As shown here, the systems engineering process can be shown using the letter “V”. Let’s start at the upper left of this simplified Vee diagram. The first major process step is capturing the Needs of the stakeholders. These needs provide the basis for forming the requirements in the next step. The requirements inform the bottom of the Vee Diagram depicting Design and Implementation. This step is where the system gets built. Once the system is built, we travel up the right side of the Vee diagram where we test the system. The last step on this diagram is Validation where we make sure that the system is useful to the stakeholders.
Time increases from left to right as depicted by the solid arrows on the outside of the Vee diagram. The dashed arrows in the middle of the Vee indicate that the Testing is against the requirements and the Validation is ensuring the needs are being met by the final system.
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Figure 9: Overview of Systems Engineering Process
(Source: FHWA)
