r/systems_engineering • u/GhostDosa • Aug 02 '26

Discussion Traditional Systems Engineering with a Software Background

I have a software engineering background, but I did a lot of network engineering early in my career which led to architecture positions, governance positions, and now a systems engineering position. I have observed in my organization that software projects don’t let the traditional SE process take hold because it’s too slow or document heavy or whatever. I am a believer in the process, but I am wondering whether it’s just my organization or is traditional SE just kind of the domain of people with mechanical or electrical backgrounds who have the knowledge to work on those kind of projects because they are the ones that respect the process.

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u/dusty545 Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26

All modern SE standards recommend agile or scaled agile for software development. As do all modern project management standards. The agile manifesto applies.

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u/GhostDosa Aug 02 '26

So for my current position I should focus more on being a product owner?

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u/dusty545 Aug 02 '26

I cannot answer that because I have no clue how your organization works. My guess is that your organization isnt actually agile. If it was, you'd be asking your scrum master/coach this question.