engineering

Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance

Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance rather than just read about it. In short: Systems Engineering and Technical Advisory (SETA) contractors are government contractors who are contracted to assist the United States Department of Defense (DoD) components, and acquisition programs. (In some areas of DoD, the acronym SETA refers to "Systems Engineering and Technical Assessment" contractors; also refers to "Systems Engineering and Technical Advisors.") SETA contractors provide analysis and enginee…

Key takeaways

Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Systems Engineering and Technical Advisory (SETA) contractors are government contractors who are contracted to assist the United States Department of Defense (DoD) components, and acquisition programs. (In some areas of DoD, the acronym SETA refers to "Systems Engineering and Technical Assessment" contractors; also refers to "Systems Engineering and Technical Advisors.") SETA contractors provide analysis and engineering services in a consulting capacity, working closely with the government's own engineering staff members. SETA contractors provide the flexibility and quick availability of expertise without the expense and commitment of sustaining the staff long-term.

Use of the term SETA is an industry term, which the DoD has used since at least 1995, for example in the Software Engineering Institute; 'Defense Acquisition Deskbook, "S"; the An Acronym List for the Information Age (Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association); the DoD Guide to Integrated Product and Process Development.

Contracting The government often needs to supplement its internal Systems Engineering and Technical Advisory capability in order to meet its frequently changing needs and demands. Through a formal Request for Information (RFI)/ Request for Proposal (RFP) process the government is able to contract with a commercial organization to provide certain services. SETA contractors work alongside government employees often within the same workspace. SETA contractors may participate in government contracting actions and may assist in managing other contracts. A SETA contractor cannot be the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) or Assistant Contracting Officer Representative (ACOR), but they may function as the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC). Since SETA contractors may have access to procurement sensitive information there is a risk of conflict of interest (CoI) which is mitigated through Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and firewalls restricting communications within corporations. The SETA support rate in total R&D expenditures of DARPA are evaluating as 7.4-9.9%.

Policy The policy related to SETA contractors can be found in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation (DFAR) and DoD Instructions. FAR Part 37 is the starting point for guidance for these types of contracts. Subpart 37.2 defines advisory and assistance services and provides that the use of such services is a legitimate way to improve the prospects for program or systems success. FAR Part 37.201(c) defines engineering and technical services used in support of a program office during the acquisition cycle. FAR 16.505(c) provides that the ordering period of an advisory and assistance services task order contract, including all options or modifications, may not exceed five years unless a longer period is specifically authorized in a law that is applicable to such a contract. DFARS Part 237 provides information for advisory and assistance contracts. FAR Subpart 9.5 addresses the potential for organizational and consultant conflicts of interest. Use of SETA contracts and NDAs allows for services involving systems and data and providing assistance and advice. This excludes Inherently Governmental Functions (IGF), as defined in statue by Public Law 105 - Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act (the "FAIR Act") of 1998 and in regulation by OMB Circular A-76.

See also Contracting Officer's Technical Representative Systems engineering

References

External links Federal Acquisition Regulation Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Department of Defense Issuances DARPA SETA Support FY2010 / FY2015 Database DOI:10.6084/m9.figshare.4759186.v2 Public Law 105 - 270 - Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 OMB Circular A-76

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance

In research: Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Systems engineering, United States Department of Defense, United States defense procurement, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance in simple terms?

Why does Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance.