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Glossary of Terms
they are posed or presumed to be real. No other discipline or field
carries with it that worldview.
Systems integration: Systems integration is the unification of the objects and
their interactions of energy, matter, material wealth, and information to provide system-level functionalities and performances.
Target value: The designated performance requirement.
Technology: Technology is the scientific, mechanical, electronic, or chemical
means of improving people’s performances or by providing or enhancing their indigenous functions. These improvements provide for (1)
making better decisions, (2) doing more work faster, and (3) doing work
that could not be accomplished before by any one individual.
Testing: Testing is a process to determine the difference(s) between an
object’s properties, traits, and attributes under certain conditions in
a given set of circumstances with that of a representation (or test
model) of what is desired. The representation includes the test setup;
the test procedures; the test plan; the test personnel; the test objectives; the data analysis (and tools); the theory in which the measurements are planned, executed, and interpreted; and the biases (of all
parties). It is tacitly assumed that all factors not included in the representation (or test model) are factually extraneous (and therefore
not significant either to a specific test or a concatenation or totality of
tests). Testing highlights the test object’s performance at a particular
instance under certain conditions. Testing needs to be done as an
audit to determine what functions are demonstrated to some level of
proficiency. Testing indicates whether functions are operative and to
what degree (i.e., performance). Testing is a means of comparison:
comparing an object to the test model. Tests do not prove anything;
they only show a correspondence to an expected result (Aerts 1983).
Theory: A theory, broadly defined and widely recognized, is expressive
through its structure and narrative, its cognitive substance. The role
of theory is to organize, explain, and predict actions and events.
While theory inspires various frameworks from which to view and
interpret empirical data and qualitative aspects that imbue various
values (e.g., cultural, societal, and individual), it is the practices of
systems engineering, systems engineering integration, and systems
integration that indurate the applicability of theory’s use.
Time: Time is a linear sequence of real numbers based on a quantity measured
by the angle through which the earth turns on its axis. Time is a
universal standard by which observations of various measures are
compared (Feigenbaum 2008).
Trait: A trait is the nexus of the property along with its conditions that distinguishes it from other traits.
Type 0 interactions: Type 0 interactions are the results of stored energy used
to drive an internal mechanism. Type 0 interactions are typical of
“sources” of energy. Type 0 interactions are one type of energy