specify the details of "how to" implement process activities. It does not specify the methods or tools a developer would use to accomplish required activities. The developer will select methods, techniques, and tools that are consistent with program or organization needs, directives, and procedures. Adherence to this Standard shall be entirely voluntary and within the discretion of individual organizations. This Standard does not prescribe the name, format, content, or structure of documentation. Throughout this Standard, the terms "document" or "documentation" are used to mean a collection of data regardless of its medium.

This Standard is, to a large extent, a process-based systems engineering capability model. Process maturity indicators were developed first because they were deemed easiest to develop and had received the most attention in other efforts, e.g., IS0 initiatives, and other disciplines, e.g., software. This Standard also includes non-process indicators of systems engineering capability. These non-process indicators represent high leverage characteristics of systems engineering capability.

This Standard has not been validated. An inherent, necessary component of validation would be to demonstrate quantitatively that improvement in systems engineering capability, as measured by appraisal results, can lead to a more effective organization. This will be reflected by systems engineering's impact on product development in terms of the "bottom line", such as quicker time to market, lower product cost, reduction in cycle time, etc. Many organizations have utilized the INCOSE or EPIC models and have performed assessments using the applicable methodologies. This standard builds on the experience gained from these models that were deemed to be of value to the organizations that have been assessed.

Tailoring
This Standard contains a set of Focus Areas, Themes, Practices, and Attributes designed to be tailored. Tailoring (see Annex A and EIA 73 1-2 for guidance) is deletion of non-applicable Focus Areas, Themes, Practices, and Attributes, or addition of unique or special Focus Areas, Themes, Practices, and Attributes provided in organization policies and procedures, or in an acquirer-supplier agreement.