4.3.3 Systems Engineering on the Dark Side of the Moon

Systems engineering is an essential discipline for both defense and commercial businesses. To date, it has not been possible for INCOSE to establish as strong a leadership presence in the commercial world as it has in the defense world. This is clearly related to the fact that heritage membership of INCOSE came largely from a defense orientation. It is also related to the author's premise that just as our observer point on earth limits our ability to see the dark side of the moon, our point of observation in our professional domain limits the capacity to truly see the ‘other side‘. The author, having a seventeen year career in the defense industry, recently transitioned to a position in commercial software product development. The observations and insights gained are the subject of this paper, and advocate further comparative research and study of systems engineering as a means to enrich the overall theory and practice.