The concepts and practice of system architecture are relevant to the design of both simple products, like a skateboard, and highly complex systems, like the Space Shuttle. (Skateboard by MIT OCW. Space Shuttle photo courtesy of NASA.)
Instructor(s)
Prof. Edward Crawley
MIT Course Number
ESD.34
As Taught In
January IAP 2007
Level
Graduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Highlights
This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.
Course Description
This course covers principles and methods for technical System Architecture. It presents a synthetic view including: the resolution of ambiguity to identify system goals and boundaries; the creative process of mapping form to function; and the analysis of complexity and methods of decomposition and re-integration. Industrial speakers and faculty present examples from various industries. Heuristic and formal methods are presented. Restricted to SDM (System Design and Management) students.