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Engineering Systems IntegrationTheory, Metrics, and Methods By Gary O. Langford
M00002270
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Dreamers may envision our future, but it is the pragmatists who build it. Solve the right problem in the right way, mankind moves forward. Solve the right problem in the wrong way or the wrong problem in the right way, however clever or ingenious the solution, neither credits mankind. Instead, this misfire demonstrates a failure to appreciate a crucial step in pragmatic problem solving: systems integration.
The first book to address the underlying premises of systems integration and how to exposit them in a practical and productive manner, Engineering Systems Integration: Theory, Metrics, and Methods looks at the fundamental nature of integration, exposes the subtle premises to achieve integration, and posits a substantial theoretical framework that is both simple and clear. Offering systems managers and systems engineers the framework from which to consider their decisions in light of systems integration metrics, the book isolates two basic questions, 1) Is there a way to express the interplay of human actions and the result of system interactions of a product with its environment?, and 2) Are there methods that combine to improve the integration of systems? The author applies the four axioms of General Systems Theory (holism, decomposition, isomorphism, and models) and explores the domains of history and interpretation to devise a theory of systems integration, develop practical guidance applying the three frameworks, and formulate the mathematical constructs needed for systems integration.
The practicalities of integrating parts when we build or analyze systems mandate an analysis and evaluation of existing integrative frameworks of causality and knowledge. Integration is not just a word that describes a best practice, an art, or a single discipline. The act of integrating is an approach, operative in all disciplines, in all we see, in all we do.
Table of Contents
Importance of Integration
Introduction
Case Study Introduction
Hubble Space Telescope Systems Engineering Case Study
Principles
Principles of Integration
Endnote
References
Essences of Interaction
Without Boundaries: Oneness
Boundaries
Scope
Boundary Conditions
Boundary Extenders
Objects and Boundaries
Objects and Mechanism
Introduction to Interaction
Energy, Material Wealth, Matter, and Information
Property, Trait, and Attribute
Epistemology of Systems Engineering Integration
Metrics
General Nature of Objects
Services and Products
Objects
Constraint
Frameworks
Causality
Causality, Mechanisms, and Correlation
Model for Objective Causalities
Objective Causalities Framework
Cognitive Domain
Procedural Domain
Model and Representation Domain
Function
Quality
References
Foundations in Systems Integration
Introduction
Essence of Integration
Purpose of Systems Integration
Tasks of Systems Integration
Defining Terms
General Ontology and Mereology of Integration
Performance-Based Value
Subjective Value: Processes
Subjective and Objective Ontology
Business Models
Risk and Loss
Prototype-Based Ontology, Logic, and Mereology
Objects as Models
Integration Framework
Integration as Mechanism
Emergence
Dynamics of Integration
Consolidation of Thoughts on Integration
Strategy of Integration
Power
Axioms of Integration
Endnotes
References
Systems
Systemness
Emergence
Interface
Functional Analysis
Systems and Integration
System of Systems and Integration
Organizational Models
Conclusion
References
Integration in Systems Engineering Context
Introduction to Systems Engineering
Nature of Systems Engineering
Issues with Systems Engineering
Limits of Systems Engineering
Systems and Engineering
Charter of Systems Engineering
Lifecycle Considerations
Introduction to Defining the Problem
Defining the Problem
Problem Domain Analysis
Characterizing the Need
Stakeholders
Stakeholder Analysis
Complexity
Process Models
Testing
System Design
Architecting
Validation
References
Systems Integration Management
Granularity
Granularity and Integration
Abstraction
Project Management
Integration as a Recursive Process
Measures of Integration
Quality
Integration Strategy
Recursive Nature of Systems Integration
Integration Planning Concepts
Events
Integration Plan
Systems Integration Model
Patterns in Systems Engineering and Patterns in Systems Integration
References
Appendix 1: "To Manage" Decomposition
Appendix 2: Product Upgrades Based on Minimum
Expected Quality Loss
Glossary of Terms
Index
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Reviews
"… provides a fundamental approach to a major engineering problem, the integration of large complex systems, which should result in genuinely innovative system design and considerable improvements in reliability and savings at all stages of the system lifecycle."
—Timothy Ferris, Defence and Systems Institute, University of South Australia