Systems engineering assumes that we can eventually open the box and understand how a system works. But modern AI may challenge that assumption, producing behaviors that emerge from complexity faster than engineers can fully explain.

When SpaceX’s Starship explodes mid-flight, the public sees failure. Systems Engineers see Verification in action. This article examines how structured test failures, disciplined Root Cause Analysis, and Reliability Growth turn visible setbacks into measurable design maturation.

As artificial intelligence systems move toward greater autonomy, the critical question is not only what they can do, but how they will be supported, governed, and ultimately retired. Drawing on the INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook v5, this article examines the often-overlooked Support and Retirement stages and provides a practical checklist to help systems engineers assess life-cycle readiness before complexity outpaces sustainment.
Readers can also download a free Support and Disposal Readiness Checklist to assess whether support and disposal considerations were intentionally incorporated into system design.

When headlines talk about putting servers in space, Systems Engineers should hear something else entirely: architecture trade space. This article revisits a timeless INCOSE principle, the disciplined comparison of fundamentally different architectures, using terrestrial and space-based computing as a modern case study.
Readers can also download a free Architecture Alternatives Comparison Worksheet to support early architecture decisions before assumptions harden into designs.

Scott Adams, the creator of the satirical comic strip Dilbert, died on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at the age of 68. Marking the end of a career that left a lasting imprint on how engineers and technologists understand organizational dysfunction. For much of my professional career, Adams occupied a unique and, frankly, useful place in the engineering world. Through Dilbert, he became a satirist of corporate dysfunction, an informal organizational theorist, and a cultural translator between engineers and executives. His work gave voice to frustrations that many technical professionals experienced daily but struggled to articulate within hierarchical organizations