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This paper discusses a practical use of the Systems Engineering Process as it is implemented in a Truck OEM. The process presented is focused on the Electrical and Electronics area, but can be applied to other systems on the vehicle and to the vehicle level requirements. Systems Engineering rationale is summarized based upon historical impacts and the application of Systems Engineering to address those impacts. Prior System Development Processes are reviewed in light of modern Systems Engineering approaches, leading to the synthesis of the Systems Engineering Documentation Set for the Vehicle and the Vehicle's Electrical and Electronic Systems. The analysis for this approach looks at the application of Systems Engineering Principles throughout the lifecycle of the vehicle, going beyond the boundaries of traditional requirements gathering and analysis.

This paper describes how mind mapping software can help to visualize: System performance requirements Product attributes that satisfy performance requirements Mapping between performance requirements and product attributes An example is given using a partial model for vehicle performance developed by the International Truck and Engine Corporation. The mind map software used in this study is Mind Manager Pro version 6 by Mindjet. Anecdotal evidence is offered for the benefits and challenges of implementing a visual Mind Map scheme; however, the judgment of overall effectiveness is left to the reader.

This paper describes the electrical system development for the headlight feature in an International High Performance Vehicle. Systems engineers developed several iterations of functional requirements, functional block diagrams, state diagrams, and body controller software requirements early in the development cycle at considerable engineering expense. The hardware design team found the functional block diagrams useful, however the software design team did not find the other artifacts useful. The software design teams chose to implement a design that was very similar to a current product offering and did not map to the system proposed by the systems engineering team. This paper provides examples of the Systems Engineering artifacts and shows when they were developed in the project timeline.