This unique resource delivers complete, easy-to-understand coverage of the management of complex technical projects through systems engineering. Written for a wide spectrum of readers, from novices to experienced practitioners, the book holds the solution to delivering projects on time and within budget, avoiding the failures and inefficiencies of past efforts. It provides you with a framework that encapsulates all areas of systems engineering, clearly showing you where the multitude of systems engineering activities fit within the overall effort. You get a top-down approach that introduces you to the philosophical aspects of this discipline, and offers you a cohesive understanding of a plethora of important terms, standards and practices that have been developed independently. Moreover, the authors present key systems engineering issues in a manner that promotes individual thinking and unique approaches to the varied projects you encounter in the field.