Systems
Table of Contents / Index
This section of the site is about systems philosophy, systems thinking, systems science, systems methodology, systems engineering and systems management. I set it up initially so that interested students might find a convenient starting place for their studies, but it has proved to be of much wider interest.
Systems Philosophy examines why the idea of systems is both inevitable and so incredibly vital. As the world becomes inexorably more complex, we need to manage that complexity, to be able to see past it, if we are to understand the nonlinear, dynamic universe in which we live. Out of the philosopy came forth systems science...
Systems science is a young discipline, born of necessity to address issues and problems with which the classic hard sciences cannot cope, and where Cartesian reduction fails to serve. Initially backed up by General Systems Theory, it developed into a science of wholes and of open systrtems, incorporating the life sciences along with the harder applied sciences.
Systems Approach is a term used to describe the way in which complex problems and situations are approached, not in a piecemel fashion, but as a whole.
System models are simple,
useful, system-theoretic ways of representing the natural, transcendental
and man-made world. Their value is in their simplicity and in their ability
to conceal complexity and reveal the underlying nature of complex situations
and ideas.
Complex, situations overwhelm our ability to comprehend and manage. We need system models to enable system thinking, which is an essential adjunct to systems engineering...
.. which incorporates systems design (sometimes called systems architecting), the key element of systems engineering for innovation, creativity and the management of complexity
Systems engineering can refer to the development of projects, businesses, industries and even to national socioeconomic systems. Systems engineering has its own systems engineering philosophy, which reveals why systems engineering is so important in our modern world. The 5-layer model of systems engineering shows how systems engineering affects all aspects of our world And there is even a Guide to the Practice of Systems Engineering - getting old now, but still useful - and simple!
Systems architecture is the backbone of any system. Yet there seems to be little science involved in their conception and design - instead, they seem to just happen. Architectonics is the study of systems architecture...
And then there is the Systems Methodology, which ties everything together, showing the complete process from identifying a complex problem right through to creating, and proving, a solution system. The Systems Methodology incorporates several systems methods, notably the Rigorous Soft Method, and the TRIAD Building System, both of which stand as systems methodologies in their own right, but which work together to bring power to the Systems Methodology.
To make the Systems Methodology more comprehensible, it is applied in the creation of an advanced solution system, Land Force 2010, which shows how applying the Synstems Methodology results in creative, innovative, optimal designs, setting targets for engineering, psychology, economics, classical science, organization, management, and many many more...
Royal Aeronautical Society - Systems and Avionics