Figure 1 shows the systems engineering process as taught by the Defense Acquisition University. (Defense Systems Management College 2001). This systems engineering model features three stages plus System Analysis and Control: Requirements Analysis, Functional Analysis/Allocation, and Systems Design. In Requirements Analysis, the systems engineer identifies and documents the customer’s requirements and translates them into a set of technical requirements for the system. During Functional Analysis/Allocation, the systems engineer translates the requirements identified in Requirements Analysis into a functional decomposition that describes the product in terms of an assembly of configuration items where each configuration item is defined by what it must do, its required performance, and its interfaces. Configuration items can be hardware, software, or manpower. Finally, during Design Synthesis, specific hardware, software, & crew billets are defined that meet the requirements of the configuration items. Systems Analysis and Control provides the technical management activities to keep the entire process progressing on schedule, with acceptable performance, and within cost.