Why System Descriptions?

When we focus our attention on a thing as a system-of-interest, we allow our understanding of a system to provide a way to establish and share our understanding of a thing as a system-of-interest.

The inclusion of living systems in this website highlights the importance of the system concepts being a set of concepts that are created and used by people when talking about their understanding of a system-of-interest.

The System Description provides:

• A set of terminology about a system (the views of a system)

• A set of terminology about a thing as identified in the system description.

• the ability to collaborate to create a system description that represents a shared common context of meaning for any of the stakeholders.

This approach to system description builds on and uses the following:

• The concept of a Root Definition in the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). This is a type of system description for a human activity system.

• The use of system engineering related standards: ISO 15288:2015 and ISO 42010:2011. Both of these provide the foundation for he creation and use of a system description.

• The concepts and processes used in the COMPASS project have also been used to integrate a network of systems or a system of systems into the area of system description.