That's because the military are actually really good at doing systems engineering, because it's all about writing requirements specifications, managing acquisit

That's because the military are actually really good at doing systems engineering, because it's all about writing requirements specifications, managing acquisitions and testing for delivery against requirements which is the military's bread and butter. Most of my experience in this area has been workign for ex-military people. NASA are also really good at it, and they publish a handbook on it which is very good: (warning: 8.1MB PDF) http://foiaelibrary.gsfc.nasa.gov/_assets/doclibBidder/tech_docs/5.%20NASA%20SP-6105%20Rev%201%20%28Sys%20Eng%20Handbook%29.pdf http://foiaelibrary.gsfc.nasa.gov/_assets/doclibBidder/tech_... They may not refer to the acronym "POSTED" exactly, but said acronym is what I learned and I thought highlighted the scope of what a system covers, specifically that it is not just the equipment i.e.: software. In the NASA SE Handbook, page 3 says the following, which essentially maps across to what I described: "A “system” is a construct or collection of different elements that together produce results not obtainable by the elements alone. The elements, or parts, can include people, hardware, software, facilities, policies, and documents; that is, all things required to produce system-level results."