Advancing the Development of Systems Engineers Using Process Simulators

Simulators can serve as an efficient and effective means to educate and train systems engineering students as well as current systems engineers to understand complex aspects related to systems engineering. A systems engineering simulator can promote and accelerate experiential learning. Systems engineering simulators allow users to consider different project options and perform “what if” analyses in order to evaluate the dynamic consequences of decisions and understand the various related system dynamics without impact to the real system being simulated. Systems engineering “management flight” simulators can help individuals to develop the crucial systems thinking skills necessary for systems engineers and can reduce the time to develop an understanding of complex system dynamics. This paper discusses research related to the educational use of simulators in software engineering. These findings can be leveraged for the development of systems engineering process simulators.