Front cover -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Table of contents -- Foreword -- Endorsements -- Preface -- Background to writing Competitive Engineering -- Major influences on Planguage -- How to use this book -- Some book conventions -- Acknowledgements -- Further acknowledgements -- Introduction -- What is in Competitive Engineering? -- How was Competitive Engineering developed? -- What is special about Planguage? -- How to use Competitive Engineering -- Structure of Competitive Engineering -- Format of Competitive Engineering -- A friendly warning -- 1 Planguage Basics and Process Control: The Purpose of Planguage -- 1.1 Introduction: Why We Need a Different 'Systems Engineering' Approach -- Learning through Rapid Feedback -- Dynamic Adaptability -- Capturing the Requirements -- Focus on Results -- Interdisciplinary Communication -- Leadership and Motivation -- Receptiveness to Organizational Change -- Continuous Process Improvement -- Practical Strategies for Systems Engineering -- 1.2 Practical Example: Twelve Tough Questions -- 1.3 Language Core: Planguage Basics and Process Control -- Planguage Specification Language -- A Set of Defined Concepts -- A Set of Defined Parameters and Grammar -- A Set of Icons -- Planguage Process Descriptions -- Requirement Specification (RS) -- Design Engineering (DE) -- Specification Quality Control (SQC) -- Impact Estimation (IE) -- Evolutionary Project Management (EVO, also known as Evo) -- Standards -- Rules -- Process Descriptions -- Entry Conditions -- Procedure -- Exit Conditions -- 1.4 Rules: Generic Rules for Technical and Management Specification -- 1.5 Process Description: Generic Project -- Entry Conditions -- Procedure -- Exit Conditions -- Generic Entry and Exit Process and Conditions -- Process: Generic Entry or Generic Exit -- Procedure -- 1.6 Principles: Generic Project.

1.7 Additional Ideas -- Continuous Process Improvement -- 1.8 Further Example/Case Study: Continuous Process Improvement at Raytheon -- Background -- Aim -- Financing the Improvements -- Measuring the Effects -- Calculating Savings -- 1.9 Diagrams/Icons -- Some Basic Planguage Icons -- Document or Specification -- Plan-Do-Study-Act Process Cycle -- 1.10 Summary: Planguage Basics and Process Control -- 2 Introduction to Requirements: Why? -- 2.1 Introduction to Requirements Specification -- Definition of Requirements -- Key Issues for Requirements -- Identifying the critical stakeholders -- Separating Ends and Means -- Identifying the key requirements -- Quantifying success and failure -- Understanding the past and the future - benchmarks and state-of-the-art -- Considering the timescales for delivery of requirements -- Avoiding the 'ambiguity trap' -- Handling complex requirements -- Allowing requirements to evolve -- 2.2 Practical Example: What is 'Flexibility Improvement'? -- Analyzing a requirement -- Decomposition of Requirements -- Scalar Requirements -- 2.3 Language Core: Sytem Attributes and Requirement Specification Types -- System Attributes -- System -- Attribute -- Function -- Performance -- Resource -- Design -- Requirement Types -- Vision -- Basic Requirement Types -- Function Requirement: what a system has to 'do.' -- Performance Requirement -- Quality Requirement -- Resource Saving Requirement -- Workload Capacity Requirement -- Resource Requirement -- Design Constraint -- Condition Constraint -- 2.4 Rules: Requirement Specification -- 2.5 Process Description: Requirement Specification -- Process: Requirement Specification -- Entry Conditions -- Procedure -- Exit Conditions -- 2.6 Principles: Requirement Specification -- 2.7 Additional Ideas -- Using Qualifiers to Specify Conditions -- Qualifier Definition.

Qualifiers and System Space/Scope -- The Difference between Qualifier Conditions and Condition Constraints -- Qualifiers and Evo Steps -- Additional Ideas Concerning Constraints -- Adherence to Constraints -- Constraint Viewpoints -- 2.8 Further Example/Case Study: A Proposal to the Board for 60 Million -- 2.9 Diagrams/Icons: Requirement Specification -- 2.10 Summary: Requirement Specification -- 3 Functions: What systems 'do' -- 3.1 Introduction: Function and Function Requirement Specification -- Separation of Functions from Design Ideas -- Function Requirements -- 3.2 Practical Example: Function Analysis -- Stakeholders -- Functions -- 3.3 Language Core: Function and Function Requirement Specification -- Referencing Functions -- Specifying an Arbitrary Set of Functions -- Inheritance of Higher Level Requirements -- Function Specification -- Function Description -- Functional Relationships -- Sub-functions -- Supra-functions -- Sibling functions -- Defining Supra-functions (as a set of functions) -- Referencing Supra-functions for a Function -- Defining Sibling Functions -- Attributes of a Function -- Qualifiers -- 3.4 Rules: Function and Function Requirement Specification -- Functionality -- Detail -- Not Degrees -- Not Design -- Function Priority -- Testable -- Test -- 3.5 Process Description: Function Requirement Specification -- Process: Function Requirements -- Entry Conditions -- Procedure -- Exit Conditions -- 3.6 Principles: Function and Function Requirement Specifications -- 3.7 Additional Ideas: Function and Function Requirement Specification -- Mission -- Elementary and complex concepts -- Measuring Functionality -- Additional Examples of Function Specification -- 3.8 Further Example/Case Study: Function Specification for an Airborne Command and Control System -- 3.9 Diagrams/Icons: Function and Function Requirement Specification.

3.10 Summary: Function and Function Requirement Specification -- 4 Performance: How Good? -- 4.1 Introduction -- Performance: Quality, Resource Savings and Workload Capacity -- Quality -- Resource Savings -- Workload Capacity -- 4.2 Practical Example: Performance Requirements -- Step 1 -- Step 2 -- Step 3 -- 4.3 Language Core: Scalar Attributes -- Ambition -- Scale -- Meter -- Benchmarks -- Targets -- Goal -- Budget -- Stretch -- Wish -- Constraints -- Fail -- Survival -- Conditions -- 4.4 Rules: Scalar Requirements -- Completeness -- Explode -- Scale -- Meter -- Benchmark -- Requirement -- Goal or Budget -- Stretch -- Wish -- Fail -- Survival -- 4.5 Process Description: Performance Requirements -- Process: Performance Requirements -- Entry Conditions -- Procedure -- Exit Conditions -- 4.6 Principles: Performance Requirements -- 4.7 Additional Ideas: Performance Requirements -- Handling Complex Performance Requirements -- Limit the Amount of Detail -- Setting Scalar Levels -- Implicit Assumptions Supporting a Scalar Parameter Level -- 4.8 Further Example/Case Study: Performance Specification for a Water Supply -- 4.9 Diagrams/Icons: Scalar Attribute Requirements -- 4.10 Summary: Performance Requirements -- 5 Scales of Measure: How to Quantify -- 5.1 Introduction -- Finding and Developing Scales of Measure and Meters -- Reference Library for Scales of Measure -- Reference Library for Meters -- Managing 'What' You Measure -- 5.2 Practical Example: Scale Definition -- Level of Specification Detail -- 5.3 Language Core: Scale Definition -- Specifying Scales -- The Central Role of a Scale within Scalar Attribute Definition -- Specifying Scales using Qualifiers -- Embedded Qualifiers within a Scale -- Additional Qualifiers -- 5.4 Rules: Scale Definition -- Standard -- Notify Owner -- Scale Definition -- Elementary Attribute -- Differentiate -- Uncertainty.

Scalar Priority -- 5.5 Process Description: Scale Definition -- Process: Scale Definition -- Entry Conditions -- Procedure -- Exit Conditions -- 5.6 Principles: Scale Definition -- 5.7 Additional Ideas: Generic Hierarchies for Scalar Attributes -- Hierarchy of Performance -- Performance -- Quality -- Availability -- Reliability -- Maintainability -- Integrity -- Adaptability -- Flexibility -- Upgradeability -- Usability -- Entry Level Experience -- Training Requirement -- Handling Ability -- Likeability -- Demonstrability -- Resource Savings -- Financial Saving -- Time Saving -- Effort Saving -- Equipment Saving -- Workload Capacity -- Throughput -- Response Time -- Storage Capacity -- 5.8 Further Example/Case Study: Scale Definition -- 5.9 Diagrams/Icons: Scale Definition -- 5.10 Summary: Scales of Measure -- 6 Resources, Budgets and Costs: Costs of Solutions -- 6.1 Introduction -- Relationships amongst Resources, Budgets and Costs -- Stakeholder Requirements and Resources -- The Relationship between Costs and Performance Delivery -- Look at the Use of Resources across the Entire System Lifetime -- Numeric Performance Levels Enable Us to Understand the Associated Costs Better -- The Cost of Perfection - Beware Infinite Cost Increases -- Specify Costs Down to a More Detailed Level - Not Just Total Costs! -- Accurate Estimation of Costs in Advance is Unlikely for Complex Systems -- Use Design to Cost and Evolutionary Project Management (Evo) -- 6.2 Practical Example: Resources, Budgets and Costs -- Resource Requirement Specifications: Allocation of Resources -- 6.3 Language Core: Resources, Budgets and Costs -- 6.4 Rules: Resource Requirement Specification -- 6.5 Process Description: Resource Requirement Specification -- Process: Resource Requirement Specification -- Entry Conditions -- Procedure -- Exit Conditions.

6.6 Principles: Resource Requirements.