{"id":4789,"date":"2026-05-19T08:57:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T08:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/araz.c4i.gmu.edu\/?page_id=4789"},"modified":"2026-06-02T23:33:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T23:33:25","slug":"update-to-the-department-of-defense-systems-engineering-guide-for-systems-of-systems","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/araz.c4i.gmu.edu\/?page_id=4789","title":{"rendered":"Update to the Department of Defense Systems Engineering Guide for Systems of Systems"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Figure 1. A summary of SoS challenges, their important aspects, and SoSE Core elements. Image created by Google Gemini. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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System\u202fof Systems (SoS)\u202funderstanding, development, management, engineering, and operations\u202fremain\u202fextremely critical for the Department of War (DoW) as SoS are expected to dominate in\u202fnearly all\u202ffuture mission areas in peace and wartime alike.\u202fMoreover, SoS\u202fremains\u202fat the\u202ffoundation\u202fof emerging concepts\u202fof distributed command-and-control systems and\u202fmission engineering.\u202fThe DoW\u202fprovided\u202finitial guidance on\u202fSoS via the \u201cSystems Engineering (SE) Guide for SoS\u201d\u202fthat\u202fwas published in 2008.\u202fSince its publication,\u202fthe guide\u202fhas been widely used to understand the unique challenges posed by SoS and\u202fhas subsequently\u202ffueled a path of innovation for addressing\u202fSoS\u202fchallenges by implementing seven core elements, as shown in the figure.\u202fHowever, the concept of SoS, at the time of this publication,\u202fwas nascent in the research and engineering communities, but has experienced\u202fstrides of progress\u202fin recent decades. Hence,\u202fthe SE guide for SoS has\u202flargely become\u202fout of sync\u202fwith\u202fthe current innovations and guidance in SoS\u202ftechnical literature.\u202fIt is imperative to update the DoW SE guidance on SoS with\u202fstate-of-the-art\u202fstandards and literature to help\u202fmaintain\u202fits relevance and increase its utility to the DoW workforce.<\/p>

The primary objective of this update is to support the Secretary of War\u2019s memorandum, “Transforming the Defense Acquisition System into the Warfighting Acquisition System to Accelerate Fielding of Urgently Needed Capabilities to Our Warriors,” ensuring that SoS Engineering (SoSE) practices directly enhance the speed and effectiveness of capability delivery. Recognizing that SoS will dominate future mission areas in both peace and wartime, the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) partnered with the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) and George Mason University (GMU) in 2025 to update the guidebook. \u202fThis project aims to conduct a comprehensive review of the DoW SE guide for SoS and update it with the latest developments and knowledge from the academic literature, professional society standards, and industry best practices.\u202fThis ensures that the SE guide for SoS not only\u202fremains\u202frelevant for use\u202fbut also\u202fsets\u202fthe guidance for the future of SoS for decades to come.\u202f\u202f<\/p>

This project\u202fintegrated the latest research and\u202fstate-of-the-art\u202fstandards to ensure the SoSE guidbook remains relevant and\u202fhighly useful\u202ffor the defense workforce.\u202fIn summary, the GMU and SERC:<\/p>