#ISSS2018 Corvallis

Swami Natarajan, Anand Kumar, Gary Smith, Jennifer Makar, Gary Metcalf, George Mobus: Linking a Systems Science Framework to Systemic Practice and Systems Engineering: Follow-on workshop from Linz Conversation, Part 2.

3335 LINKING A SYSTEMS SCIENCE FRAMEWORK TO SYSTEMIC PRACTICE AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING 
Swaminathan Natarajan, Anand Kumar, Gary Smith, Jennifer Makar, Gary Metcalf, George Mobus Tata Consultancy Services Research, 54B Hadapsar I.E. Pune-411013, India.
swami.n@tcs.com, anand.ar@tcs.com, gary.r.smith@airbus.com, makarjennifer@gmail.com, interconnectionsllc1998@gmail.com, gmobus@uw.edu 
A great deal of systems science knowledge has been generated over the past 70+ years, including models, principles, concepts, frameworks, catalogues of isomorphies, methods and tools. However, it has been challenging not only for practitioners but also systems scientists to view and understand the field as a coherent whole, especially given that today it has fragmented into multiple sub-disciplines such as cybernetics, system dynamics, complexity science and so on.

An INCOSE Panel was organized in IS 2017 to explore why Systems Engineering is struggling to find its own foundation in Systems Science. The panel explored the questions that must be addressed to establish a firmer scientific foundation for SE practices. It highlighted the significant roadblocks on the path to a better understanding of how systems work and how systems can deliver value to its stakeholders.  The objective of the panel was to identify areas where Systems Science can contribute to better SE practices and define the way forward in achieving a better scientific foundation for the SE discipline.

Further, an IFSR 2018 Conversation was organized to address the question of “What is systems science”. This Conversation examined the current bodies of knowledge in systems science, how knowledge is structured in science domains and the nature of formation of knowledge about systems. These thought experiments eventually resulted in a draft framework aimed at organizing and bringing coherence to the systems science body of knowledge.  This framework proposes that the systems science body of knowledge addresses the nature of systems as well as how people engage with systems, and provides a guide to the formation of knowledge (in sciences and other knowledge domains). The framework includes a suggested categorization of systems science concepts, as well as criteria to test whether a concept belongs in a given category. An initial list of systems science concepts and isomorphies was classified using these criteria to test the framework.

The purpose of the workshop is to continue developing the framework and use it to capture systems science knowledge. Specific objectives include socializing the framework with the systems science community and obtaining buy-in, refining the framework and populating it with systems science concepts, and working through its linkages to systemic practice and to systems engineering.