System‐of‐Systems capability is inherently tied to the participation and performance of the constituent systems and the network performance which connects the systems together. It is imperative for the SoS stakeholders to quantify the SoS capability and performance to any uncertain variations in the system participation and network outages so that the system participation is incentivized and network

In recent years there has been increased demand for readiness and availability metrics across many industries and especially in national defense to enable data‐driven decision making at all levels of planning, maintenance, and operations, and in leveraging integrated models that inform stakeholders of current operational system health and performance metrics. The digital twin (DT) has been identified

As of today, most specifications of technical systems still rely on requirements written in natural language. However, this approach is known to be problem‐prone, due to the inherent ambiguity of natural languages. On the other hand, fully formal or model‐based approaches seem to be out of reach in many practical cases, especially in early design phases of systems. In this article, we study how to

The integration of complex systems is an important aspect of systems engineering. This paper defines six integration principles to consider when planning and executing system development and integration processes. This paper describes these integration principles and validates them through a historical system survey. The 14 systems studied represent both integration successes and integration failures

Evaluating the complexity of an engineered system is challenging for any organization, even more so when operating in a System‐of‐Systems (SoS) context. Here, we analyze one particular decision support tool as an illustratory case study. This tool has been used for several years by Thales Group to evaluate system complexity across a variety of industrial engineering projects. The case study is informed

The COVID‐19 pandemic has caught many nations by surprise and has already caused millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide. It has also exposed a deep crisis in modeling and exposed a lack of systems thinking by focusing mainly on only the short term and thinking of this event as only a health crisis. In this paper, authors from several of the key countries involved in COVID‐19

Prior advances in systems engineering (SE) theory were instrumental in defining the discipline and its tools, but are limited in perspective. The SE community needs new theoretical advances to address its existing and emerging sociotechnical challenges. This communication paper is a product of an NSF/SERC/INCOSE funded workshop on theory building in SE with a focus on the use of abstraction and elaboration

Complex adaptive systems (CAS) exhibit emergent behaviors caused by the nonlinear actions between individual components within the system and their environment. These emergent behaviors are difficult to predict and measure making it very challenging to initially design from the start. Developing CASs, such as an autonomous swarming unmanned system, is a relevant key task today for solving hard problems

There is an urgent need for more efficient and resilient infrastructure systems to support a growing population with increasingly scarce resources worldwide. As the demand for limited natural and man‐made resources grows, improved methods for resolving anticipated and unforeseen conflicts of availability are needed. System automation has broadly been adopted for efficiency optimization and resource

Despite a wealth of system architecture frameworks and methodologies available, approaches to evaluate the robustness and resiliency of architectures for complex systems or systems of systems are few in number. As a result, system architects may turn to graph‐theoretic methods to assess architecture robustness and vulnerability to cascading failure. Here, we explore the application of such methods

Despite many uncertainties, industrial fields such as energy (eg, oil rigs), utilities infrastructure (eg, telecommunications), space systems, transportation systems, construction, and manufacturing make large and mostly irreversible investments in systems with potentially long life cycles. The life cycle value of such systems may be increased significantly by designing in the flexibility to make future

How should organizations approach the evaluation of system complexity at the early stages of system design in order to inform decision making? Since system complexity can be understood and approached in several different ways, such evaluation is challenging. In this study, we define the term “system complexity factors” to refer to a range of different aspects of system complexity that may contribute

Increasing system complexity has provided the impetus to develop new and novel systems engineering methodologies. One of these methodologies is set‐based design (SBD), a concurrent design methodology well suited for complex systems subject to significant uncertainty. Since the 1990s, numerous private, public, and defense sector design programs have successfully implemented SBD. However, concerns regarding

The development of a concept for a system is a key step toward creating the system's architecture. Most previous concept development approaches focus on the procedures for the conceptual design activity—the sequence of activities and tasks. Our work is motivated by the desire to elaborate in details the notional content of a system concept and to provide the means of encoding and analyzing it in a

As engineers retire from practice, they must transfer their expertise to new recruits. Typically, this is accomplished using decision‐support systems that communicate precise probabilities. However, Fuzzy‐Trace Theory (FTT) predicts that the most experts prefer to rely on “gist” representations of risk over “verbatim” representations. We conducted a survey of 41 NASA employees (whose mathematical abilities

We propose a Systems Modeling Language (SysML) extension, referred to as the “Human‐Agent Teaming Modeling Language,” and a companion method, referred to as “Human‐Agent Teaming Design Method,” which are useful in the design and specification of teams comprised of humans and artificial agents which interact within a system. The language and method support the analysis and design of human‐agent teams

Dynamic and real‐time adaptive configuration of Cyber‐Physical Systems (CPSs) results in increased complexity due to a variety of heterogeneous and interdependent variables and creates unique challenges. For example, (a) Emergent Behavior: How do we ensure that system constituents dynamically and adaptively collaborate to produce a consistent repeatable functionality while supporting the capability

Given that model‐based systems engineering (MBSE) captures the structure and behavior of an engineered system in an overarching system model, MBSE appears to be a promising approach to managing large infrastructure projects (LIPs). However, it is not apparent how to most appropriately organize the associated system model—and hence the infrastructure project itself. Furthermore, MBSE may today not be

Systems engineering and design (SE&D) researchers increasingly tackle questions at the intersection of technical and social aspects of complex systems design. Practical challenges of access, limited observation scope, and long timescales limit empirical study of SE&D phenomena. As a result, studies are typically conducted in model world settings abstracted from the real world, such as behavioral experiments

The concept of technological ecosystems has been increasingly applied across different domains but rarely in the area of capability development. This paper contributes to addressing this knowledge gap by demonstrating the potential value of applying the technological ecosystems perspective to support technology investment decisions. We present a practical step‐by‐step approach to show how this approach

In recent years, cyber‐physical systems (CPS) have been widely used in different problem domains. The hardware and software components in a CPS are deeply intertwined at various levels of abstraction under changing contexts to achieve the desired goals. One way to manage this complexity is through the use of modular architecture that enables portions of a CPS to be upgraded, replaced, or fixed in a

Increasingly complex systems of systems (SoS) have to be developed in ever shorter times‐to‐market at reduced costs and with high reliability. In addition, as the life cycle of such SoS frequently spans across several decades, customer expectations and market conditions will evolve. Systems engineering (SE)/model‐based systems engineering (MBSE) and configuration management (CM) need to be ever more

The technology readiness level (TRL) scale was developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the 1970s as a standardized technology maturity assessment tool for use in complex system development. Today, TRL assessments are used to make multimillion‐dollar decisions at NASA and beyond, yet anecdotal evidence suggests that there are challenges associated with TRL use in practice

Addressing modern societal challenges often requires the consideration of sociotechnical systems. Sociotechnical systems consist of technological, organizational, and social systems interacting to achieve a goal. Developing effective approaches to modeling sociotechnical systems could enable policy makers to better understand the implications of policy options prior to implementation. Through past

Presented is a novel framework for interactive systems architecture definition at early design stages. It incorporates graph‐theoretic data structures, entity relationships, and algorithms that enable the systems architect to operate interactively and simultaneously in different domains. It explicitly captures the “zigzagging” of the functional reasoning process, including not only allocated, but also

Large‐scale complex engineered systems are designed in large organizations consisting of hundreds or thousands of individuals making design decisions at different stages in the process. These complex systems are inherently multidisciplinary and uncertain, involving diverse disciplines spanning geographical locations. Without a means to guide their decisions, these many decision‐makers fall back on

With the recent progress of techniques in computer vision and processor design, vehicles are able to perform a greater number of functions, and are reaching higher levels of autonomy. As the list of autonomous tasks that the car is supposed to perform grows, two design questions arise: how to group these tasks into modules and which processors and data buses should instantiate these modules and their

Contact centers play a critical role in service businesses by acting as the interface between customers and organizations. They are strategic tools to establish a relationship with customers to promote customer satisfaction, which can lead to an increase in customer loyalty and sales. One important factor impacting customer satisfaction is service reliability, which should be constantly monitored to

Product platform design and development is an arduous process that involves multiple stakeholders both inside and outside of a company. However, owing to its benefits, product platform has been widely implemented in the industry. Although numerous methodologies for product platform option generation, selection, and optimization have been proposed and demonstrated through various case studies, only

Product‐service system (PSS) is proposed as a response to the increasing need for sustainable solutions. To provide PSS, companies develop a customized system interconnecting heterogeneous systems. Consequently, distinguishing and modeling the interfaces in PSS is challenging because of the heterogeneity of its tangible and intangible components and their continuous interactions. To tackle this issue

The development of contemporary systems is an extremely complex process. One approach to modeling system behavior uses activity diagrams from Unified Modeling Language (UML)/System Modeling Language (SysML), providing a standard object‐oriented graphical notation and enhancing reusability. However, UML/SysML activity diagrams do not directly support the kind of analysis needed to verify the system

Systems of Systems (SoS) encompass a group of distributed and independent systems. This class of systems requires recurrent adaptation at runtime owing to the uncertainty and variability of the runtime environment. Thus, during their execution, SoS can deviate from the initial specification, which is often a consequence of successive evolutions. This problem occurs mainly due to (a) weak communication

The pervasiveness of the communication networks increasingly has made possible to interconnect software‐intensive systems that were independently developed, operated, managed, and evolved, yielding a new kind of complex system, that is, a system that is itself composed of systems, the so‐called System‐of‐Systems (SoS). Nowadays, the Internet‐of‐Things (IoT) enables the engineering of software‐intensive

System of interest (SoI) failures can sometimes be traced to an unexpected behavior occurring within another system that is a member of the system of systems (SoS) with the SoI. This article presents a method for use when designing an SoI that helps to analyze an SoS for unexpected behaviors from existing SoS members during the SoI's conceptual functional modeling phase of system architecture. The

Architecting complex systems and complex system‐of‐systems (SoS) have evinced keen interest recently. Architectural design decisions have a significant bearing on the operational measures of success, referred to as Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs), of the systems and SoS. Architecting complex systems and SoS involves making architecture design decisions despite uncertainty (due to knowledge gaps) on

Organizations are increasingly faced with the challenge of architecting complex systems that must operate within a System of Systems context. While network science has offered usefully clear insights into product and system architectures, we seek to extend these approaches to evaluate enterprise system architectures. Here, we explore the application of graph‐theoretic methods to the analysis of two

Designing a complex system generally requires its decomposition into smaller modular constituents for the ease of design, integration, operation, and future upgrades. Typically, system decomposition analysis is conducted using an abstract system model during the initial system design stage. The design structure matrix (DSM) has been a popular tool for abstract system modeling. In the DSM, systems are

The development of system‐of‐systems (SoS) requires a continuous interplay between design decisions on the SoS level and those on the level of its constituent systems (CS), which often preexist and need to be adapted as the SoS evolves. This involves not only preparing the CS to participate in a particular SoS, but also designing the CS architecture to make it easily adaptable to a future SoS context

In this paper, we investigate the dichotomy between system design delegation driven by requirement allocation and delegation driven by objective allocation. Specifically, we investigate this dichotomy through the lens of agency theory, which addresses cases where an agent makes decisions on behalf of another, that is, a principal. In current practice, design delegation largely involves requirement

We aim to lend insights into “what” constitutes design rationale and “how” to capture these. We restrict the scope of design rationale to the cases of failures observed while testing real engineered systems. We propose a model as an integration of a system hierarchy, a causal chain, and a causality model to cast multiple views of design rationale. The model is structured into databases using a newly

A connected embedded system is a complex system that integrates hardware and software elements and has real‐time interactions with its environment. Developing such a system requires having a systemic approach, based on systems thinking and systems engineering (SE). Systems thinking demonstrates the need of adopting an interdisciplinary approach (not only technology focused but also considering societal

As the lean product development (LPD) process is responsible for maximizing the value/waste relation by encouraging different types of innovation, it needs a clear understanding of end customer value. Moreover, lean systems engineering is related to the application of lean thinking (LT) in systems engineering to improve the delivery of value to all stakeholders of the system. Then, faced with this

As manmade systems become increasingly complex and evolve into Systems of Systems of various kinds, a multitude of tasks needs to be performed in coordination throughout their development. In this paper, we briefly introduce a new modeling framework that was designed following systems engineering principles and based on extensive research of development efforts characteristics. We focus on the framework's

Engineering decision making and design requires collaboration between groups from different disciplines, each with different tools, vocabulary, and concerns. Traditional engineering decision‐making tools are generally based on understanding the decision makers’ values, modeling uncertainty with probability, and selecting the alternative that maximizes utility. This rational approach to decision making

A challenge in the representation of preferences for government stakeholders is the valuation of benefits. In for‐profit companies, benefits are typically calculated as the company's revenue, with centuries of literature supporting different estimations for the benefit of revenue. Government stakeholders are much more difficult to develop value models for because of the lack of benefit‐side valuation

Model‐Based Systems Design (MBSD) formalizes the application of system modeling. However, it is still difficult for designers to implement MBSD in practice. One of the challenges is to make the field of design more unified, as different MBSD methodologies focus on specific areas, and various designers from different areas use ambiguous terms. Moreover, the failure of some products originates in undiscovered

The concept of Level of Service (LoS) is not inherently supported by Systems Modeling Language (SysML), the standard modeling notation for model‐based systems engineering. This paper describes and demonstrates an approach that enhances SysML to enable LoS modeling and evaluation. A SysML profile enables the definition and visual verification of LoS during system operation, via LoS specific requirements

Many safety‐related systems are evolving into cyber‐physical systems (CPSs), integrating information technologies in their control architectures and modifying the interactions among automation and human operators. Particularly, a promising potential exists for enhanced efficiency and safety in applications such as autonomous transportation systems, control systems in critical infrastructures, smart

Cyber‐physical systems (CPS) present a unique modeling challenge due to their numerous heterogeneous components, complex physical interactions, and disjoint communication networks. Modeling CPS to aid security analysis further adds to these challenges, because securing CPS requires not only understanding of the system architecture, but also the system's role within its broader expected service. This

Cranes on offshore vessels are subjected to crane dynamics, structural couplings to the vessel, and environmental influence by waves and currents. The recent trend has been to use larger cranes on smaller vessels, which makes the lifting operation more complex and potentially dangerous. The use of digital twins (DTs) is emerging as one way to enable safer operations, real‐time simulation, and maintenance

The field of project management has been trying to find generalizable sets of rules, and this article applies approaches and methods from systems engineering to develop such rules that support flexible project design. It presents an approach for modeling projects that divides project systems into three interacting subsystems (planned, executed, and interface systems) and proposes a framework for designing

Over the past decade, the Department of Defense (DoD) developed an emergent network of systems that operate together on the battlefield to provide value to the DoD. Advances in systems engineering have enabled the DoD to develop better, more integrated, and more complex systems in this time frame. One of the emerging topics in systems engineering is the importance of nonfunctional attributes captured

The success of systems engineering (SE) efforts to solve development issues benefit from the mutually advantageous relationship between academia and practice. This relationship can be threatened by lag in adoption and differences in focus between the two worlds. In an effort to help maintain alignment between SE research and practice, a 2‐day workshop was held at the University of Alabama in Huntsville

For decades, business process improvement (BPI) has been a persistent and expensive concern that spans across many industry sectors. We present OPM‐BPI—a model‐based method to improve business processes using ISO 19450—Object‐Process Methodology (OPM). The approach compares favorably to state‐of‐the‐art business process languages and approaches, such as Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). An

Systems engineers are equipped to design complex networked systems such as infrastructures. A key goal is cost minimization over a vast solution space. However, finding a minimum‐cost system while comprehensively satisfying different stakeholders is challenging and lacks proper methodological support. Stakeholders often employ their own expert estimations for lack of suitable decision‐support methods

It is now widely recognized that many important events in the life cycle of complex engineering systems cannot be foreseen in advance. From its origin in ecological systems, operating without the use of foresight, resilience theory prescribes presuming ignorance about the future, and designing systems to manage unexpected events in whatever form they may take. However, much confusion remains as to

Many systems and software processes overfocus on getting a project and product from an initial set of requirements to an Initial Operational Capability (IOC). Examples are most waterfall and V models. Projects following such processes may pass acceptance tests for functionality and performance, but may leave the product with serious maintainability shortfalls. Many agile processes focus on users' initial

Agile methods have gained wide acceptance over the past several years. They are now a standard management and execution approach for small‐scale system development projects. While Agile methods are not generally applicable to large multiyear and mission‐critical systems, hybrid Agile approaches are being developed to exploit the productivity improvements of Agile while retaining the necessary process

During the review process for the paper “Architecting Portfolios of Systems” in this issue one of the reviewers suggested that part of the reviewer‐author dialog be published because it clarified some issues beyond the paper itself and illustrated some different perspectives. This paper elaborates three major topics: The categorization of different types of collections of systems, the concept of requisite

A “portfolio‐of‐systems” is a collection of systems related by common management and budgeting, and at least some relationship to mission or missions. A portfolio‐of‐systems describes the not uncommon situation where an office is responsible for multiple systems in multiple phases of development but those systems are not related by common design, common manufacturing, or necessarily interconnected