Systems Engineering (SE)—Old Thinking in a New Guise

The chapter “Systems Engineering (SE)—…” initially presents the concept of Systems Engineering both nationally (Germany) and internationally. In addition, the history of SE is rudimentarily considered, which spans thousands of years back to the ancient Egyptians. Based on current developments such as globalization, new technologies, the individualization of systems, and the increasing dynamization, as well as the currently valid basic principles of systematic thinking and action, specific requirements for a generic SE are worked out. Both universal and discipline-specific SE approaches from engineering sciences are presented and compared with the requirements for a generic SE. The conclusion follows with the justified realization that current approaches are not yet standardized and interdisciplinary. Specific requirements for a re-design towards generic SE, the Generic Systems Engineering, are also named.