Title: Overview of the systems of systems engineering methodology

Authors: Kevin MacG. Adams, Charles B. Keating

Addresses: National Centers for System of Systems Engineering, Old Dominion University, 4111 Monarch Way, Suite 406, Norfolk, Virginia, USA. ' National Centers for System of Systems Engineering, Old Dominion University, 4111 Monarch Way, Suite 406, Norfolk, Virginia, USA

Abstract: There is no widely accepted approach to conducting system of systems engineering (SoSE) efforts. The SoSE methodology is a rigorous engineering analysis that invests heavily in the understanding and framing of the problem under study. By conducting a rigorous engineering analysis of the problem and its associated context, the SoSE methodology minimises the chance that a Type III error may be committed early on in a SoSE analysis. The SoSE methodology is a guide to be adapted to the particular circumstances that define its application. The theoretical and philosophical grounding for the SoSE methodology derives from systems theory. The systems principles, laws, and concepts are central to everything that follows in application of the SoSE methodology to a specific problem domain. The SoSE methodology contains seven perspectives and 23 constituent elements that serve to structure the application of the perspectives during methodology application. Each perspective is essential to a holistic treatment of the problem, with all perspectives iteratively applied and existing in relationship to every other, informing and informed by each.

Keywords: system of systems; SoS; system of systems engineering; SoSE.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSE.2011.040549

International Journal of System of Systems Engineering, 2011 Vol.2 No.2/3, pp.112 - 119

Published online: 16 Oct 2014 *

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