Meeting with Systems Engineering and Management Degree Students in the UT Dallas Executive Master’s Program

W. Eric Wong Vice President for Publications Chair, Dallas Chapter

Lon Chase Member of Administrative Committee Vice Chair, Dallas Chapter

Software is ubiquitous in our society. It is a vital engineered component in everything from microwave ovens, anti-lock brakes, pacemakers, and imaging equipment to guidance and control systems for space vehicles. Increasingly, software is controlling and/or monitoring the operation of these and many other types of complex systems – systems that some of us use every day. How safe are these systems to use? How safe are they when they fail? Or when will the software fail?

On May 2, 2015, the RS Dallas Chapter invited Dr. Mike Siok from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company in Fort Worth, Texas, to give a special lecture on Software Safety: Process Overview and Application to systems engineering and management degree students in the Executive Master’s Program. A major difference between these students and those in the regular master’s program is that each student in the executive master’s program has a full-time position in an information technology-related area and at least three years of professional experience.

This four-hour lecture discusses the role of software engineering practices in assuring safe systems operation. It also includes an in-class exercise on a real-life example. Students were divided into group, worked on a given scenario to reduce the possible safety risk, and presented their solution to the whole class. The feedback from the audience was very positive. Some participants explicitly mentioned that the knowledge learned from Dr. Siok’s lecture would help them significantly at work.

Also attending this event was the society’s past junior president, Dennis Hoffman, who likewise works at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company in Fort Worth, Texas. In his opening remarks, Dennis explained the benefits of being an RS member and encouraged all the students to join the society.

Shown below are two pictures taken during Dr. Siok’s lecture.

Figure 1: Opening remarks by RS Junior Past President Dennis Hoffman

Figure 2: Lecture by Dr. Mike Siok

Dr. Siok is a well-known expert on systems and software safety. Recently, he led an inter-disciplinary senior engineering team at Lockheed to define and put into place standard engineering practices for software safety. He has also taught software safety at his company many times as part of training for employees.

During the last few years, the RS Dallas Chapter has invited Dr. Siok to give this same lecture approximately once per semester. An article about his lecture appeared in the February 2014 issue of the IEEE Reliability Society Newsletter (Volume 60, Number 1).