Managing and engineering complex technological systems: a review

Overview Systems engineering (SE) is an interdisciplinary approach to cope with the ever-increasing complexities of technological systems. The field of SE has imparted valuable insights on optimizing and analyzing complex systems, which have greatly benefited from the methodologies and principles of SE. The approach of SE is to combine classical engineering considerations with the stipulated constraints and traditional challenges faced by organizational and managerial systems to enable the development of successful largescale complex systems (Luzeaux et al. 2011; Naser and Kamrani 2012). In this regard, non-technical readers also need to grasp a picture of SE to understand its benefits and employ modern insights and tools to optimize systems. There is only a handful of books, such as Eisner (2008), Sage and Rouse (2009), Parnell et al. (2011), Khisty et al. (2012), and Blanchard and Blyler (2016), which combine the theory and practice of SE and systems management. To that end, “managing and engineering complex technological systems”, by Zonnenshain and Stauber, is the book that for the first time presents a qualitative study of the different aspects of SE, accomplished through dozens of comprehensive interviews with renowned experts, leading systems engineers and experienced consultants in the field.