The Seven Samurai of
Systems Engineering
Dealing with the Complexity
of 7 Interrelated Systems
James N Martin
Systems Engineering Conference
SEDC 2012 at GMU
Washington, DC
15 May 2012
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A Film by Kurosawa (1954)
• Tale of heroism and sacrifice
– Samurai warriors hired by a
Japanese village to protect against
a band of marauding thieves
• Some say…
– “one of the greatest masterpieces
in the history of the motion
picture”
– “what cinema is meant to be”
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The American Wild West Version (1960)
• Starring
– Yul Brynner (leader of the 7)
– Steve McQueen
– James Coburn
– Charles Bronson
• Some call it…
– “the best Western ever made”
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Problem (P1)
Context
System
(S1)
• First, there is a Problem to be solved
• The Problem is part of the Context System
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Problem (P1)
Context
System
(S1)
Context System Elements
 Pre-Existing “Solutions”
 Physical Environment (air, land, sea)
 Regulatory Environment (laws,
regulations, customs, ethics, stigmas)
 Information (data, signals, noise)
 Knowledge (information, knowledge,
wisdom, “best” practices)
But More Elements . . .
 Anti-Knowledge (misinformation, lies, stupidity)
 Emotions (love, hate, delight, disappointment)
 Aesthetics (elegance, beauty, cultural expectations)
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Problem (P1)
intended to address
Context
System
(S1)
Intervention
System (S2)
Systems Engineers try to
conceive of a way to
“suppress” the Problem
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Problem (P1)
intended to address
Context
System
(S1)
Intervention
System (S2)
Problems
System Solutions
 Transport people quickly
over long distances.
Passenger Jet
 Collect images quickly
over entire earth.
Imagery Satellite
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Problem (P1)
Context
System (S1)
needs to understand
Realization
System (S3)
intended to address
Intervention
System (S2)
The Intervention System must be:
 Designed & Developed
 Tested & Qualified
 Produced & Deployed
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Problem (P1)
Context
System (S1)
needs to understand
Realization
System (S3)
intended to address
Intervention
System (S2)
Realization Systems
Intervention Systems
 Airbus + Air France +
Airplane Standards + etc
Passenger Jet
 Boeing + Suppliers +
US Gov’t + Regulations
+ Imaging Technology +
Physics Knowledge + etc
Imagery Satellite
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Problem (P1)
Context
System (S1)
needs to understand
intended to address
Realization
System (S3)
Intervention
System (S2)
becomes
Deployed
System (S4)
Deployed System is
often different from the
“as-designed” system
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Problem (P1)
Context
System (S1)
needs to understand
intended to address
Realization
System (S3)
Intervention
System (S2)
becomes
Boeing
747
Deployed
System (S4)
• 747-100 s/n 345
• 747-200 s/n 678
• 747-419 s/n 321
•…
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Problem (P1)
needs to understand
intended to address
Context
System (S1)
Realization
System (S3)
Intervention
System (S2)
becomes
becomes
Deployed
System (S4)
needs to
understand
Modified Context
System (S1’)
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Problem (P1)
needs to understand
intended to address
Context
System (S1)
Realization
System (S3)
Intervention
System (S2)
becomes
Problem (P2)
becomes
may
cause
Deployed
System (S4)
needs to
understand
Modified Context
System (S1’)
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Problem (P1)
needs to understand
intended to address
Context
System (S1)
Realization
System (S3)
Intervention
System (S2)
becomes
Problem (P2)
becomes
may
cause
Modified Context
System (S1’)
Deployed
System (S4)
needs to
understand
collaborates
with
Collaborating
System (S5)
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Problem (P1)
needs to understand
intended to address
Context
System (S1)
Realization
System (S3)
Intervention
System (S2)
may need
to develop
or modify
becomes
Problem (P2)
becomes
needs to
understand
Deployed
System (S4)
may
cause
Sustainment
System (S6)
collaborates
with
Modified Context
System (S1’)
Collaborating
System (S5)
sustains
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Problem (P1)
Context
System (S1)
may address
becomes
Competing
System (S7)
competes
with
Deployed
System (S4)
Modified Context
System (S1’)
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The 7
Samurai
Problem (P1)
needs to understand
intended to address
Context
System (S1)
Intervention
System (S2)
may address
Competing
System (S7)
becomes
competes
with
Problem (P2)
may need
to develop
or modify
becomes
needs to
understand
Deployed
System (S4)
may
cause
Sustainment
System (S6)
collaborates
with
Modified Context
System (S1’)
Realization
System (S3)
Collaborating
System (S5)
sustains
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 Systems engineers focus
too much on one system —
the Intervention System
 Should use this as a
framework to encourage
true “systems” thinking
 The 7 Samurai framework can lead to more
holistic application of
SE methods and tools
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