Overview:
A landscape survey of Systems Engineering (SE) practice in New Zealand (NZ) was conducted. Observations and insights from local practitioners provide an understanding of growth, challenges, and future direction of SE practice in NZ.
Context:
New Zealand is frequently missed off world maps, and until recently was also missing from the global INCOSE community. Happily, in 2022 this was been rectified through the establishment of the INCOSE NZ chapter. This presentation will discuss the current state of SE adoption in NZ, and the specific challenges of advancing the discipline within a geographically isolated corner of the world, along with the future potential of SE in NZ to support national and international challenges.
Purpose:
In 2021, before a NZ chapter was established, a group of SE practitioners came together to discuss the challenges and opportunities that we faced as an industry. Since then, the community has grown and the practice has evolved, but how? Directed community engagement was required to measure this.
Approach:
Our discussion collected input from a range of companies practicing SE in NZ during the initial setup of an INCOSE chapter and in the time since then. We also discuss the process of setting up INCOSE NZ as a chapter, including an interim committee, regulatory hoops, first elections and rules, and recruiting and retaining members. As a modestly sized chapter spread across an entire country, digital and electronic technologies have been core to our operations. We will present approaches that have worked well alongside those that haven’t.
Insights:
This presentation is relevant to those interested in introducing and promoting Systems Engineering within other countries, and to others considering new INCOSE chapters globally. It will also give a useful overview of engineering in New Zealand of interest to those who may practice here in the future.