1st Edition

Engineering Systems Integration Theory, Metrics, and Methods

By Gary O. Langford Copyright 2012
    406 Pages 32 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    406 Pages 32 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    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.

    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

    Biography

    Gary O. Langford teaches systems engineering and system integration, and is a practicing systems engineer; a NASA Ames fellow; visiting lecturer in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department, Stanford University; founder and president of four U.S. corporations (one publicly traded on Nasdaq); owner of an international consulting firm; earlier member of the boards of directors of seven corporations (holding three positions as chairman of the board); executive vice president of a merchant bank; manager of an aerospace systems engineering department; contract research scientist; foreman of a cannery nightshift operation; and lifelong learner. His work of thinking in systems integration spans his education in physics, astrophysics, geophysics, electrical engineering, sociology, business management, and systems engineering. He has served as the principal investigator for contracts and grants from the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, and the Temasek Defence Systems Institute, Singapore. In addition to extensive work with corporations and universities in the United States, he has engaged in collaborative research with researchers from Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, and France. Gary Langford is a senior lecturer in the Systems Engineering Department at the United States Naval Postgraduate School and a doctoral candidate at the Defence and Systems Institute, University of South Australia, Australia. He has an AB astronomy degree from the University of California, Berkeley and an MS physics degree from California State University, Hayward. Since 1976, Gary Langford has worked in all facets of systems engineering and systems integration on projects ranging from $200 thousand to $1 billion. His research interests include the creation and sustainment of systems.

    "… 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