Steven Dam
Dr. Dam is the President and Founder of Systems and Proposal Engineering Company (SPEC Innovations). He has been involved with structure analysis, software development, and systems engineering for over 30 years. He participated in the development of C4ISR Architecture Framework and DoD Architecture Framework (DoDAF), the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO) Vision Architecture, the Business Enterprise Architecture (BEA), and Net-Centric Enterprise Services (NCES) architecture. He currently is applying system engineering techniques to various DoD projects. Dr. Dam has a BS degree in Physics from George Mason University and a PhD. in Physics from the University of South Carolina. He has also been a long term member of INCOSE and was formerly the President of the San Diego Chapter before relocating to the Washington Metropolitan Area. Dr. Dam has presented numerous papers and seminars to the WMA Chapter. He is currently President-Elect of the WMA Chapter of INCOSE.
3 min read
Is MBSE Dying? The Truth About Its Future
This blog is in response to a Reddit post by Rhedogian, “Change My View: Model-Based Systems Engineering in 2024 is at best overhyped, or is at worst...
3 min read
Verify & Validate the System Lifecycle Webinar
Don't feel up to reading? Watch the recording! What is Verification & Validation (V&V)? The common definitions for V&V are: verification is “the...
8 min read
Meeting the Challenges for Digital Engineering
Introduction Recently, a senior US Air Force leader gave a presentation with the slide in Figure 1 showing the challenge areas for continued...
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10 Qualities That Make a Good Systems Engineer
All systems engineers should have an understanding of basic concepts and a strong technical background, but these qualities go beyond just the...
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How to Perform Risk Management
Risk analysis and management are vital to the success of any project. As contractors who work on a myriad of projects, we see firsthand that...
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What is FMEA? Failure Modes & Effects Analysis Explained
Proactively identifying potential failure points in complex systems engineering can mean the difference between success and costly disruptions. What...
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Creating a Data Management Plan for Digital Engineers
A Data Management Plan (DMP) is a crucial digital engineering tool for systems and digital engineers, serving as a visual framework that organizes...
7 min read
Agile Systems Engineering Using the Middle-Out Process
Most of the community thinks the term “Agile” refers to Agile software development and the “Agile Manifesto.” The Agile Manifesto (Figure 1) is the...
3 min read
The Role of MOSA in Modern Systems Engineering
What Is MOSA? MOSA is a major initiative of the Department of Defense (DoD), and it has been codified into law. According to the Defense Acquisition...

