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Why Not Teaching Systems Architecture as a Studio Art Class?

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Systems Engineering in Context

Abstract

Systems architecture is both an art and a science. Its scientific side deals with producing actual designs; its artistic one drives the value of the architecture. Effective systems engineers exhibit strength in both sides. Effective architects are those that create elegant solutions to complex problems. However, most of the development and training of systems engineers focus on the analytical and procedural side. This paper addresses the question of how to teach the artistic side of systems architecting. We contend that systems architecture should be taught in a way similar to how the arts are taught, rather than the traditional instructional approaches employed when teaching engineering sciences. In support of this idea, we propose to teach systems architecture mimicking a studio art class. We discuss the classroom setting, the structure of the lessons, and the structure of the course.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Alejandro Salado & Kirsten Davis

  2. Stevens Instiute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA

    Tom McDermott

  3. Radford University, Radford, VA, USA

    Alejandra Moral

Authors
  1. Alejandro Salado
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  2. Tom McDermott
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  3. Kirsten Davis
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  4. Alejandra Moral
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alejandro Salado .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Stephen Adams

  2. Department of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Peter A. Beling

  3. Department of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    James H. Lambert

  4. Department of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    William T. Scherer

  5. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Cody H. Fleming

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Salado, A., McDermott, T., Davis, K., Moral, A. (2019). Why Not Teaching Systems Architecture as a Studio Art Class?. In: Adams, S., Beling, P., Lambert, J., Scherer, W., Fleming, C. (eds) Systems Engineering in Context. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00114-8_22

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