Things are changing at Ford. The rise of “the smart car” has spurred customer demand for automation, electric vehicles, and other intelligent automotive features. To keep up with the rapid pace of change in the industry, the 116-year-old auto giant has had to make significant shifts in its portfolio of vehicles – eschewing the sedan in North America, while launching new SUVs and crossovers. New variants and features have required a more rigorous systematic approach across all engineering functions. To improve efficiency, lower variable costs, and reduce error as it launched a new portfolio of products, Ford improved its Systems Engineering (SE) approach in three key ways:

From getting beyond the quantum hype to online learning tips, here are The Curve's most popular posts from 2019:

This October, Google announced in an article published in the journal Nature that its quantum computer, which runs on a 53-qubit chip called “Sycamore,” took only 3 minutes and 20 seconds to calculate a problem that would take the world’s fastest conventional computer 10,000 years to solve. IBM disputed Google’s quantum supremacy claim, arguing that an ideal simulation of the same task can be performed on a classical system in 2.5 days and with far greater fidelity. And the debate continues.

How do successful leaders solve problems, innovate, and drive change? Explore the three lenses of leadership -- strategic, cultural, and political -- with MIT xPRO's new podcast series, hosted by MIT instructional designer Dr. Luke Hobson.

Professionals are under more pressure than ever to drive complex projects under high-pressure conditions, as organizations increasingly opt to ditch traditionally siloed structures in favor of a “Dynamic Work Design” approach. To enable better organizational problem solving, technical professionals and organizational leaders in particular must adopt a new analytical framework that recognizes existing organizational sources of power and culture.

Joep Winkels had amassed years of experience in the IT world and a deep understanding of systems design and infrastructure. These years of experience went out the window, however, when he got the chance to join the Sales and Business Development arm of 3DVerkstan, one of the largest 3D printing resellers in the Nordic region. Joep knew nothing of 3D printing and very little about manufacturing. He needed to learn the fundamentals, applications, and business implications of Additive Manufacturing (AM) to successfully adapt to his new role.

Eric Bradford, a Teaching Assistant for MIT xPRO’s online data science course, Data Science and Big Data Analytics: Making Data-Driven Decisions, tells learners what to expect from this seven-week online course.

In 2014, a 40% price drop brought more to the oil and gas industry than just lower profits. For one company, Royal Dutch Shell (Shell), it ushered in a comprehensive shift in thinking about the development approach for new capital projects and technology. In 2016, Shell included MIT in its efficiency improvement and energy transition plans by enrolling its first cohort of engineers in MIT xPRO’s four-course program, Architecture and Systems Engineering: Models and Methods to Manage Complex Systems.

Launching a startup can be a risky and stressful endeavor. Today, only 56% of businesses started in 2014 have made it to their five-year anniversary. MIT Professor Lawrence Susskind, founder of the Harvard-MIT-Tufts Program on Negotiation, believes that mastering negotiation is a crucial element for professionals in both entrepreneurial, and non-startup environments.

Applying data-driven decision-making is a must for professionals in every industry. But for an organization to fully benefit from big data analytics, teams must be given opportunities to learn the latest and most effective data science techniques.