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From The President
Total Systems Engineering (TSE)
What my “Vader” (father) taught me about the Dutch Total Fútbol (soccer) System, and how it can help systems engineers produce a game changer in their projects and careers.
Before going into the concept of Total Systems Engineering (TSE), I would like to reflect on the incredible year the San Diego INCOSE Chapter has had for 2018.
 With the support of our chapter’s board of directors and membership, the events held this past year have provided a wealth of diverse knowledge and techniques to expand our SE domain. Our monthly dinner meetings have touched on subjects such as using the Cloud and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to accelerate SE, Model Base Systems Engineering (MBSE), Software Process Dynamics, Detection Systems, Lightning Protection, and even applying SE in the beer industry to have a better brew. Our spring tutorial covered the latest on the Software Communications Architecture (SCA). We offered another tutorial in the fall on Agile SE by Rick Dove who is an INCOSE Fellow, and chairs the INCOSE Agile Systems and Systems Engineering working group (WG). It certainly brought another level of thinking to SE techniques based upon your working environment and the need for agility.
Rick Dove delivering the Mini-Conference keynote
With a chapter record of 70-plus attendees, our fall Mini-Conference with the theme of Transformation of Systems Engineering included presentations on a diverse set of subjects including MBSE, Cybersecurity, Agile, Human Systems, AI and Science of Laws.
The 2018 INCOSE SD Mini-Conference
Our San Diego chapter had a great year promoting future engineers via our annual Science-Technology-Engineering-Math (STEM) fundra ising and awards to local schools. Teachers were awarded small sums which were used to encourage students in the design and engineering of STEM projects. We celebrated with a STEM-exPLOSION! event at the Children’s Discovery Museum for local K-12 students. The teachers, students, parents, and members all enjoyed a night of live stage shows by the Fleet Science Center, Rigamajig, Lego Robotics, with lots of fun hands-on activities!
The 2018 INCOSE SD STEM Event in Escondido
I’m also pleased to announce that the chapter membership has hit a record of 200-plus members, with more joining every month! The chapter’s planning, organizing, and conducting the activities has certainly benefited both the members and the community-at-large. We’re on track to achieve Gold Award status (see Chapter Awards), but there’s a very strong possibility of exceeding this goal and achieving Platinum Award status. I therefore want to extend my sincere gratitude and thank all the board officers and members who have contributed with planning and participating in the events to make our chapter a huge success in 2018.
Now, let’s move onto my thoughts on the concept of Total System Engineering (a.k.a. Total “Fútbol” SE).
Dutch Total Football
After attending Rick Dove’s Agile SE Tutorial, I kept thinking of his analogy of sports such as American Football to describe the agility of the team to engage the operational environment with response capabilities for the dynamic game scenarios. It’s up to the team to be, “active, quick and coordinated, and to be mentally acu te by thinking quickly” (excerpts from Webster). Performance quality is determined by degree of engagement of every team member at every moment. Now this helped me recall some of my AYSO and High School soccer (fútbol) days and the techniques and methods my father was trying to teach from the Dutch Total Fútbol system. This is what happens when your father (vader) is an immigrant from the Netherlands who bestows the traits of the beautiful game to his sons. He talked constantly about the incredible skills of the legendary Johan Cruyff, and of course emphasized that it’s the #1 sport in the world.
 Total Fútbol is a system which teaches every player to think at a systems level while the game is dynamically changing. Its foundation resides on the theory of flexible space with the idea the field size can be flexible and altered by the players on the team. Depending upon the skillset, the players move around the field and can replace other players in their positions, and continuously pass the ball as a finely tuned machine. With passing, the players must be thinking spatially in advance. Johan Cruyff believed the best teams promoted and combined individualism and collectivism. Think of a fast pace and highly dynamic chess game with highly adaptable, skilled players working in an engaged team environment to ultimately put the ball into the opposing net for a score.
Does this sound familiar in our fast-paced and changing work environments? It certainly tests the traditional SE methodologies and challenges us to consider leaner and more flexible SE techniques to do the same work, faster, with higher quality and often smaller teams.
On the Total Fútbol philosophy, there is a plethora of books and materials on plays and techniques that one can view. The same is almost true for system engineering. Companies are developing playbooks and I’ve seen story-driven engineering novels. Additionally, SE tools are very mature for requirements analysis, architecture development, and modeling & simulation (M&S). There is still work to be done on integrating these tools together but more is being invested on this front.
Just as I have looked at the Dutch Total Fútbol System, I would encourage you to look outside SE to help with developing your style, methodologies, and techniques to improve your SE process and team dynamics. As with a great coach, SE leaders also need to learn new ways of doing business and to mentor their teams.
I wish everyone a fantastic Happy New Year and to encourage you to discover your Total Systems Engineering.
Beste Wensen (Best Wishes),
Ted Mulder Happy New Year
President, INCOSE San Diego Chapter
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Upcoming Events!
(SD INCOSE events are open to all, including non-members. Please invite friends and coworkers!)
2019 INCOSE San Diego Membership Drive & Social
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019, 6:00 - 8:00pm
Primos Mexican Food & Bar (Mission Valley, San Diego)
Please join us! Time for ou r yearly INCOSE San Diego membership drive and social, to be held this year at Primos Mexican Food & Bar in Mission Valley. The new 2019 Chapter board will also be seated during this event.
The chapter is always looking to expand our network, so please invite a friend or two who might be interested in joining INCOSE!
All food and soft drinks are FREE, so come and network with other systems engineers and prepare for an awesome 2019!
Date: Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019, from 6-8pm
Venue: Primos Mexican Food & Bar
Location: 2401 Fenton Pkwy, San Diego, CA 92108 (Google Maps)
Food: FREE Mexican buffet and soft drinks. Bar drinks are half price for the event, to be purchased by attendees.
Please RSVP HERE.
V-Model Approach to K-12 Learning
Wednesday, Feb 27th 2019, 5:30 - 7:00pm
Filippi’s Restaurant in Kearny Mesa
Engineering has been relatively absent from the K-12 classroom for years, but the Next Generation Science Standards has challenged this absence. Forty states have shown interest and nineteen states, including all states along the west coast, have adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). These standards incorporate science and engineering practices into every grade level.
The Vee-Model for systems engineering was adapted for the K-12 classroom. This approach allows for students to think strategically while performing systems analysis, systems validation, verification of requirements, project planning, and decision management. This presentation will look at how this Vee-Model systems engineering approach has been integrated into the classroom to engage young minds in innovation
through collaboration, problem solving, negotiating requirements and critical thinking.
: Becky McKinney, Escondido Union High School District
 Becky is a secondary science educator and teacher on special assignment (TOSA) in the Escondido Union High School District. She leverages her prior experiences as a forensic scientist, neuroscientist and college educator in order to bring a passionate and nontraditional approach to STEM learning. Through her work with engineers, she has developed a method to bring systems engineering into any classroom utilizing the V-model. She is a member of the California Science Teacher’s Association and National Science Teacher’s Association and has received numerous awards for her dedication to student learning.
Date: Wednesday February 27th, 5:30-7pm
Location: Filippi’s Restaurant in Kearny Mesa at 5353 Kearny Villa Rd, San Diego, CA 92123 ( Google Maps)
Presentation and Dinner: The first 1/2 hour is for dinner and networking. The optional buffet dinner starts at 5:30., and the presentation begins at approximately 6 pm. The cost of the buffet is $10 for members, $15 for non-members, and includes pizza, salad, pasta, and soft drinks.
Webcasting: This presentation will be webcast starting at approximately 5:50 pm. Please check the website approx one week beforehand for further details.
Cost: Free.
RSVP: Website RSVP will soon be active. Also look for email announcements
NOTE - This presentation's date and location are subject to change. Please watch for email updates.
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2018 in Photos
2018 STEM Event Robot Team Mahasa Zahirnia at the INCOSE SD Mini-Conference
INCOSE SD President Ted Mulder at the Mini-Conference INCOSE Recruitment
 
Rick Dove and students Systems Engineering of Beer Industry event
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Chapter Awards Eleven STEM Grants
Thanks to the generosity of our members and our supporting corporations, including Cubic Corp, ViaSat, and Northrop Grumman Corp, the INCOSE San Diego chapter was able to award hard-working county teachers important grants to support their STEM programs. Note that 100% of the funds we raise are donated, and this year over $10,000 was awarded to eleven schools! They are listed below, along with brief statements of how the grants are being used:
- Twin Peaks Middle School (Poway) - FIRST robotic tournament registration
- San Pasqual High School (Escondido) - Microbial fuel cells
- Roosevelt Middle School(Oceanside) - Parts to engineer a simple circuit
- Poway High School (Poway) - FIRST Robotic competition registration
- Alamosa Park Elementary School (Oceanside) - Parts to build bottle rockets
- Good Shepherd Catholic School (San Diego) - Environmental Science- Physics solar workshop
- Ivey Ranch Elementary (Oceanside) - Sphero Robot kits
- Kelly Elementary School (Carlsbad) - LEGO EV3 Education Core Set
- Mary Fey Pendleton Elementary School (Pendleton-Oceanside) - Sphero Robot kits
- North Terrace Community School (Oceanside) - Start up supplies for LED Circuits
- North County Community Based Team NOMAD (Escondido) - Robotics tournament registration
Thank you again to all our sponsors. We are truly investing in the next generation of engineers (and probably future INCOSE members).
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Chapter Election Results
The INCOSE San Diego Chapter Board of Directors election was held from October 28, 2018 to November 28, 2018. The election recorded 28 ballets, and per chapter bylaws the results were certified by individuals outside the existing or future board. INCOSE San Diego welcomes the following INCOSE members to the 2019 board:
> President: Abbas Rostami
> President-Elect: Greg Bulla
> Treasurer: Mike DiPaolo
> Past President: Ted Mulder
> Vice President of Chapter Development: Howen Fernando
> Vice President of Technical Development: Ray Madachy
> Vice President of Communications (and Webmaster): Gary Saner
> Director at Large, 1st Year: Dr. Julia Taylor
> Director at Large, 2nd Year: Susanna Faruque
> Secretary: Keith Conway
> Director of Ambassador Program: Jim Gottfried
Note that with the exception of the Director at Large positions, all are for a term of one (1) year.
Also approved were five modifications to the INCOSE San Diego chapter bylaws. Please contact us at info@sdincose.org for specifics; the new bylaws can be found on the chapter website here.
The 2019 board will be seated at the INCOSE San Diego Membership Drive and Social event on January 23rd. Please attend and introduce yourself to the new board members -- we greatly welcome suggestions to improve and expand our chapter!
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INCOSE San Diego Welcomes 24 New Members
INCOSE San Diego is pleased to welcome 24 new members to our chapter! We now have over 200 active members, an all time high! San Diego continues to be a hub for systems engineering in the medical community, department of defense, telecommunications, start ups, and with a wide range of other industries.
New to our chapter:
Cheryl Gray - G2 Software Systems
Vincent Poteat - Northrop Grumman Corporation
Joshua Kay - Northrop Grumman Corporation
Michael DiPaolo - SAIC
Eric Evans - Northrop Grumman Corporation
Grace Kuffner - Booz-Allen-Hamilton
Mark Bauer - SAIC
Meredith Mann - Northrop Grumman Corporation
Gordon Nall
Lacy Cano - SAIC
David Cuthbert - SAIC
Jeff Bernet - SAIC
Margaret Watkins - SAIC
Brian Berg - Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
Kay Murner - Booz-Allen-Hamilton
Melissa Silva - SAIC
Thomas Spargo - SAIC
Romeo Carandang
Fernando Granados - General Atomics
Aaron McUmber - Northrop Grumman Corporation
Jason Duran - Cubic Corporation
Jacob Smith - Booz-Allen-Hamilton
Julia Taylor - Taylor Success Systems
Samuel Vineyard - Northrop Grumman Corporation
Please introduce yourself to a new member at one of our many events!
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2018 INCOSE San Diego Board Contacts
Please feel free to contact a board member with suggestions or comments:
President - Ted Mulder, tedmulder@gmail.com
Past-President - Richard Bryson, richard.bryson@ngc.com
President-Elect - Abbas Rostami, abbas.rostami@gmail.com
Secretary - Mitch Seime, mitchellseime@att.net
VP Administration, Webmaster - Greg Bulla, gbulla@yahoo.com
VP Chapter Development - Ray Madachy, madachy@gmail.com
VP Technical Development - Howen Fernando, hqfernando@gmail.com
2nd-Year Director - Jim Gottfried, gottjim50@gmail.com
1st-Year Director - Susanna Faruque, susanna.faruque@ngc.com
You can also send general questions to: info@sdincose.org
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