Expert Perspectives: The Shift Towards Systems Engineering in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Industry

Systems Engineering

Expert Perspectives: The Shift Towards Systems Engineering in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Industry

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Two speakers hosting a discussion about the role of systems engineering in the aec industry.

Expert Perspectives: The Shift Towards Systems Engineering in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Industry

Welcome to our Expert Perspectives Series, where we showcase insights from leading experts in complex product, systems, and software development. Covering industries from medical devices to aerospace and defense, we feature thought leaders who are shaping the future of their fields.

In this episode, Jama Software’s Joe Gould sits down with Burzin Tampal, an experienced senior systems engineer, as they discuss the construction industry’s shift towards systems engineering.

Watch the full interview to learn more about:

  • Robust requirements management in the construction industry, enabling teams to better meet client needs, comply with regulatory standards, and deliver projects efficiently
  • The adoption of systems engineering in construction projects
  • The challenges faced in implementing these methodologies, and how major companies are adapting to this change

Kenzie Ingram: Welcome to our Expert Perspectives series where we showcase insights from leading experts in complex product, systems, and software development. Covering industries from medical devices to aerospace and defense, we feature thought leaders who are shaping the future in their fields. I’m Kenzie, your host, and today I’m excited to welcome Burzin Tampal, a well-respected Senior Requirements Manager from Toronto, Canada with more than 10 years of experience in systems engineering.

Burzin has worked on major projects within infrastructure, energy, and mining markets across all phases of the project lifecycle. He specializes in developing and implementing processes for requirements management, verification and validation, and interface management on complex projects. Joining Burzin is Jama Software’s own Joe Gould, a seasoned Senior Account Executive with extensive experience in sales within the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. Today, Burzin and Joe will be speaking with us about the shift towards systems engineering in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Without further ado, I’d like to welcome Burzin Tampal and Joe Gould.

Joe Gould: Hello, everyone. I’m Joe Gould, Senior Account Executive with Jama Software, and welcome to today’s interview with an expert. I’m thrilled to have Burzin Tampal with us, a seasoned expert in systems engineering. Today, Burzin will be sharing insights into the challenges and benefits of adopting a systems-focused approach in the AEC industry. Burzin, thank you for joining us. It’s a pleasure to have you here.

Burzin Tampal: Thank you, Joe. I’m honored to be here.

Gould: Great. Well, Burzin, let’s jump right in. Can you describe your journey and what prompted the shift towards adopting systems engineering in construction projects?

Tampal: Certainly. So I’ve had the opportunity to work in the medical, financial, and software development sectors prior to working on major projects in the AEC where I initially started off in the rail and transit division. Unfortunately, not all projects were successful by project management standards and most ended either over budget, over schedule, or had quality issues. These projects would sometimes lead to lawsuits, and I had heard that this was somewhat typical for these projects.

I was quite concerned that this was status quo for a 200 plus year old industry, so I started doing some independent research and went down a path which led me to learning more about systems engineering. I came across a popular study. You might know or heard of it. It’s the 2015 Chaos Report by The Standish Group. And although it was not specific to the rail and transit industry, I felt it was very applicable.

If my memory serves me correctly, the outcome stated that something like the top three, the top five reasons, rather, for failed projects was related to poor requirements management practices. I guess I really tried to right the ship after that. I could start to see where the current practices on these major engineering and construction projects were failing to meet the needs of the complex project.

And after gaining some modest successes, I was determined to rethink how we implement systems engineering best practices efficiently across all engineering and construction projects. I developed my own strategy for deploying a lean systems engineering solution on projects, and I’ve been using systems engineering principles on all construction projects ever since.

RELATED: Jama Connect® Features in Five: Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Solution

Gould: That’s great. It’s fascinating to hear how your organization’s moved towards systems engineering. I know that shift can often come with its own set of challenges, but I’d love to see this thought leadership in our industry, Burzin. Next question, can you explain how requirements management plays a role in your construction projects?

Tampal: Absolutely. So requirements management, as most people think about it, has typically been used on systems projects, which inherently have a lot of complexity. If we take a step back, however, without getting into details about a rigorous process or beneficial tools, requirements management at its core is simply meant to track and trace stakeholder needs and project requirements throughout the project lifecycle with the end goal of ensuring compliance and satisfying the stakeholder needs.

Now, I can’t think of a project, systems or not, which wouldn’t benefit from the practice with that definition. One that is meant to ensure that the handed over project meets the needs of the client as formally agreed to. So with that in mind, requirements management really forms the backbone of systems engineering and even project management to a certain degree on engineering and construction projects that I’ve been working on.

Gould: Yeah, it sounds like requirements management really sounds like a crucial aspect here, Burzin. I imagine keeping track of requirements in a way that aligns all stakeholders can make an absolute huge difference.

Tampal: Absolutely. 100%. That’s fundamental.

Gould: So tell me what benefits you’ve experienced moving to a more systems engineering focused approach.

Tampal: Well, where do I start? There are many obvious benefits of using systems engineering that you could read about in a lot of systems engineering materials. The INCOSE Handbook is a great resource. But I think I’ll expand on some of the benefits that are not typically highlighted. So the first benefit I would mention is consistency. Leveraging a standard systems engineering process enabled consistent outputs and deliverables.

While this may sound underwhelming, it was actually the foundation for many of the other benefits we were able to attain. Some other more common benefits include a reduction in error quality issues, which meant reduced corrective effort, improved communication, which resulted in reduced duplication of effort. And once the processes were standardized and we were getting consistent outcomes, we could then implement process efficiencies which resulted in reduced resources or effort required to perform the work.

Gould: Wow, that’s excellent. It’s great to hear that you’ve realized those tangible benefits. Sometimes there are those moments where new processes open up even more possibilities.

Tampal: Correct.

RELATED: Tighten Control Over Project Costs, Compliance and Completion with Jama Connect for Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO)

Gould: So what are some of the unique challenges construction projects face compared to say traditional industries like automotive or aerospace when it comes to implementing systems engineering, Burzin?

Tampal: That’s a great question. There are a lot of unique challenges. So conceptually, systems engineering best practices involve the requirements development process to be performed collaboratively with all stakeholders participating in the creation, review, and approval of the project requirements set. Traditional industries specializing in manufacturing and product development such as the automotive industry benefit from the ability to own their requirements management process from inception.

Most major architecture, engineering, and construction or AEC projects, however, are managed based on project requirement input documents and schematics in PDF, especially in the public sector. While it might not seem like much of a challenge at first, the fact that the initial baseline of project requirements is provided in a PDF document requires a great deal of upfront effort to review, extract, and manage project requirements.

Additional challenges include the fact that request for proposal (RFP) and contract documents are typically created by multiple people or teams in silos from each other over a long period of time. This practice tends to lead to incomplete requirements causing scope gaps, duplicate requirements causing duplicate effort, and even conflicting requirements causing quality issues across the project requirements set.

A final legal review of those requirements and edit of those documents typically compounds the challenges by adding a layer of ambiguity to the requirements set. Furthermore, different contract models and strategies come with their own unique set of challenges, almost always impacting efficiency of requirements change management.

Gould: I think I’ve been through some of those PDF reviews before, Burzin, so that makes a lot of sense. Construction does seem to have a unique constraints compared to industries like automotive or aerospace. Can you talk a little bit about the challenges of keeping everyone in sync and aligned on a complex project?

Tampal: Absolutely. It’s commonly known that communication is key. This is even more so true when it comes to large projects where there’s a complex stakeholder relationship structure involving a mix of clients, contractors, suppliers, sub-consultants, vendors, and third parties. Ensuring that you are providing the most up-to-date information to the correct stakeholders is certainly a challenge.

Since construction projects can range in duration from weeks to years and even decades, key things to consider include the frequency, mode, and the level of detail in communications. Ensuring everyone is aligned and contributing towards the next major milestone involves meticulous planning and consistent monitoring and execution.

Gould: So Burzin, staying aligned on a complex project has to be a major priority for everyone, especially with so many moving parts in construction projects.

Tampal: Absolutely. At times there can be up to a hundred or more stakeholders that you have to manage and keep informed.

Gould: That’s a lot of alignment. Definitely a lot of alignment. So Burzin, how do you handle the integration of evolving project requirements throughout the construction process? I mean, what best practices do you follow to manage changes without disrupting progress?

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Tampal: Well, this is certainly a challenge on all projects and more so on large complex AEC projects. We all know the inverse relation graphic of cost of changes over time on a project and the opportunity to influence or make a change on a project where there is more opportunity and lower cost to implement a change early on in the project life cycle and much less opportunity and higher cost to implement a change later in the project life cycle.

Without an industry-recognized requirement software tool like Jama Connect®, it would nearly be impossible to identify the changes, perform an impact assessment, review the changes with the change control board for approval, and then implement all the approved changes, ensuring all impacted requirements and other items are resolved as required. Because changes during construction are typically more costly, we want to ensure that the project is adhering to a well-defined configuration management and change control process.

Some of the best practices that we implement include using a functional tool to track the proposed changes, trace the changes to all impacted items, this could be evidences or other requirements, include all relevant stakeholders in the CCB or Change Control Board when reviewing and deciding to approve a change, and adequately communicating the approved change to teams for all impacted items. Although this will not eliminate disruption, this will greatly reduce the potential of negatively impacting the project’s quality, schedule, or budget.

Gould: Wow. It sounds like balancing evolving requirements with project stability is no small feat, especially in a field as dynamic as construction. I’m sure your approach to managing this balance is a key factor in keeping your projects on track despite the inevitable changes.

Tampal: Absolutely.

Gould: So Burzin, what role does technology such as software tools for requirements management play in the shift towards systems engineering, do you think?

Tampal: Well, throughout this interview, I’ve mentioned many challenges which come with the territory when participating in construction projects, particularly large and complex AEC projects. Technology such as software tools for requirements management play an integral role in the shift towards deploying a standards-based systems engineering solution in line with industry best practices.

The technology shift has contributed to both increasing the complexity on projects as well as providing software tools that can better calculate, simulate, and manage the solution. Projects have already shifted to digital delivery, and leveraging the best tool fit for purpose is detrimental to project success.

When used correctly, requirements management tools such as Jama Connect, design management software such as AutoCAD, MBSE tools for modeling, and construction management software such as Autodesk Construction Cloud or ACC can significantly reduce the effort required to produce a deliverable while improving the quality at the same time. However, with the available software tools in the market, it is becoming increasingly more important to ensure the tools can integrate with each other and establish a digital threat,d and streamline the overall process.

Over the past two years, there have been a boom in artificial intelligence and machine learning. We are now in a time where data is the most valuable currency, and therefore, understanding how to get the most out of the technology and software solution deployed on a project is detrimental to long-term success.

RELATED: Utilize Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing to Produce High-Quality Requirements with Jama Connect Advisor™

Gould: I couldn’t agree more. It sounds like technology really supports teams in navigating the complexities of systems engineering. I can imagine that certain features in requirements management tools make a significant impact on how effectively you implement this approach.

Tampal: Absolutely.

Gould: Well, Burzin, I think we’re out of time. I want to thank you so much for sharing your insights and your experiences with us today. It’s been for me incredibly valuable to hear about your journey in integrating systems engineering. We appreciate your time and openness and look forward to seeing the continued success of your projects. Burzin, thank you again.

Tampal: Thank you for having me, Joe. Appreciate it.

Ingram: Thank you for joining us in this episode of our Expert Perspectives series. We hope you’ve enjoyed this conversation between Burzin Tampal and Joe Gould on systems engineering and architecture engineering in construction industries. If you’re an existing customer and want to learn more about Jama Software, please reach out to your customer success manager or consultant.

If you’re not yet a client, please visit our website at JamaSoftware.com to learn more about us and how we can help optimize your development processes. Thank you and stay tuned for our upcoming episodes of Expert Perspectives. Please note that the views expressed in the interviews and commentary are solely those of the individuals providing them and do not reflect the opinions of Jama Software.

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Expert Perspectives: The Shift Towards Systems Engineering in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Industry

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