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Name : K.Povenesan Student ID : 1191543

System of SystemsEngineeringSoS

What are systems of systems (SoS)? Providesome example of these. Discuss emergenceillustrating it with examples from differenttypes. Why have traditional projectmanagement models failed to provideadequate structural support for complex

projects?

PDP9/9/2009

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Question 1b:What are systems of systems (SoS)? Provide someexample of these. Discuss emergence illustrating it withexamples from different types. Why have traditionalproject management models failed to provide adequate structural support for complex projects?

System of Systems (SoS) is believed to be a super system consist of other elements that

themselves are independent complex operational systems and interact among themselves to achieve a

common goal. Systems of systems exist when there is a presence of a majority of the following five

characteristics; operational and managerial independence, geographic distribution, emergent behavior,

and evolutionary development(Jamshidi: 2005) [1]. Although some SoS do not have all of them, most

of these properties are unique to SoSs, especially if one is careful when drawing the boundaries of a

system. An array system (SoS) is a large widespread collection or network of systems functioning

together to achieve a common purpose (Shenhar, 2001). Another apparent definition was SoS is a set

of collaboratively integrated systems that possess two additional properties: operational independence

of components and managerial independence of components (Maier, 1998) [2].

Examples of existing and emergent system to see principles in action for SoS:

Integrated Air Defense; (Maier, 1998) the air defenses of modern military forces are clear

example of SoS. An integrated air defense system is composed of a geographically

dispersed network of semi-autonomous elements. These include surveillance radars, passive

surveillance systems, missile launch batteries, missile tracking and control sites, airborne

surveillance and tracking radars, fighter aircraft, and anti-aircraft artillery. All units are tied

together by a communications network with command and control applied at local, regional,

and national centers. When

operating as integrated system, the network exhibits network wide emergent behavior. For

example, optimized missile firing and engagement strategies and selective radar use tomake targeting of individual elements difficult. However, the uncertainties of warfare make it

essential that the system be able to effectively fall back to less integrated configurations, and

to make such transitions suddenly and in the heat of battle.[3]

A modern Airport; this contains a lot of system with much interdependencies between

individual systems. Main components are;

a) Air craft, support/maintenance, baggage handling

b) Air traffic control, ground control, taxiways, runways

c) Ticketing, reservations, gate control, boarding bridges

d) Transportation securitye) Parking, auto traffic control

f) Shopping, pedestrian control

Emergent behaviors; the congestion of the core airports, the distribution of population at the

regional level, and with the increased concern over security in our airports has been

influencing the emergence of multi-airport systems. In Singapore, the entry of a low-cost air

carrier was determined to be an essential incentive in the emergence phenomenon impacting

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References:

[1] Jamshidi, M. (2005) GTheme of the IEEE SMC 2005, Waikoloa, Hawaii, USA,http://ieeesmc2005.unm.edu/, October 2005.

[2] Maier, M. W. Architecting Principles for Systems-of-Systems, Systems Engineering, 1, 4(1998): 267-284

[3] Maier, M. W., Integrated Modelling: A Unified Approach to System Engineering, Journalof Systems and Software, 32:2, Feb. 1996.

[4] Tannenbaum, A.S., Computer Networks, 4th Edition. Englewood Cliffs,NJ: PrentinceHall, 2002.

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http://ieeesmc2005.unm.edu/http://ieeesmc2005.unm.edu/http://ieeesmc2005.unm.edu/http://ieeesmc2005.unm.edu/

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[5]

[6] Fox, William M. "Sociotechnical System Principles and Guidelines: Past and Present ."The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 31, No. 1, 1995: 91-105.

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