The INCOSE International Symposium (IS) was held July 1-4, 2024, in Dublin, Ireland — a beautiful host city and country.
Exhibit Hall Booth
We set up a booth in the IS Exhibit Hall, joining many commercial and academic organizations in providing attendees with valuable information, demonstrations, and networking opportunities. Our booth featured our proprietary chart that explained the context of Systems Engineering Technical Processes within the framework of a project, guided by organizational agreements. Though the chart appeared complex, I simplified it by breaking it down according to the Handbook process chapters and the overall process types: Technical, Project Management, Agreements, and Organizational Enabling.
At our booth, we distributed copies of the chart, pencils, and a few copies of our Study Notebook for INCOSE SEP Certification Exam Preparation Course, available on Amazon for only $5. We enjoyed reconnecting with old friends and making new connections. Overall, it was a successful Symposium, highlighting our collective efforts and the strength of our community.
Our new chart
Our proprietary chart, which we affectionately call the “Big Awesome Chart (BAC), is the result of a year-long effort to update our course to the new INCOSE SE Handbook version 5. This is the third major Iteration of the BAC. For the past 12 years, I’ve taught the Handbook by building my proprietary chart one process at a time. This latest version was a challenge to ensure all the inputs and outputs were included in the chart.
INCOSE SEP Program changes
During the conference, I did learn a few things about changes in the INCOSE certification program. Here is a video on Facebook from Courtney Wright, Certification Program Manager, explaining most of them,
The Hybrid Exam will continue until the end of the year.
The CSEP application will now allow just one reference.
ESEP application will allow a written interview instead of an in-person phone call.
Not mentioned, but the one change that affects the Exam the most: “All questions on the exam are multiple choice.” So, all the questions will have a “1 out of 4” structure — four answers, with only one being correct. This is according to the INCOSE Website page: Taking the Exam [scroll down to “Preparing for the Exam]. By the way, they have a $10 practice exam online, which can help you see this new Exam structure. I plan to change the sample questions to this new format, which will take a while.
All in all, another successful Symposium, and we look forward to the 34th Annual INCOSE International Symposium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Hope to see you there.
