This module is either the second or third module on the BSc Engineering Management degree here at Lincoln, depending on the course undertaken. It is a core engineering module which means that everyone who is on the course will study it.

This module deals with the idea that a system of parts working together does something that the same parts in a heap don’t do. In pure engineering terms that seems both obvious and not too difficult to understand, the complexity arises when we add people to the mix. A system often doesn’t work in the way the designers intended because people try to make it work in different ways, or find it cumbersome and try to get around it. This module looks at the ideas around soft systems methodology, so called because it refers to human or ‘soft’ systems rather than a mechanical or ‘hard’ system and a methodology which suggests tool which might help us see the wood for the trees in working out why our soft ‘peopley’ systems don’t always work as expected.

Please ensure you read all this Module Handbook very thoroughly, from the front page to the back page, to ensure you are clear what is required of you.  Step by step, clear guidance is provided to help you complete this module (see section “What do you need to do next?”). We strongly recommend that you follow this guidance to give you the best possible chance of success with the Engineering Systems Design module.

To be helpful to you, when you search for something during your studies, we recommend that you might use MS Word’s Home/Find tool to locate key words in this Handbook.

This Module Handbook should be read in conjunction with the resources on Blackboard which aim to provide you with accurate information and details about the module’s:

• background
• topics covered
• timescale and organisation
• assessment process.

More general guidance is provided about the University’s available resources and approach and you should refer to your other documents advised to you at Induction and Enrolment.

I hope you enjoy this module, and find in it some challenging ideas to apply in the workplace.

Module Synopsis

This module introduces students to system design concepts and tools, and challenges students to think critically about their potential and actual application in Engineering.
Students will be introduced in the engineering of systems design from an operations perspective, which will focus on two functions in particular, either: (a) directing operations or (b) designing operations.
Students will learn the principles behind a number of systematic and systemic design approaches. These principles will be discovered, explored and applied typically through a series of paradoxes and metaphors, such as: the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’, the ‘Impossibility Theorem’ and ‘Sustainable Social/Economic/Ecological Systems

Outline Syllabus

Areas to explore by students will typically include:
a. Systematic approaches for: (a) directing operations and (b) designing operations
b. System approaches for: (a) achieving coordinated actions (e.g. impossibility theorem), (b) avoid abuses inside the system (e.g. tragedy of the commons) and (c) fostering collaboration (e.g. sustainable systems)

Module Learning Outcomes

To pass the module, students are required to meet and reach the following validated Learning Outcomes:

LO1  Critical Knowledge and appreciation of the fundamental principles of a number of Systems Design Approaches

LO2   Awareness and critique of current use of Systems Design in Engineering Contexts

LO3 Practical skill in applying knowledge of Systems Design to an Engineering context

LO4 Consider the role of systems design in managing and promoting innovation

Your assignments will feature these ideas in variable amounts depending on the nature of the engineering situation you explore, but you should use this list as a checklist to ensure that you have included reference to all of them within your work.

Please work with your tutor. Ask them questions, submit drafts and if you are not sure please ask.