Review of "System approach to engineering design" by P.H. Sydenham

Based on a semester-long seminar on the topic, this book aims to fill a gap in the current engineering curricula by taking a wide-angle view at the process of engineering design rather than focusing on a more narrow and in-depth approach. As part of Artech House Publishers' technology management and professional development library, this is an excellent introduction to the topic and may serve for later reference.The author, Peter. H. Sydenham is the inaugural professor and head of the University of South Australia's School of Electronic Engineering, co-founder of the Australian Centre for Test and Evaluation, and a director of Global Systems Engineering Consulting Pty Ltd. This brief biographical sketch explains his qualification to write a book of such practical value and dimension, and why the book is pedagogically sound.The book, according to the preface, aims at those readers who are engineers "who have, or aspire to team leadership or want to take on increased team interfacing responsibilities". As such it builds on and expands what the author perceives to be too little taught in the regular university courses, and covers what is lacking: "breadth of the knowledge now needed to be an effective engineering designer."Twelve chapters offer a step-by-step introduction to the topic. The first chapter, "Systems Thinking and Systems Engineering", gives an overview and the "philosophical" background, while the last looks at "Change and Future Trends". The remaining ten chapters cover the practical aspects of the whole process of systems engineering design with a more hands-on approach, including basics of supporting knowledge such as staff management from planning over recruitment through training to promotion or termination of contract (chapter 3) or information technology support. As such, chapters 2–4 cover the more general aspects, while chapters 5–9 cover the design process from idea to evaluation. Chapter 10 intersperses legal issues, while chapter 11 covers the