Modeling and Visualization of Complex Systems and Enterprises

Explorations of Physical, Human, Economic, and Social Phenomena

William B. Rouse

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781118954133
• eBook ISBN: 9781118959640
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Explains multi-level models of enterprise systems and covers modeling methodology

This book addresses the essential phenomena underlying the overall behaviors of complex systems and enterprises. Understanding these phenomena can enable improving these systems. These phenomena range from physical, behavioral, and organizational, to economic and social, all of which involve significant human components. Specific phenomena of interest and how they are represented depend on the questions of interest and the relevant domains or contexts. Modeling and Visualization of Complex Systems and Enterprises examines visualization of phenomena and how understanding the relationships among phenomena can provide the basis for understanding where deeper exploration is warranted. The author also reviews mathematical and computational models, defined very broadly across disciplines, which can enable deeper understanding.

• Presents a 10 step methodology for addressing questions associated with the design or operation of complex systems and enterprises
• Examines six archetypal enterprise problems including two from healthcare, two from urban systems, and one each from financial systems and defense systems
• Provides an introduction to the nature of complex systems, historical perspectives on complexity and complex adaptive systems, and the evolution of systems practice

Modeling and Visualization of Complex Systems and Enterprises is written for graduate students studying systems science and engineering and professionals involved in systems science and engineering, those involved in complex systems such as healthcare delivery, urban systems, sustainable energy, financial systems, and national security.

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

Addressing complex systems such as health-care delivery, sustainable energy, financial systems, urban infrastructures, and national security requires knowledge and skills from many disciplines, including systems science and engineering, behavioral and social science, policy and political science, economics and finance, and so on. These disciplines have a wide variety of views of the essential phenomena underlying such complex systems. Great difficulties are frequently encountered when interdisciplinary teams attempt to bridge and integrate these often-disparate views.

This book is intended to be a valuable guide to all the disciplines involved in such endeavors. The central construct in this guide is the notion of phenomena, particularly the essential phenomena that different disciplines address in complex systems. Phenomena are observed or observable events or chains of events. Examples include the weather, climate change, traffic congestion, aggressive behaviors, and cultural compliance. A team asked to propose policies to address the problem of overly aggressive motorist behaviors during inclement weather in the evening rush hour might have to consider the full range of these phenomena.

Traditionally, such problems would be decomposed into their constituent phenomena, appropriate disciplines would each be assigned one piece of the puzzle, and each disciplinary team would return from their deliberations with insights into their assigned phenomena and possibly elements of solutions. This reductionist approach often leads to inferior solutions compared to what might be achieved with a more holistic approach that explicitly addresses the interactions among phenomena and central trade-offs underlying truly creative solutions. This book is intended to enable such holistic problem solving.

Five themes are woven throughout this book.

• Understanding the essential phenomena underlying the overall behaviors of complex systems and enterprises can enable improving these systems.
• These phenomena range from physical, behavioral, and organizational, to economic and social, all of which involve significant human components.
• Specific phenomena of interest and how they are represented depend on the questions of interest and the relevant domains or contexts.
• Visualization of phenomena and relationships among phenomena can provide the basis for understanding where deeper exploration is warranted.
• Mathematical and computational models, defined very broadly across disciplines, can enable the necessary deeper understanding.

This chapter proceeds as follows. We first consider the nature of a range of perspectives on systems. This begins with an exploration of historical perspectives, drawing upon several disciplines. We then consider the nature of complexity and complex systems. This leads to elaboration of the contrast between complex and complicated systems and the notion of complex adaptive systems. We then consider systems practice over the past century. This background is intended to provide a well-informed foundation that will enable digesting the material discussed in later chapters.

SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVES

It is useful to reflect on the roots of systems thinking. This section begins with a discussion of the systems movement. We then elaborate the philosophical underpinnings of systems thinking. Finally, we review a range of seminal concepts. Brief sketches of these concepts are presented here; they are elaborated in greater depth in later chapters.

Systems Movement

The systems movement emerged from the formalization of systems theory as an area of study during and following World War II, although it can be argued that the physicists and chemists of the 19^th century contributed to the foundations of this area. Before delving into the ideas emerging in the 1940s and beyond, it is important to distinguish four aspects of the systems movement:

• Systems Thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole and represents an approach to problem solving that views “problems” as components of an overall system.
• Systems Philosophy is the study of systems, with an emphasis on causality and design. The most fundamental property of any system is the arbitrary boundary that humans create to suit their own purposes.
• Systems Science is an interdisciplinary field that studies the characteristics of complex systems in nature and society, to develop interdisciplinary foundations, which are applicable in a variety of areas, such as engineering, biology, medicine, and economics.
• Systems Engineering is an interdisciplinary field focused on identifying how complex engineering undertakings should be designed, developed, and managed over their life cycles.

Contrasting these four aspects of systems, it is important to recognize that different disciplines tend to see “systems” quite differently, for the most part due to the varying contexts of interest (Adams et al., 2014). Thus, a systems scientist studying marsh ecosystems and a systems engineer designing and developing the next fighter aircraft will, from a practical perspective at least, have much less in common than the term “system” might lead one to expect. The key point is that systems exist in contexts and different contexts may (and do) involve quite disparate phenomena.

Philosophical Background

There are many interpretations of what system thinking means and the nature of systems thinkers. Some are inclined toward model-based deduction, while others are oriented toward data-driven inference. The former extol the deductive powers of Newton and Einstein, while the latter are enamored with the inferential capabilities of Darwin. These different perspectives reflect different epistemologies.

The study of epistemology involves the questions of what is knowledge, how can it be acquired, and what can be known. The empiricism branch of epistemology emphasizes the value of experience. The idealism branch sees knowledge as innate. The rationalism branch relies on reason. The constructivism branch seeks knowledge in terms of creation. These branches differ in terms of how they represent knowledge, in particular how this knowledge is best modeled and simulated (Tolk, 2013).

There are many possible ways of thinking about complex systems and enterprises (Rouse, 2005, 2007). Systems paradigms for representation of knowledge include hierarchical mappings, state equations, nonlinear mechanisms, and...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
• CHAPTER 2: OVERALL METHODOLOGY
• CHAPTER 3: PERSPECTIVES ON PHENOMENA
• CHAPTER 4: PHYSICAL PHENOMENA
• CHAPTER 5: HUMAN PHENOMENA
• CHAPTER 6: ECONOMIC PHENOMENA
• CHAPTER 7: SOCIAL PHENOMENA
• CHAPTER 8: VISUALIZATION OF PHENOMENA
• CHAPTER 9: COMPUTATIONAL METHODS AND TOOLS
• CHAPTER 10: PERSPECTIVES ON PROBLEM SOLVING
• Index
• End User License Agreement