Syllabus

ESI 6550: Systems Thinking in Engineering

Department of Industrial Engineering

College of Engineering and Computer Science

3 Credits

Instructor Information

Instructor	Dr. Thomas O'Neal
Office	Eng2 429
Office Hours (ET)	By Appointment, Zoom preferred
Phone	407 489-6208
E-mail	oneal@ucf.edu

Course Information

Term: Spring 2024
Course Number & Section: ESI 6550 Sections: 0W01
Course Name: Systems Thinking in Engineering
Credit Hours: 3

Enrollment Requirements

Course Prerequisites: ESI 6551 Systems Engineering or C.I.

Course Description

This class shows how it is possible to use system thinking in order to properly define, conceive, develop, and articulate complex systems and explore 2nd and 3rd order effects of their behavior.

Course Materials and Resources

Required Text

Senge, P. M. (2006). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. London: Random House Business.

Boardman, J., & Sauser, B. (2008). Systems thinking: Coping with 21st century problems. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Online at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.1201/9781420054927/systems-thinking-john-boardman-brian-sauser

Insight Maker (https://insightmaker.com/ Links to an external site.) a free, online tool for modeling systems.

Other Materials

Various articles and materials will be provided to the student via WebCourses@UCF or available in the UCF Library (online). The lecture slides and supplementary material on systems engineering will be provided to the student via WebCourses@UCF.

Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes

This class builds upon a solid conceptual foundation to ensure that the system is properly defined, conceived, and developed. Uniquely, the class shows how it is possible to use systems thinking in order to explore 2nd and 3rd order effects, think more deeply, and develop defensible and articulate decisions. Systems diagraming and modeling tools will be used to structure and conduct analyses of decisions.

Course Activities

This course will include:

Weekly readings from the course text book and selected readings to supplement topics of interest,
On-going student participation in the form of homework assignments and
A group final project which applies knowledge gained throughout the course.

Each module corresponds to a week in the semester of the course and will require the student to keep up with the reading and assignments in order to complete the course requirements.

An important element of this class is the reading material. The material will be reinforced with assignments that will allow students to work individually or as an assigned group for the final project to reinforce learning through solving problems.

Final Group Project

The Instructor will assign students to their Final Project Group. Each group will select a systems thinking topic (with instructor’s approval) for their selected project. The project will consist of several assignments that will iterative advance the groups analysis of the selected topic for a final submission at the end of the semester.

Assignments Submissions

Assignment information and submission will be communicated using Webcourses@UCF. Specific instructions for each assignment will be provided with the details for that assignment.
Late assignments do not need to be communicated to the instructor. Informing the instructor of a planned absence or late submission does not constitute approval of that absence or late submission.
Assignment make-ups or delays are allowed only for extremely well-documented reasons (e.g., doctor’s note, hospital discharge notice, traffic accident report, death certificate). E-mail a scanned version of such documentation to the instructor as early as possible to ensure appropriate action is taken. Most assignments open a week early - if a student has a planned absence it can be coordinated with the instructor.
Canvas discussions and Webcourses messages are the preferred mechanisms for all class communications.
E-mails to the instructor should only be used where personal privacy is required by law (e.g., by FERPA).

Participation

This is an on-line course so there are no attendance requirements. However, regular participation in the course materials is required and reading materials and assignments have specific due dates. Full participation will not only increase your understanding of the material for the course but is critical to the successful completion of course requirements.

Make-up Assignments

Per university policy, you are allowed to submit make-up work (or an equivalent, alternate assignment) for university-sponsored events, religious observances, or legal obligations (such as jury duty). Such reasons must be extremely well documented (e.g., doctor’s note, hospital discharge notice, traffic accident report, death certificate). Since this is a web-based course with no attendance requirements, the need for make up assignments should be rare. If this participation conflicts with your course assignments, I will offer a reasonable opportunity for you to complete missed assignments and/or exams. The make-up assignment and grading scale will be equivalent to the missed assignment and its grading scale. Please contact me ahead of time to notify me of upcoming needs.

Assessment and Grading Procedures

Assignment	Percentage of Grade
Assignment / Homework	60%
Final Project	40%
Total	100%

Letter Grade	Points
A	93 – 100 points
A-	90 – 92 points
B+	87 – 89 points
B	83 – 86 points
B-	80 – 82 points
C+	77 – 79 points
C	73 – 76 points
C-	70 – 72 points
D+	67 – 69 points
D	63 – 66 points
D-	60 – 62 points
F	59 and below

Course Schedule

The course schedule can be found here. Please note that the readings list and course assignments are not finalized and may change as the semester progresses. Watch course announcements for notification of changes. The updated syllabus and schedule will always be found here in webcourses.

Policy Statements

Academic Integrity

Students should familiarize themselves with UCF’s Rules of Conduct. According to Section 1, "Academic Misconduct," students are prohibited from engaging in:

Unauthorized assistance: Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in any academic exercise unless specifically authorized by the instructor of record. The unauthorized possession of examination or course-related material also constitutes cheating.
Communication to another through written, visual, electronic, or oral means: The presentation of material which has not been studied or learned, but rather was obtained through someone else’s efforts and used as part of an examination, course assignment, or project.
Commercial Use of Academic Material: Selling of course material to another person, student, and/or uploading course material to a third-party vendor without authorization or without the express written permission of the university and the instructor. Course materials include but are not limited to class notes, Instructor’s PowerPoints, course syllabi, tests, quizzes, labs, instruction sheets, homework, study guides, handouts, etc.
Falsifying or misrepresenting the student’s own academic work.
Plagiarism: Using or appropriating another’s work without any indication of the source, thereby attempting to convey the impression that such work is the student’s own.
Multiple Submissions: Submitting the same academic work for credit more than once without the express written permission of the instructor.
Helping another violate academic behavior standards.

For more information about Academic Integrity, students may consult The Center for Academic Integrity. Links to an external site.

For more information about plagiarism and misuse of sources, see “Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices Links to an external site.”.

Responses to Academic Dishonesty, Plagiarism, or Cheating

Students should also familiarize themselves with the procedures for academic misconduct in UCF’s student handbook, The Golden Rule. UCF faculty members have a responsibility for students’ education and the value of a UCF degree, and so seek to prevent unethical behavior and when necessary respond to academic misconduct. Penalties can include a failing grade in an assignment or in the course, suspension or expulsion from the university, and/or a "Z Designation" on a student’s official transcript indicating academic dishonesty, where the final grade for this course will be preceded by the letter Z. For more information about the Z Designation, see http://goldenrule.sdes.ucf.edu/zgrade.

Course Accessibility Statement

The University of Central Florida is committed to providing access and inclusion for all persons with disabilities. Students with disabilities who need disability-related access in this course should contact the professor as soon as possible. Students should also connect with Student Accessibility Services (Ferrell Commons 185, sas@ucf.edu, phone (407) 823-2371). Through Student Accessibility Services, a Course Accessibility Letter may be created and sent to professors, which informs faculty of potential access and accommodations that might be reasonable.Determining reasonable access and accommodations requires consideration of the course design, course learning objectives and the individual academic and course barriers experienced by the student.

Campus Safety Statement

Emergencies on campus are rare, but if one should arise in our class, everyone needs to work together. Students should be aware of their surroundings and familiar with some basic safety and security concepts.

In case of an emergency, dial 911 for assistance.
Every UCF classroom contains an emergency procedure guide posted on a wall near the door. Please make a note of the guide’s physical location and consider reviewing the online version at http://emergency.ucf.edu/emergency_guide.html.
Students should know the evacuation routes from each of their classrooms and have a plan for finding safety in case of an emergency.
If there is a medical emergency during class, we may need to access a first aid kit or AED (Automated External Defibrillator). To learn where those items are located in this building, see http://www.ehs.ucf.edu/workplacesafety.html (click on link from menu on left).
To stay informed about emergency situations, sign up to receive UCF text alerts by going to my.ucf.edu and logging in. Click on "Student Self Service" located on the left side of the screen in the tool bar, scroll down to the blue "Personal Information" heading on your Student Center screen, click on "UCF Alert," fill out the information, including your e-mail address, cell phone number, and cell phone provider, click "Apply" to save the changes, and then click "OK."
Students with special needs related to emergency situations should speak with their instructors outside of class.
To learn about how to manage an active-shooter situation on campus or elsewhere, consider viewing this video. You CAN Survive an Active Shooter Links to an external site.

Deployed Active Duty Military Students

If you are a deployed active duty military student and feel that you may need a special accommodation due to that unique status, please contact your instructor to discuss your circumstances.

Copyright

This course may contain copyright protected materials such as audio or video clips, images, text materials, etc. These items are being used with regard to the Fair Use doctrine in order to enhance the learning environment. Please do not copy, duplicate, download or distribute these items. The use of these materials is strictly reserved for this online classroom environment and your use only. All copyright materials are credited to the copyright holder.

Third-Party Software and FERPA

During this course you might have the opportunity to use public online services and/or software applications sometimes called third-party software such as a blog or wiki. While some of these could be required assignments, you need not make any personally identifying information on a public site. Do not post or provide any private information about yourself or your classmates. Where appropriate you may use a pseudonym or nickname. Some written assignments posted publicly may require personal reflection/comments, but the assignments will not require you to disclose any personally identity-sensitive information. If you have any concerns about this, please contact your instructor.