Systems Engineering (SE) is a complex and multidisciplinary field that requires constant learning and collaboration. As a Systems Engineer, you need to share your knowledge and teach your team how to apply SE principles and methods to solve real-world problems. But how do you do that effectively and efficiently? Here are some tips and best practices to help you.
Before you start sharing knowledge and teaching your team, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure your success. Do you want to improve your team's skills, performance, or productivity? Do you want to introduce new tools, techniques, or standards? Do you want to foster a culture of innovation, creativity, or continuous improvement? Whatever your goals are, make sure they are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Communicate your goals and expectations to your team and get their feedback and buy-in.
I find documentation is the best way to share knowledge. Once you experience and go through the steps, document it so it becomes knowledge for the team and make it easy to follow. Once its documented, need to make it searchable for future reference. Systems Engineering can be very complex nowadays as multiple applications can be integrated to the solution but with great documentation, will keep it simple and easy to understand.
To share knowledge and teach my Systems Engineering team I follow these steps: 1. [Use] regular team meetings for information sharing and discussions. 2. [Create] documentation and manuals for processes and best practices. 3. [Encourage] mentorship and peer learning within the team. 4. [Invest] in training and workshops for skill development. 5. [Foster] a culture of knowledge sharing and open communication.
I believe that the first steps of all projects are: establishing objectives, schedule, costs, mapping risks and defining indicators. The last one will be very useful for team learning and documenting lessons learned.
To teaching a team, I think the good way is to share/provide a good documentation. Documentation can include: 1- methodological guide to modeling the system/project. 2- guide to using a tool. 3- guide to understanding a modeling methodology. 4- guide to understanding the "organization process". 5- glossary .... Good Documentation is a sure way to teaching a team.
Definitly the best way to learn System engineering is by practice. -Begin with one methodology / one language / one tool, and apply the process for a concret example -Choose the best standards like INCOSE Handbook, and go through all the processes one by one -If you choose to use MBSE, i recommend first to take an overview of SysML language before starting, and follow MagicGrid methodology with INCOSE process -If you are beginner i recommend working with Arcadia methodology using free Capella tool
Different people have different learning styles and preferences. Some may prefer reading documents, watching videos, or listening to podcasts. Others may learn better by doing, discussing, or experimenting. To cater to the diverse needs and interests of your team, you should use a variety of methods and formats to share knowledge and teach them. For example, you can use:
- Webinars or online courses to deliver structured and interactive content on specific topics or skills.
- Workshops or hackathons to provide hands-on and collaborative learning opportunities on real or simulated projects or challenges.
- Mentoring or coaching to offer personalized and tailored guidance and feedback to individual team members or groups.
- Communities of practice or peer groups to facilitate informal and social learning among team members who share common interests or goals.
- Knowledge bases or wikis to store and organize relevant and up-to-date information and resources that your team can access and contribute to anytime and anywhere.
From my personal experience there are several ways to learn something and they also depend on the company culture and individual preferences: - Books - Videos - Online courses - Instructor-led webinars - Instructor-led classes - Workshops - Mentoring - "Learning by doing" - "Experimenting by oneself" There is really not "one size fits all" approach here and, again, decisions need to be made on an individual basis.
One thing I often found useful is intentional training. This means that not only do you train your team members with topics specifically relevant to the project or task at hand but also train them by the manner that maximizes the absorption of the content materials. To achieve the later, you as the leader need to spend the time to get to know your individual team members and see to it that you know how they work and how they learn. There is no one size fits all. Most importantly, checkin with them to understand if your choices were indeed helping and be prepared to change course when needed. It may take some trial-and-errors but it will be for the better.
In my own experience, I've found the brown bag lunch and learn activities to be super helpful because they are provided by your colleagues and are heavily tailored towards your organisations projects. Furthermore, due to their inherently informal and internal nature, you have the luxury of reaching out to the person providing the training in case you need further assistance.
Sharing knowledge and teaching your team is not a one-way process. You need to listen to your team's feedback and opinions, and encourage them to reflect on their learning experiences and outcomes in order to assess the effectiveness of your activities, understand their strengths and weaknesses, foster a culture of trust, openness, and mutual respect, and motivate them to continue learning. This will help you to identify areas for improvement or change, tailor your support and interventions accordingly, promote a growth mindset and a willingness to learn from mistakes, as well as encourage your team to apply their knowledge and skills to their work.
At the end of each project, I challenge my team to reflect on what worked and what could be done better. I also allocate time to discuss the amount and impact of scope creeps. This way, we understand what they value and they understand what we value and try and align the two. Also, it helps both of us determine if there are more training needed for the skills and toolset that was lacking both for the leader and the team member. It is a two-way street. There is always something for the leader to learn, too.
This is something I had to learn the hard way, but it is an integral part of this practice. Without any iteration/feedback loops you are not steering the efforts in the right direction (it really is like in control engineering). The feedback itself can come in any form, also depending on company/team culture: - (Anonymous) surveys - 1:1s - Direct Feedback Without that, you might think that you are doing the right thing when in fact all your efforts are detrimental to the way your team members (want to) learn something and hence the effectiveness of any efforts is also greatly reduced.
Sharing knowledge and teaching your team can be a rewarding, yet challenging and time-consuming task. To recognize and reward your team for their efforts and achievements, you should provide positive and constructive feedback, highlight their contributions and impacts, offer incentives and rewards such as certificates, badges, bonuses or promotions based on their performance and goals. Additionally, create opportunities for your team to advance their careers and professional development through new projects, roles or responsibilities. Finally, build a supportive and collaborative environment for your team to share knowledge and skills, learn from each other, and have fun. By doing so, you can make your knowledge sharing and teaching activities more effective and enjoyable for both yourself and your team.
I live by the saying, “what gets rewarded gets repeated.” Recognition is an integral part of our team’s culture and it is a habit that we have honed over the years. Recognitions are also publicized so that other team members are aware and can also celebrate with the recognized team member.
This must not be underestimated. Incentives are a big aspect of how we as humans work. A lot of the online courses offer certificates that can be added to LinkedIn profiles or listed on a CV. Personal trainings within the company can be added to an employees profile and considered when it comes to promoting team members. Lastly, someting simple, such as recognition in front of other team members goes a long way.
In Systems Engineering, my experience has shown that charisma, athleticism, wit, and entertainment skills are just as vital as technical know-how for business success. To teach your team effectively: Communicate engagingly. Lead by example, highlighting the value of a well-rounded skill set. Foster collaboration. Inject creativity. Find a balance between technical expertise and interpersonal skills.
The journey of learning and acquiring knowledge isn't confined to well-established methods, tools, and techniques alone. It extends beyond the boundaries of proven practices and embraces the invaluable lessons that come from failures and mistakes, both our own and those of others. In fact, these missteps often serve as our most potent teachers, offering unique insights and experiences that can't be replicated in a traditional classroom or through conventional means. By embracing the wisdom found in our own missteps and the blunders of others, we unlock a rich source of experiential knowledge that propels us forward on our quest for personal and professional growth.
In jumpstarting your team, particularly in Systems Engineering, focus on defining clear goals and aligning your strategies with them. Emphasize flexibility and continuous improvement by regularly adapting your methodologies to evolving needs. Foster collaboration across roles and departments to enhance problem-solving capabilities. Maintain high ethical standards, adhere to regulatory requirements, and prioritize integrity. Stay ahead by investing in emerging technologies and trends, both for learning support and core business needs. Together, these practices create a cohesive, dynamic, and resilient team, well-equipped to navigate the complexities of the modern world.