Global Positioning System: A Case Study Focused on Systems Engineering

A case study was conducted which describes the application of systems engineering during the concept validation, system design and development, and production phases of the GPS program. The case examines the applied systems engineering processes, as well as the interactions of the GPS Joint Program Office, the prime contractors, and the multitude of government agencies that were associated with the program´s development and fielding. The systems engineering process is traced from the initiation of studies and the development of key technologies that established the vision of a satellite navigation system in the 1960s, through the multi-phase joint program that resulted in a full operational capability release in 1995. Numerous interviews were conducted with individuals who personally directed, managed and engineered the program, from which the systems engineering story, and the top four learning principles, emerged.