Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

One of the fundamentals in the engineering of systems and architecture is a “D” word that many loathe in our 21st century.

“Let’s hold off on this until we have to decide,” said a hopeful inhabitant of a post-modern universe.

Yes, there are things that we don’t have to decide until we know more. We should wait on those things that require waiting. Then there is the other 98.6% of the things.

Systems Engineering involves deciding. What are we going to call this? What are the boundaries of this? What are we trying to do? Who are we trying to please? How will we attempt this?

Decisions and deciding. If you are a “J” in the Myers-Briggs world, you decide. If you are an “F” or sometimes feel like an “F” but not always depending on … well, deciding is … what were we discussing?

Sorry about all this folks. To do something often requires deciding on what we are doing to something for someone in someplace at sometime with some method and all those other basic questions.

Don’t want to decide? Try another endeavor. We need lots of folks to try other endeavors.