ABSTRACTIncreased competitive forces in domestic and foreign markets continue to cause government and industry to pursue strategies to achieve a competitive edge in the global marketplace. The premise of this paper is that an essential element for achieving a competitive edge is the practice of “World Class Systems Engineering” (WCSE).This author's view is that WCSE is a prerequisite to delivering total quality products and services. Less than WCSE can be expected to manifest itself in diminished “bottom‐line” results.This paper: (1) offers some observations on the current state of Systems Engineering; (2) provides a description of five essential elements of WCSE; and (3) asserts nine actions to achieve WCSE.To achieve WCSE, requires total quality management, or in the words of Dr. Malcolm Currie, Chairman and CEO, Hughes Aircraft Company “cmi” (Continuous Measurable