"Systems engineering is about thinking - thinking about things in a systematic manner. It first addresses the question of "why are we doing this?" It then moves to understanding how the idea will be used in the current environment. Systems engineers also ask questions like "did we build the right thing? Does it do what the end user wants?" Without these answers, one runs the risk of producing the next product that the market does not want. Systems engineering is sometimes characterized as a new discipline since it often goes unidentified. But, in fact, many companies are practicing systems engineering. They just do these things under a different name"-- Provided by publisher.