At the outset of a project, it is important to determine the systems engineering tasks that will be performed and document those tasks as part of the project development process. The various documents surrounding the systems engineering process may have various titles. These titles are in common use within the transportation industry although they may not have the same meaning among agencies.
Typically, the Systems Engineering Review Form (SERF) is a form that is used by agencies to determine how much systems engineering is required. It includes project information, risk assessment and a project Systems Engineering Analysis (SEA) which, at a minimum, should satisfy the 23CFR 940.11 Federal regulations. A SERF can be tailored based on the agency’s needs.
The Systems Engineering Management Plan (SEMP) is a document that describes the technical approach on how the processes and activities of the systems engineering life cycle stages will be managed and conducted. For high-risk projects with substantial systems engineering effort, a separate SEMP may be warranted. In many cases, the systems engineering tasks may be identified as part of the Project Management Plan (PMP).
A Project Management Plan (PMP) is usually a formal document that helps outline all the components of a project. This includes stakeholders and scope all the way to risk management and contingency plans. Far more than just a schedule, this plan documents how the project will be managed and achieve success.
For More Information:
Document view provides more detailed discussion of the SERFs used by states. Deliverable View provides templates for both the SEMP and the PMP. The Process View describes the Project Planning process step when these documents are created and the Project Management process that uses and refines these documents over the course of the project lifecycle.
· Agency Implementation of Systems Engineering Processes (for a discussion of SERFs)
· Systems Engineering Management Plan Template
· Project Management Plan Template
