This resource discusses the management of complex technical projects through systems engineering. Written for a wide spectrum of readers, from novices to experienced practitioners, it explores solutions for 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, showing where the multitude of systems engineering activities fit within the overall effort. The top-down approach introduces the reader to the philosophical aspects of this discipline, and offers an understanding of a plethora of important terms, standards and practices that have been developed independently. Moreover, the authors present key systems engineering issues in a manner that seeks to promote individual thinking and unique approaches to the various projects encountered in the field.