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In the 2011 issue of this journal, we proposed that “The application of systems theory and systems thinking to the design and management of complex systems of systems and their associated life cycles can provide a valuable lens for the emerging methods in system of systems engineering (SoSE)” (Adams, 2011). Since that time we have had the opportunity to develop an axiom set that we feel is a sufficient construct for systems theory (Adams et al., 2013). In this paper, we will explain the multi-disciplinary theoretical foundation and discipline-agnostic framework we have developed for systems theory. We believe that this construct may be posited as a general approach to understanding system behaviour.

Although the US Navy has made great strides in integrating technology to monitor and assess the condition of sub-systems, little is understood about how to fuse this data in order to construct a higher level awareness of the ship's overall readiness or current state. Drawing upon systems theory and systems-based approaches, we identify principles of hierarchy, control, suboptimisation, and satisficing as critical propositions for fusing integrated condition data and propose the viable system model as a hierarchical construct for managing the complexity of fusing integrated data into higher level awareness. This research resulted in the development of a system-level decision process that represents the underlying process of maintaining awareness of system level condition. We feel that further study is needed to fully realise the potential of using the a system-level decision process in integrating data for condition-based assessment and suggest avenues of research in calculating system reliability in managing both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty resident in the system.

System of systems engineering (SoSE) is a relatively new field of study as compared to other engineering disciplines and is often viewed as a mere extension of systems engineering, a relatively young discipline itself. As with all new disciplines, education in the emerging field is an important element of its development, or in some cases, its failure to develop. Education includes the domain within which the field of study exists and the requisite foundation for the associated body of knowledge. This paper reports on a tailored training programme in SoSE that has been designed to help provide a step-function increase in knowledge, skills, and abilities for the emerging workforce that work with systems of systems.

Stakeholders exist at the centre of all systems problems and are the principal contributors to the solution of these problems. We provide an approach for classifying stakeholders and determining an appropriate level of action to take with respect to these stakeholders that combines the power, legitimacy and urgency typology with a stakeholder attitude classification schema. The newly developed stakeholder strategy is a matrix that combines stakeholder attitude and classification. This matrix serves as a guide for the application of resources in support of stakeholder involvement. This technique provides systems practitioners with a means to deal with stakeholders effectively.

Understanding and treating problems in complex systems, independent of the systems construct (i.e., socio-technical systems or socio-ecological systems), dictates the use of a formal systems approach. The systems approach may be methodological, a method, or a technique, but in each case it involves the imposition of order that ranges from the philosophical to the procedural. Independent of the philosophical construct or procedural rigor used in addressing the complex systems problem is the opportunity to commit a number of errors as part of the systems approach. This paper will discuss six classifications for problem solving errors that may be experienced during the application of a systems approach when understanding and treating complex systems problems.

A US Navy carrier strike group (CSG) is an important element of US policy projection through military assets. The CSG is a system of systems (SoS) representing both an organisation of people and a collection of ships, aircraft, and support equipment designed to support US global interests. The CSG is a metasystem composed of a number of separate subsystems (vessels, air wing, and staffs), and it fits the classic definition of a SoS proposed by Maier (1999). Command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) subsystems in a carrier strike group (CSG) are a SoS supporting the larger CSG. This paper will introduce the reader to the US Navy CSG. It will include a summary of components in the CSG SoS, the SoS's mission, a description of the component systems, how the SoS is organised, and how the metasystem is purposefully directed by its command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) subsystems. The paper serves as an introduction to this issue's following papers that will use emerging system of systems engineering (SoSE) principles and methods to provide a more holistic frame of reference for understanding CSG C4ISR as a SoS.

There is no widely accepted approach to conducting system of systems engineering (SoSE) efforts. The SoSE methodology is a rigorous engineering analysis that invests heavily in the understanding and framing of the problem under study. By conducting a rigorous engineering analysis of the problem and its associated context, the SoSE methodology minimises the chance that a Type III error may be committed early on in a SoSE analysis. The SoSE methodology is a guide to be adapted to the particular circumstances that define its application. The theoretical and philosophical grounding for the SoSE methodology derives from systems theory. The systems principles, laws, and concepts are central to everything that follows in application of the SoSE methodology to a specific problem domain. The SoSE methodology contains seven perspectives and 23 constituent elements that serve to structure the application of the perspectives during methodology application. Each perspective is essential to a holistic treatment of the problem, with all perspectives iteratively applied and existing in relationship to every other, informing and informed by each.

The first perspective in the system of systems engineering (SoSE) methodology is to ensure that the engineering analysis is supported by an explicit understanding and framing of the problem under study. By explicitly framing the problem and its associated context, the SoSE methodology minimises the chance of a Type III error (i.e., correctly rejects the null hypothesis for the wrong reason) committed at study’s outset. This paper addresses the methodology’s Perspective 1, framing the system under study, and the nine component execution elements serving to operationalise it. The paper will illustrate those elements as tools with which SoS problems may be framed in terms of their most prominent contextual and environmental influences.

The application of systems theory and systems thinking to the design and management of complex systems of systems and their associated life cycles can provide a valuable lens for the emerging methods in system of systems engineering (SoSE). This paper is organised to show how the valuable concepts of systems theory and systems thinking as related to SoSE, can provide the formalism and framework for the inclusion of systems concepts, fundamentals, and language as the foundation for a SoSE methodology.

Approaches for quantifying security system performance vary for different critical facilities, ranging from in-depth quantitative analyses to heuristics-based rules of thumb. Since there is no single accepted definition for what constitutes an effective security system for a critical facility and how best to design and analyse these systems, this technical note is a survey of potential metrics and methods for critical facility system effectiveness. Recommendations are made for which metric is best suited for critical facility system effectiveness and a new method is recommended for evaluating system effectiveness.