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Decolonizing Stakeholder Analysis for Engineered Systems

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Conference

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Portland, Oregon

Publication Date

June 23, 2024

Start Date

June 23, 2024

End Date

July 12, 2024

Conference Session

Systems Thinking

Tagged Division

Systems Engineering Division (SYS)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/47110

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Paper Authors

biography

Shamsnaz Virani Bhada Worcester Polytechnic Institute Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-9869-2137

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Shamsnaz S. Virani, Assistant Professor of Systems Engineering at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, earned her Ph.D.in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Alabama, Huntsville. She also holds a M.S. in human factors engineering from Wright State University, Dayton.

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Sarah E. Stanlick Worcester Polytechnic Institute Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-0270-539X

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Abstract

In systems engineering (SE), requirements dictate the manifested system. If requirements are incomplete or inaccurate, the engineered system manifests those flawed requirements. From smart cities to AI decision making, a flawed system can have significant impact on human lives. The stakes are high in systems engineering. “Flawed” requirements can mean many things. They can emerge from human error, incomplete data collection, or a misperception of stakeholder needs and cultural context. Requirements are based on stakeholder and market analysis focused on quantitative data capture and tends to overlook the nuances and context of the underlying stakeholder population. The problematic construct that emerges is the absence of a framework and related education for engineers to consider and design with ethical, equity, and social justice implications in mind. Further, there is still a general lack of diversity of stakeholder parameters in early engineering design classes. Introduction to systems engineering courses lack integration of current thinking on community engagement ethics and that absence can be seen across the systems engineering curriculum, as well. We ask: How do we create learning opportunities/engineering interventions that are technically sound, and also prioritize community voice, cultural appropriateness, and contextual efficacy? In this paper, we review three methods of stakeholder analysis taught in system engineering courses and identify where and how one can integrate community voices through a decolonial lens. We then propose a framework that encourages a more holistic understanding of the stakeholders and the positive and negative impacts on those stakeholders.

Bhada, S. V., & Stanlick, S. E. (2024, June), Decolonizing Stakeholder Analysis for Engineered Systems Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://strategy.asee.org/47110

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