Name : K.

Povenesan Student ID : 1191543

System of Systems
Engineering
SoS

What are systems of systems (SoS)? Provide

some example of these. Discuss emergence
illustrating it with examples from different
types. Why have traditional project
management models failed to provide
adequate structural support for complex
projects?

PDP
9/9/2009
Question 1b:
What are systems of systems (SoS)? Provide some
example of these. Discuss emergence illustrating it with
examples from different types. Why have traditional
project 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 SoS’s, 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 to
make 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 security
e) 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

1
 fares and airport competition levels resulting in market stimulation. SoS methodology
provides the decision maker with an improved understanding of the implication of policy
decisions, resource allocations and infrastructure investments strategies, through the capture
of emergent behaviors and interdependencies.

• Electrical Power System Grid; Modern power grids are extremely complex and wide
spread. After electricity is produced at power plants it has to get to the customers that use
the electricity. The transmission and distribution system delivers electricity from the
generating site to residential, commercial, and industrial facilities. Within SoS obvious
emergent behaviors such as black-out and voltage loss led to restoration system
implemented thru back-up facilities. Changing generation patterns, rapid weather changes
and etc among other reasons can all lead to blackouts. Separations due to dynamic
instability are typically initiated by multiple contingencies such as loss of corridors or delayed
fault clearing.

• Internet; The Internet, the global computer-to-computer network, is an example of a

collaborative SoS. It’s elements are themselves computer networks and major computer
sites. Internet component sites collaboratively exchange information using documented
protocols. Coercive power emerges through agreements among major sites to block traffic
and sites observed to misbehave.
Complex distributed applications that run on top of the communication substrate
represent the rich set of emergent behaviors. The most complex of these is the World Wide
Web (WWW), itself a virtual or collaborative SoS that exist solely at protocol layers above the
basic enabling protocols of the Internet which is its home. [4]

• Supply Chain management (SCM); also a SoS commonly being utilized worldwide in all
industries for high benefits. The main component systems in this SoS are production
management systems, inventory systems, transportation tracking systems and internet for
connectivity. Initially, it just describe a how a single organization source and procure
supplies, managed their internal inventories, and move goods onto their customers.
(Harland, 1995). Now, it was recognized, they are still delay in whole process from base
roots, meant that supply chains extended beyond the purchasing organization and into their
supplier’s supplier. With an enormous field of competitors, delays in supply mean opt for
another supplier. With this emergence, this will help to reduce inventory costs and Just-In-
Time (JIT) inventory production. With each system been developed and upgraded separately
with little co-ordination.

Traditional project management style failed to provide adequate structural support for complex
project due to several reasons as below;

a) In traditional projects, evolutions within a system have seldom been treated as an integral
aspect of the design, implementation, management and operational process whereby all
useful system evolves in complex projects. In complex project, the management and
operational independence of the constituents enables their independent evolution. Traditional
models did not add significantly to the complexity of the interactions among constituents.
b)
2
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, Journal
of Systems and Software, 32:2, Feb. 1996.
[4] Tannenbaum, A.S., Computer Networks, 4th Edition. Englewood Cliffs,NJ: Prentince
Hall, 2002.

3
[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.