Enterprise systems engineering

Enterprise systems engineering (ESE) is the discipline that applies systems engineering to the design of an enterprise. As a discipline, it includes a body of knowledge, principles, and processes tailored to the design of enterprise systems. An enterprise is a complex, socio-technical system that comprises interdependent resources of people, information, and technology that must interact to fulfill a common mission. Enterprise systems engineering incorporates all the tasks of traditional systems engineering but is further informed by an expansive view of the political, operational, economic, and technological (POET) contexts in which the system(s) under consideration are developed, acquired, modified, maintained, or disposed. Enterprise systems engineering may be appropriate when the complexity of the enterprise exceeds the scope of the assumptions upon which textbook systems engineering are based. Traditional systems engineering assumptions include relatively stable and well understood requirements, a system configuration that can be controlled, and a small, easily discernible set of stakeholders. An enterprise systems engineer must produce a different kind of analysis on the people, technology, and other components of the organization in order to see the whole enterprise. As the enterprise becomes more complex, with more parameters and people involved, it is important to integrate the system as much as possible to enable the organization to achieve a higher standard.