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Foundations in Systems Integration
objective probability (Kyburg and Smokler 1964; Dastou 1994), in knowledge
management for modeling (Rocha 1999), in public administration (Shingler
et al. 2008), in business valuation (Kwon et al. 2002), in engineering analysis
for reliability (Bhatt 2000), for product support (United States Department of
Defense 2011), for management strategies (Chow and Van der Stede 2006),
and in economics for the dual nature of money with objective and subjective
qualities (Zyphur et al. 2006). In systems engineering, subjective value and
its measure are often included as part of building and integrating products or
services (Bernstein 2001), as measures of project success (Parsons 2005), for
software testing (Hamlet 2007), and as determinants of systems engineering
quality (Valerdi and Davidz 2009). Importantly, the recognition of the systems
engineers’ need to embrace both the subjective and objective components of
developing and integrating products and services was instilled from the
mid-1960s. By the late 1990s, that favor was both prevalent and acknowledged as an important distinction for systems engineering (Sproles 2000).
Subjective Value: Processes
Similarly, economic value of a process is derivable from Eugene von BöhmBawerk, “economic valuation of a good is nothing but a reflection of a more
basic valuation which we accord to the life and welfare purposes which goods
serve to attain.” The words “to attain” are suggestive of a set of measures that
can be developed to determine the value of a process. However, the set of measures for a process that focuses on activities are different from that of measures
of performance. Measures of performance relate to functions. Various schemes
and measurement scales for measuring processes have been proposed, including “… cost, schedule, risk, and improvements” (Millard 1999). The key determinants of value for a process, first, are subjective. That there is no quantitative
reference is implicit in subjectivity and subjective measures. However, no doubt
there is value in processes. Process can be patented, bought, sold, and improved
to increase production, build products, and deliver services. And processes can
be ineffective, inefficient, and cumbersome. People conjure processes, communicate to others about their thinking about processes, and manage processes.
People estimate costs of and spend money to deal with processes.
Process is the amalgamation of activities and tools that combine ideas.
Two processes are differentiable when they require different skills from the
same person, need different equipment for the same job, and use different
tools for the same activity. Generalizing from definitions of software processes by Humphrey (1989) and Lonchamp (1993), a process is a partially
organized set of activities, tools, and practices carried out by humans who
are constrained by, for example, resources, budgets, schedules, scope, and
policies.
Foundations in Systems Integration
objective probability (Kyburg and Smokler 1964; Dastou 1994), in knowledge
management for modeling (Rocha 1999), in public administration (Shingler
et al. 2008), in business valuation (Kwon et al. 2002), in engineering analysis
for reliability (Bhatt 2000), for product support (United States Department of
Defense 2011), for management strategies (Chow and Van der Stede 2006),
and in economics for the dual nature of money with objective and subjective
qualities (Zyphur et al. 2006). In systems engineering, subjective value and
its measure are often included as part of building and integrating products or
services (Bernstein 2001), as measures of project success (Parsons 2005), for
software testing (Hamlet 2007), and as determinants of systems engineering
quality (Valerdi and Davidz 2009). Importantly, the recognition of the systems
engineers’ need to embrace both the subjective and objective components of
developing and integrating products and services was instilled from the
mid-1960s. By the late 1990s, that favor was both prevalent and acknowledged as an important distinction for systems engineering (Sproles 2000).
Subjective Value: Processes
Similarly, economic value of a process is derivable from Eugene von BöhmBawerk, “economic valuation of a good is nothing but a reflection of a more
basic valuation which we accord to the life and welfare purposes which goods
serve to attain.” The words “to attain” are suggestive of a set of measures that
can be developed to determine the value of a process. However, the set of measures for a process that focuses on activities are different from that of measures
of performance. Measures of performance relate to functions. Various schemes
and measurement scales for measuring processes have been proposed, including “… cost, schedule, risk, and improvements” (Millard 1999). The key determinants of value for a process, first, are subjective. That there is no quantitative
reference is implicit in subjectivity and subjective measures. However, no doubt
there is value in processes. Process can be patented, bought, sold, and improved
to increase production, build products, and deliver services. And processes can
be ineffective, inefficient, and cumbersome. People conjure processes, communicate to others about their thinking about processes, and manage processes.
People estimate costs of and spend money to deal with processes.
Process is the amalgamation of activities and tools that combine ideas.
Two processes are differentiable when they require different skills from the
same person, need different equipment for the same job, and use different
tools for the same activity. Generalizing from definitions of software processes by Humphrey (1989) and Lonchamp (1993), a process is a partially
organized set of activities, tools, and practices carried out by humans who
are constrained by, for example, resources, budgets, schedules, scope, and
policies.