As government and industry becomes subject to a wider range of technology initiatives, science and technology (S&T) research project leadership recognizes the need to incorporate more systems engineering (SE) rigor into their projects. The objective of this research is to develop a tailorable systems engineering framework for S&T project planning, execution, assessment and transition. The key deliverable is an Excel-based tool instantiating the SE framework for a wide range of S&T projects in technology development organizations. It includes a report with tailored methods based on programmatic discriminants. To develop this framework, a comprehensive understanding of SE principles is applied to several case studies across government and supporting industry-sponsored S&T activities. This research followed a six-step approach: (1) Literature Review; (2) Formulate Taxonomy; (3) Prepare Data Gathering Approach; (4) Review Case Studies; (5) Develop Tailorable SE Framework for Technology Development and Transition; and (6) Validate Framework.The framework allows S&T project leaders and engineers to customize a recommended set of SE processes, methods and tools for their specific project type, size, maturity, budget, and integration level. Recommendations for SE methods are made at a summary level, with additional details available for desired activities. References to established SE documentation is also included for further investigation of appropriate SE techniques
