FEAT URED AR TIC L ES :
Implementing Virtual Systems Engineering During a Global Pandemic A study of the reinvention of value propositions and delivery models of services in the wake of COVID-19 by Rebecca Reed, Ian Presland, and John Greene Copyright ©2021 by Rebecca Reed, Ian Presland, and John Greene. All rights reserved. Authored for PPI SyEN.
Abstract: The sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 required immediate transformation of the way most organizations do business. For companies providing systemsengineering support services, the transition to fully virtual meetings, team collaboration, product updates, and sales/marketing efforts introduced a wide array of new challenges, unexpected risks, and some new opportunities. This article explores the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of two small business providing systems-engineering support and training programs. Introduction In early March of 2020, the world had to shut down essentially overnight due to the shocking news that a new, deadly virus was rapidly spreading around the globe. For small businesses in the technical consulting industry, the dramatic shift in daily operations caused turmoil, fear, financial impact, and unexpected opportunity. The initial reactions by small business teams and clients were focused on safety: safety for employees, safety for integrated operations, and safety for critical customer tasking. There was an almost immediate transformation from moving forward with regular daily in-person, on-site work to “all virtual everything”. Suddenly, new constraints were placed on the systems small businesses rely on for day-today operations, and several new systems were immediately integrated into established business processes. Suddenly, people could no longer physically be within 6 or 12 or 20 feet of each other or be without facemasks in any situation outside the home. Home-based August 2021
internet connections suddenly had to be consistent, reliable, with sufficient bandwidth and speed to support work-related tasks, and completely secure. Projects were all converted to management by telecommuters, live training programs were transitioned immediately to virtual programs, and the systems approach to everything instantly took on new constraints. As systems engineers, we work hard to study the big picture, capture the needs, concepts, and risks associated with our projects. However, the pandemic created an entirely new set of needs, concepts, risks, and processes that had never been considered for most efforts before. The following examples of pandemic adjustment to systems engineering are actual scenarios that were experienced by two small businesses in the technical consulting and training arenas. Adjustment to Service Offerings Pre-pandemic, for a large-scale information technology (IT) system in the early stages of planning, requirements, and architectural concepts, the systems engineering effort was
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