Empirical Research on Systems Thinking and Practice in the Engineering Enterprise

The paper discusses recent and ongoing research on engineering systems thinking and practices within the Engineering Systems Division at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. . The research seeks to impact the effectiveness of systems engineering in modern enterprises through development of new empirical-based knowledge related to systems thinking and practice in engineering. The paper will discuss research progress and outcomes to date as they apply to improving the effectiveness of systems engineering practice and competency development in industry, government and academia. The research involves highly collaborative engagement, use of grounded theory methods, and both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The challenges and lessons learned in performing research of this nature and applying non-traditional methods in systems engineering research are discussed.