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Engineering Systems Integration
(the socioeconomic realities of projects). Working these concepts into a definition that can be used in a precising manner:
a system is a bounded, stable group of objects exhibiting intrinsic
emergent properties that through the interactions of energy, matter,
material wealth, and information provide functions different from
their archetypes.
Said more abstractly and succinctly (but with loss of precision):
a system is a bounded, stable group of objects exhibiting intrinsic emergent behaviors based on interactions of energy, matter, material wealth,
and information.
And finally, paired down to its barest abstraction (with loss of precision
and accuracy):
a system is a group of stable objects showing intrinsic emergence based
on interactions.
The systems engineering integrator concept of a system is a provisional
goal that results in a valuable product or service. The systems engineer’s
concept of a system is a provisional goal that results in the design, building,
and integration of objects through their interactions to deliver the functions,
performance, and quality needed by their customers. Systems engineers are
concerned with both systems and system of systems by design and architecture. Systems engineering integrators are concerned with both systems and
system of systems within the context of the product or service operating in
its operational environment. Systems engineering is a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to managing and carrying out the transformation of
requirements and resources into a system through design, building, and
integration of objects. Systems engineering integration is a collaborative,
value-enhancing approach to demonstrating functionalities and performances of products and services.
But it may be fruitless to focus more effort to move beyond these general
statements of systems engineering and systems engineering integrators as
there is a public recognition of several myths in systems engineering (Kasser
2010). As Joe Kasser points out, there are (1) a plethora of standards; (2) many
process models that can be used; (3) more dependences on people for success
than on any one systems engineering method; and (4) needs for better tools,
techniques, and procedures. There should be no illusion that there is not just
one “brand” of systems engineering widely accepted as standard practice. In
fact, in spite of their differences, several versions of systems engineering have
proven reasonably effective in building products and services (Honour 2011).
Several examples of systems engineering guides are the Naval Systems
Engineering Guide (Rodriguez et al. 2004), two guides from NASA (Shishko
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