Initiatives

SoS Systems Engineering

The Department of Defense (DoD) acquires material solutions to address capability needs of the war fighter in military operations and to provide efficient support and readiness in peacetime. A growing number of these capabilities are achieved through a system of systems (SoS) approach. An SoS is a set or arrangement of systems that results when independent and useful systems are integrated into a larger system that delivers unique capabilities (DoD Defense Acquisition Guidebook).

While systems engineering (SE) is a key enabler of systems acquisition, SE practices and approaches historically have been described with a single system rather than an SoS in mind. In 2006, SSA released the draft SoS Systems Engineering Guide: Considerations for Systems Engineering in a System of Systems Environment (Version .9) examining the SoS environment as it exists in the DoD today and the challenges it poses for systems engineering.

Following a pilot phase to review the contents of the .9 draft, the Guide was revised based on feedback from active SoS SE practitioners and researchers. Version 1.0 of reflects adjudication of comments received from members of the defense acquisition community during the January 2008 comment period. Download the guide: Systems Engineering Guide for Systems of Systems, v1.0, August 2008.

For additional information about the SoS SE Initiative, contact DoD.SoS@osd.mil.