Research Topics and Publications

RESEARCH TOPICS

Today, products that are being designed, are in fact systems that provide more and more functionality, make use of technologies that emerge at a high pace, and have an increasingly more relevant impact on the world in which they function. If we want to be effective and efficient in innovation in such a world, there is a need for an integrative discipline that connects disciplines like mechanical engineering, software engineering, ergonomics, user interaction, etc. Our group aims at advancing systems engineering as this integrative discipline by research on the (mutually related) topics below. The research projects in which we participate provide us with concrete situations where we can apply, test, evaluate, and improve our methodologies and tools^*.

RT1: Communication in multidisciplinary development

Communication is essential in developing systems, where multiple disciplines have to create and implement a balanced and coherent system design. We aim at bringing these disciplines together by creating system descriptions and overviews that are widely understood. The A3 Architecture Overviews provide such communication means. Also, see the A3AO resource website (a3ao.eu)

RT2: Developing methods and tools for connecting and integrating engineering tools

There is a host of tools and methods that support engineering. In the developing process of systems results of these tools have to be used in an integrative manner. We work towards such integration, not by creating (yet) another engineering tool, but by modeling relations.

RT3: Systems architecting

Systems architecting is the process of creating systems architectures. Described by Maier and Rechting as "an Art and a Science". In this topic, we research methods and tools to support systems architecting. This includes describing and selecting architectures.

RT4: Systems thinking

Engineering in many cases is about studying and understanding details to a very large degree. Systems thinking is about seeing and understanding the whole. Systems dynamics, causal loop diagrams, and the systems thinking tracks are ways to support systems thinking.

RT5: Systems of Systems

A system is a collection of parts and their interfaces, organized to a common objective. Systems can also function together to create an even more complex system: a System of Systems! The constituting systems can be different and operate independently, yet their interaction results in new capabilities and properties, that stakeholders need to recognize and address. The methodology for defining, managing, modeling, and analyzing system of systems problems is referred to as system of systems engineering.

SEMD group scientific contributions