ESEC conference winner - The role of systems engineering in global standardization
Paul McNeillis from the British Standards Institution and Jon Holt from Brass Bullet won best paper for "The role of systems engineering in global standardization" at the fifth biennial European Systems Engineering Conference in Edinburgh on 18-20 September. This paper positions BSI at the leading edge of new ideas, and the award has implications for the future of standards which are quite far reaching. The ideas in the paper will be published in several journals and newsletters worldwide.
Abstract
Standards are an integral part of the work of engineers, but the technical and business systems in which standards are deployed are becoming ever more complex. In applying standards, engineers and other professionals face decisions which may have consequences far beyond their immediate context in time, space and scope.
The rise of systems engineering demonstrates the commitment and capability of the engineering professional to tackle these issues. This paper presents a logical extension of that work by demonstrating how the same systems engineering approaches are now being applied to the actual development of standards.
The benefits of using systems engineering in this context are set out on three levels: application to the development of single standards; to groups of inter-related standards (illustrated in detail through a recent case study); and finally looking forward to the influence of this new approach to the entire global standards making system.
Download the full paper (PDF format; 220kb)
