The DoD acquisition process involves taking a system from concept to operation, maintenance and disposal. Key SE activities include:
- Defining stakeholder and technical requirements through concept of operations, requirements analysis and definition
- Developing the system architecture through functional analysis, allocation and architecture synthesis
- Implementing, integrating, verifying and validating the system
- Transitioning to operations, and maintaining and eventually disposing of the system
This covers the key SE roles outlined in section 4.1 of the Defense Acquisition Guidebook, including translating user needs to requirements and designing the system architecture. The course then delves into how SE is applied throughout the different phases of the DoD life cycle.