Systems Theory: Bridging the Gap Between Science and Practice for Systems Engineering

Abstract

This paper explores Systems Theory (ST) contributions to improve the Systems Engineering (SE) discipline and practice. Recently, INCOSE has recognized that ST can provide a valuable theoretical and conceptual foundation to better ground the evolving SE discipline. At a fundamental level ST can be described as a set of axioms (taken for granted truths about systems) and propositions (principles, concepts, and laws that explain system behavior, structure, and performance) with a basis in the underlying science of systems. Our purpose is to bridge the gap between Systems Science and SE by exploring the practical implications for ST to improve both the SE discipline and practice. Following a short introduction to ST in the context of the SE discipline challenges, two primary objectives are pursued: (1) overview and positioning of ST for contribution to SE development, and (2) examination of articulation of ST axioms and associated propositions and their implications for enhancing SE practice. The paper closes with suggestion of the reciprocal contributions for SE and ST as well as the enhancement of SE to deal more effectively with increasingly complex systems and their problems.

Sustainability: A Complex System Governance Perspective

“…Systems Theory (ST) provides a robust conceptual foundation that, projecting to CSG, can influence design, execution, and development of sustainability for complex systems. Based on the articulation of Systems Theory by (Adams et al, 2014;Whitney et al, 2015;Keating et al, 2020;, at a basic level Systems Theory can be understood as a set of axioms (truths about systems that are accepted without need for justification) and propositions (a collected set of principles, concepts, and laws serving to explain structure, behavior, and performance of systems and their phenomena). ST suggests several central tenets concerning the capacity to deal with environments marked by increasing complexity, instabilities, and ambiguity -all of which are impacts on system sustainability.…”

Systems Thinking: A Critical Skill for Systems Engineers

“…Language of Systems Theory to Promote ST Skills. The language of Systems Theory has been extensively covered in other works (Keating et al, 2020;Adams et al, 2014;Whitney et al, 2015). Following the work of Keating and Gheorghe (2016), at a basic level Systems Theory can be described as a set of axioms (taken for granted truths about systems) and propositions (principles, concepts, and laws serving to explain system phenomena).…”

“…Thus, Systems Theory, or more precisely the language of Systems Theory, provides the foundations upon which ST can be built as a skill set for systems engineers. Based on the preceding works of Keating et al (2020), Adams et al (2014), and Whitney et al 2015) Table 3 provides an explanation of these axioms and propositions that form a basis of the informing language for development of ST skills for systems engineers. (Shannon, 1948a(Shannon, , 1948bSkyttner, 2005) Communication is a transaction between the information source terminal and the destination terminal, with the sole aim of generation and reproduction of symbols.…”

“…However, the early calls of increasing the pace of change, technology, and information appears to be on a continuing course of acceleration (Gleick, 1999;Colvile, 2016). Prior works (Jaradat and Keating, 2014;Keating and Katina 2011;2012;Keating et al, 2020) have articulated the problem domain facing systems engineers. Following these works, the future domain is summarized with five essential attributes.…”

A Review & Framework for Modeling Complex Engineered System Development Processes

“…Nonetheless, few efforts have suggested frameworks through which to build theoretical understandings of the complexity involved in CES more broadly and their requisite development processes [21]. Increasingly, scholars recommend utilizing systems theory to assess such problems, a set of concepts rooted in complex systems and management scholarship [27]- [30], acknowledging the need for agent-based methods to explore relative independence, discrete events, and interactive dynamics [31].…”