2025 Tutorial Stack
·9 mins
Table of Contents
The INCOSE SA 2025 Tutorial Stack brought systems engineering practitioners, students and industry experts together for three days of in-depth tutorials, a student lessons-learnt session and an expert panel on design for safety.
Event Overview #
- Dates: 5ᵗʰ–7ᵗʰ November 2025
- Venue: CSIR International Conference Centre, Pretoria
- Coordinator: Ad Sparrius
Overview of the Three Days #
| Day | Date | Focus / Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday (Day 1) | 5ᵗʰ November 2025 | Keynote on the socio-technical system, model-based and digital engineering, and needs to requirements |
| Thursday (Day 2) | 6ᵗʰ November 2025 | GYSEOY 2025 lessons learnt, hands-on LLM prompting for engineers, and a repeat of the MBSE workshop |
| Friday (Day 3) | 7ᵗʰ November 2025 | Elephant conservation, systems thinking, software refinement, a CSEP examination, and design for safety |
Tutorial Stack Programme #
Day 1: 5ᵗʰ November 2025 #
- Track 1: Chair: Ad Sparrius
| Time | Track | Session | Presenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00 – 08:10 | Plenary | 2025 Tutorial Stack Opening | Basie Jansen & Ad Sparrius |
| 08:10 – 09:10 | Plenary | Keynote: Succeeding Beyond the System | David Long |
| 09:10 – 09:15 | Plenary | Introduction to the programme for the day | Ad Sparrius |
| 09:15 – 09:55 | Track 1 | Putting Model-Based and Digital to Work | David Long & Suja Joseph-Malherbe |
| 09:15 – 09:55 | Track 2 | A Stroll through the Systems Engineering Landscape | Dr Naudé Scribante |
| 09:55 – 10:20 | All | Coffee / Tea Break | |
| 10:20 – 12:20 | Track 1 | Putting Model-Based and Digital to Work (continued) | David Long & Suja Joseph-Malherbe |
| 10:20 – 12:20 | Track 2 | A Stroll through the Systems Engineering Landscape (continued) | Dr Naudé Scribante |
| 12:20 – 13:15 | All | Lunch | |
| 13:15 – 13:25 | Plenary | Sponsor Presentation | |
| 13:25 – 14:45 | Track 1 | Putting Model-Based and Digital to Work (continued) | David Long & Suja Joseph-Malherbe |
| 13:25 – 14:45 | Track 2 | A Stroll through the Systems Engineering Landscape (continued) | Dr Naudé Scribante |
| 14:45 – 15:10 | All | Coffee / Tea Break | |
| 15:10 – 16:30 | Track 1 | Putting Model-Based and Digital to Work (continued) | David Long & Suja Joseph-Malherbe |
| 15:10 – 16:30 | Track 2 | A Stroll through the Systems Engineering Landscape (continued) | Dr Naudé Scribante |
| 16:30 – 16:45 | Plenary | Closure | |
| 16:45 – 18:30 | All | Wine-Tasting Social Event |
Day 2: 6ᵗʰ November 2025 #
- Track 1: Tutorials
- Track 2: Tutorials (repeat of Wednesday’s Track 1 workshop)
| Time | Track | Session | Presenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00 – 09:00 | Plenary | GYSEOY 2025: Lessons Learnt | GYSEOY teams |
| 09:00 – 09:05 | Plenary | Introduction to the programme for the day | Ad Sparrius |
| 09:05 – 09:55 | Track 1 | Hands-on LLM Prompting for Engineers | Dr Louwrence Erasmus |
| 09:05 – 09:55 | Track 2 | Putting Model-Based and Digital to Work (repeat) | David Long & Suja Joseph-Malherbe |
| 09:55 – 10:25 | All | Coffee / Tea Break | |
| 10:25 – 12:15 | Track 1 | Hands-on LLM Prompting for Engineers (continued) | Dr Louwrence Erasmus |
| 10:25 – 12:15 | Track 2 | Putting Model-Based and Digital to Work (continued) | David Long & Suja Joseph-Malherbe |
| 12:15 – 13:15 | All | Lunch | |
| 13:15 – 13:25 | Plenary | Sponsor Presentation | |
| 13:25 – 14:45 | Track 1 | Hands-on LLM Prompting for Engineers (continued) | Dr Louwrence Erasmus |
| 13:25 – 14:45 | Track 2 | Putting Model-Based and Digital to Work (continued) | David Long & Suja Joseph-Malherbe |
| 14:45 – 15:15 | All | Coffee / Tea Break | |
| 15:15 – 16:35 | Track 1 | Hands-on LLM Prompting for Engineers (continued) | Dr Louwrence Erasmus |
| 15:15 – 16:35 | Track 2 | Putting Model-Based and Digital to Work (continued) | David Long & Suja Joseph-Malherbe |
Day 3: 7ᵗʰ November 2025 #
- Track 1: Tutorials (morning); Design for Safety panel (afternoon, Chair: Sarel Lotz)
- Track 2: Tutorials
- CSEP Examination: in parallel with the morning tracks
| Time | Track | Session | Presenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00 – 09:00 | Plenary | The Role of the Tusk in Elephant Survival | Erich Raubenheimer |
| 09:00 – 09:10 | Plenary | Introduction to the programme for the day | Ad Sparrius |
| 09:10 – 09:55 | Track 1 | Thinking about Systems Thinking | Ad Sparrius |
| 09:10 – 09:55 | Track 2 | Software Systems Refinement Through Systems Engineering | Stewart Gebbie |
| 09:10 – 12:15 | Exam | CSEP Examination | |
| 09:55 – 10:25 | All | Coffee / Tea Break | |
| 10:25 – 12:15 | Track 1 | Thinking about Systems Thinking (continued) | Ad Sparrius |
| 10:25 – 12:15 | Track 2 | Software Systems Refinement Through Systems Engineering (continued) | Stewart Gebbie |
| 12:15 – 13:15 | All | Lunch | |
| 13:15 – 13:25 | Plenary | Sponsor Presentation | |
| 13:25 – 14:45 | Track 1 | Panel Discussion: Design for Safety | Sarel Lotz & Expert Panel |
| 13:25 – 14:45 | Track 2 | Developing Technology Demonstrators versus Developing Products | Kevin Jamison |
| 14:45 – 15:15 | All | Coffee / Tea Break | |
| 15:15 – 16:35 | Track 1 | Panel Discussion: Design for Safety (continued) | Sarel Lotz & Expert Panel |
| 15:15 – 16:35 | Track 2 | Developing Technology Demonstrators versus Developing Products (continued) | Kevin Jamison |
Sessions and Presentation Material #
Presentation files are hosted on Google Drive. Use view to open a file in the browser, or download to save the PDF.
Day 1 Sessions (Wednesday 5ᵗʰ November 2025) #
Keynote: Succeeding Beyond the System #
- Presenter: David Long (Blue Holon; INCOSE Director for Strategic Integration)
- When: Wednesday 5ᵗʰ November 2025 | Plenary | 08:10 – 09:10
Argues that systems engineers must think across complexity and scale, and work with a system’s social and organisational context, not only its technical parts.
Presentation Material #
Putting Model-Based and Digital to Work: Concepts, Pain Points, and Value Streams #
- Presenters: David Long & Suja Joseph-Malherbe
- When: Wednesday 5ᵗʰ November 2025 | Track 1 | 09:15 – 16:30
- Repeated: Thursday 6ᵗʰ November 2025 | Track 2 | 09:05 – 16:35
A full-day workshop that separates digitisation from digitalisation and places MBSE in the enterprise. Participants map pain points, a value stream and their own path to digital transformation.
Presentation Material #
A Stroll through the Systems Engineering Landscape: From Problem to Requirement #
- Presenter: Dr Naudé Scribante
- When: Wednesday 5ᵗʰ November 2025 | Track 2 | 09:15 – 16:30
A full-day tutorial in two halves. The morning traces where needs come from, through stakeholder needs to well-formed requirements. The afternoon moves into the solution domain, from functional to physical architecture, while tracing back to requirements.
Presentation Material #
- Part 1: From Needs to Requirements (PDF, 57 pp): view · download
- Part 2: From Requirements to Architecture (PDF, 57 pp): view · download
- Workshop Handout: Requirements Parsing Template (PDF, 8 pp): view · download
Day 2 Sessions (Thursday 6ᵗʰ November 2025) #
GYSEOY 2025: Lessons Learnt #
- Presenters: GYSEOY 2025 teams
- When: Thursday 6ᵗʰ November 2025 | Plenary | 08:00 – 09:00
Teams from the 2025 Greatest Young System Engineers of the Year challenge, Breaking the Plastic Wave, presented the lessons they learnt while applying systems engineering to polystyrene recycling.
Presentation Material #
- CPUT (PDF, 14 pp): view · download Stakeholder needs and measurable KPIs should drive requirements; balance systems thinking with analysis and set clear boundaries.
- SANDF Group B: Beyond Styrofoam (PDF, 10 pp): view · download Applying a structured systems engineering approach to recycling polystyrene; lessons on problem definition and team alignment.
- SANDF Group C (PDF, 9 pp): view · download Progress from June to November 2025, with technical and team lessons including traceability from stakeholder needs to KPIs.
- SARAO (PDF, 13 pp): view · download Define the right problem before solving it, and capture requirements and verification early.
Background Material #
- The Trade in Donkeys (PDF, 6 pp): view · download A background brief on Chinese demand for donkey hide and its effect on rural African households; the problem statement for the 2024 GYSEOY challenge.
Hands-on LLM Prompting for Engineers #
- Presenter: Dr Louwrence Erasmus Pr.Eng.
- When: Thursday 6ᵗʰ November 2025 | Track 1 | 09:05 – 16:35
A hands-on day that takes engineers from search-style LLM use to structured prompting, applied to one worked case (a water filter for off-grid clinics) through requirements, trade-offs, documentation and communication.
Presentation Material #
- Module 1: Kick-off & Diagnostic (PDF, 14 pp): view · download Records how participants currently use LLMs, then sets working agreements and platform setup.
- Module 2: Foundations of Prompt Engineering (PDF, 26 pp): view · download Moves from one-shot queries to iterative dialogue using the RCTF+ prompt framework.
- Module 3: Prompt Optimisation Basics (PDF, 28 pp): view · download Covers common prompt anti-patterns and improving a prompt in versioned passes.
- Module 4: Use Case Brainstorming & Scoping (PDF, 25 pp): view · download Scopes the worked case: requirements, MoSCoW priorities and constraints.
- Module 5: Applied Research & Trade-offs (PDF, 28 pp): view · download Research with citations and confidence labels, weighted decision matrices and sensitivity checks.
- Module 6: Drafting Technical Content (PDF, 26 pp): view · download Drafts a “shall” specification, risk register, traceability matrix and verification plan.
- Module 7: Communication Optimisation (PDF, 27 pp): view · download Rewrites one message for different audiences using the TAF (Target, Action, Format) framework.
- Module 8: Reflection & Wrap-up (PDF, 18 pp): view · download Recaps the modules and drafts a 14-day personal action plan.
Day 3 Sessions (Friday 7ᵗʰ November 2025) #
The Role of the Tusk in Elephant Survival #
- Presenter: Erich Raubenheimer
- When: Friday 7ᵗʰ November 2025 | Plenary | 08:00 – 09:00
Covers tusk anatomy, herd structure and tusklessness in South African elephant populations, and the conservation measures that follow.
Presentation Material #
Thinking about Systems Thinking #
- Presenter: Ad Sparrius
- When: Friday 7ᵗʰ November 2025 | Track 1 | 09:10 – 12:15
No presentation material is available for this session.
Software Systems Refinement Through Systems Engineering: Evolving Elegant Systems #
- Presenter: Stewart Gebbie (OneLayer)
- When: Friday 7ᵗʰ November 2025 | Track 2 | 09:10 – 12:15
Shows how the systems engineering life cycle applies to software-intensive systems and proposes continuous refinement to keep the design ready for the full life cycle.
Presentation Material #
CSEP Examination #
- When: Friday 7ᵗʰ November 2025 | Morning, in parallel with Tracks 1 and 2
Examination for the INCOSE Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) knowledge test.
Panel Discussion: Design for Safety #
- Chair: Sarel Lotz
- When: Friday 7ᵗʰ November 2025 | Track 1 | 13:25 – 16:35
- Panel:
- Mining: Kobus Blomerus, Giel Marais, Martin Pretorius
- Aero: Roger Young
- Nuclear: Peter Scott, Pieter Venter, Robert Peters
- AI: Dr Louwrence Erasmus
- Certification: Kevin Ward
An expert panel on design for safety from mining, aerospace, nuclear, AI and certification perspectives.
Presentation Material #
- Panel Slides (PDF, 15 pp): view · download The deck used on the day: the top three design-safety challenges for 2025, panellist biographies and topic slides.
- Panel Report (PDF, 8 pp): view · download A written report after the event that records each panellist’s contribution, from aviation and nuclear lessons to mining safety.
Developing Technology Demonstrators versus Developing Products #
- Presenter: Kevin Jamison
- When: Friday 7ᵗʰ November 2025 | Track 2 | 13:25 – 16:35
No presentation material is available for this session.