Colloquia

Samenvatting

This master thesis explores the benefits of Systems Engineering (SE) for Benchmark Electronics and aims to design a comprehensive SE program for Benchmark Almelo.

SE is a multidisciplinary approach to designing and managing complex systems that incorporates various engineering, management, and organizational processes, and is becoming increasingly important in the high tech sector. The thesis addresses the main research question of how SE can be effectively implemented in new product development at Benchmark, and presents a SE program that is compatible with the company's existing processes and adapted to its project life cycle model.

A literature review identifies the generic project life cycle stages and the role of SE in designing complex systems. Analysis of Benchmark's project life cycle model and the existing engineering processes shows that many SE elements already exist within the company. However, a new SE program is needed to integrate and make these elements more explicit. Interviews with project managers and a survey confirm this need and indicate the importance of good communication, collaboration, traceability, thorough documentation, requirements management, and the responsibility of SE for ensuring quality.

The thesis concludes by presenting a vision for SE at Benchmark, an updated view of Benchmark’s project life cycle model focusing on what program tasks belong to SE, and a formalized SE process to supplement the existing EE, ME, and SW discipline processes. Finally, it also briefly introduces the necessary next steps for implementing the new SE program.