This unique resource provides professionals and students at all levels with complete, easy-to-understand coverage of the management of complex technical projects through systems engineering. Written for a wide spectrum of readers, from novices to experienced practitioners, the book holds the solution to delivering projects on time and within budget, avoiding the failures and inefficiencies of past efforts. It provides a framework that encapsulates all areas of systems engineering, clearly showing where the multitude of systems engineering activities fit within the overall effort. The book presents a top-down approach that introduces the philosophical aspects of this discipline, and offers a cohesive understanding of important terms, standards and practices that have been developed independently.