Systems Engineering

The last major step in the systems engineering design cycle is synthesis and documentation. In systems engineering, "System Synthesis" is assembling the results of completed analysis and studies into a coherent design. The design for a complex system typically includes multiple items of hardware, software, facilities, etc. Each separate item is referred to as a Configuration Item, and the current state of that item's design at any given time is called a Configuration. Configuration Management is the task of documenting the current state of the design and analysis work. This is necessary to coordinate the work for a complex design with many people involved. Otherwise some work would be based on obsolete data or incorrect assumptions. Other documents included in recording the work are Requirements, Specifications, Study Reports, Simulation code and results, 3D Models, and any other data and notes created in the course of the work. All of this is kept as a base for further work, if later changes are needed, or if questions or problems come up. Design data is also needed for later project stages like production.