What is Operating Environment

This chapter describes political engineering at an atomic level, that is, addressing what makes a competent elected official and using the office of president of the United States as an example. The authors published a series of books and associated papers that presented the overall construct in applying systems engineering and information technology to improving government systems and performance. Here is a demonstration in applying concepts to help citizen-voters strengthen their ability to analyze and evaluate the candidate and incumbent performance with a standard approach and criteria. Since political parties have a responsibility in vetting candidates bearing their brand, the authors encourage political leaders to focus on improving their process because citizens depend on them for candidate quality and integrity. Being a part of pluralistic democracy is a serious responsibility that requires continuous improvement.