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System of Systems Engineering
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System of Systems Engineering

A special issue of Systems (ISSN 2079-8954). This special issue belongs to the section "Systems Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2025) | Viewed by 12001

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Michael Henshaw

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
Interests: MBSE; cyber-physical systems of systems; systems thinking; capability engineering; quantum systems engineering; resilient systems
Dr. Siyuan Ji

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
Interests: model-based systems engineering (MBSE); systems engineering; automotive engineering; reliability engineering; product line engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

About ten years ago, INCOSE published a list of seven pain points for Systems of Systems Engineering (SoSE) (Dahmann, 2014); these were based on a survey of industry (primarily), government, and academic systems engineers, that asked practitioners to identify the SoSE problems that were keeping them awake at night. In no particular order, the problems identified were: SoS authorities; SoS leadership; constituent systems perspectives; capabilities and requirements; autonomy, interdependencies and emergence; testing, validation, and learning; SoS principles. At the time, the discussion focused largely on defining the problems caused by the pain points, but in the intervening years, approaches have been developed to address them.  These comprise ways of working, enterprise considerations, technology advances, and standards.

The definition of a System of Systems due to ISO/IEC/IEEE 21839 (ISO, 2019) has been accepted by the community:

‘System of Systems (SoS)—A set of systems or system elements that interact to provide a unique capability that none of the constituent systems can accomplish independently. Note: Systems elements can be necessary to facilitate the interaction of the constituent systems in the system of systems.’

‘Constituent Systems—Constituent systems can be part of one or more SoS. Note: Each constituent is a useful system by itself, having its development, management goals and resources, but interacts within the SoS to provide the unique capability of the SoS.’

This Special Issue invites technical and managerial contributions from academia and industry that critically evaluate or propose innovative solutions to SoS problems. The call particularly targets introducing new capabilities (e.g., AI and other elements of cyber–physical systems) and sophisticated model-based systems engineering (MBSE) to enable engineers to manage the increasingly complex and dynamic nature of future SoS.

This Special Issue particularly looks forward to articles presenting, among others:

  • Application of MBSE to large, complex SoS;
  • Introduction of AI as a capability for managing complex SoS;
  • Approaches that take account of human contributions to SoS;
  • Cyber-physical systems of systems;
  • Case studies that critically analyze SoS applications (both successful and failures);
  • Life cycle models and processes for managing SoS effectively;
  • Advances in enterprise Systems Engineering in the context of SoS;
  • Role of standards in developing and maintaining SoS capabilities;
  • Capability Engineering or Mission Engineering.

Prof. Dr. Michael Henshaw
Dr. Siyuan Ji
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Systems is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • MBSE
  • cyber–physical systems
  • enterprise systems engineering
  • AI
  • standards
  • capability engineering
  • mission engineering

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 6110 KiB  
Article
Application of Systems-of-Systems Theory to Electromagnetic Warfare Intentional Electromagnetic Interference Risk Assessment
by Nigel Davies, Huseyin Dogan and Duncan Ki-Aries
Systems 2025, 13(4), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems13040244 - 1 Apr 2025
Viewed by 462
Abstract
Battlefields contain complex networks of electromagnetic (EM) systems, owned by adversary/allied military forces and civilians, communicating intentionally or unintentionally. Attacker’s strategies may include Intentional EM Interference (IEMI) to adversary target systems, although transmitted signals may additionally degrade/disrupt allied/civilian systems (called victims). To aid [...] Read more.
Battlefields contain complex networks of electromagnetic (EM) systems, owned by adversary/allied military forces and civilians, communicating intentionally or unintentionally. Attacker’s strategies may include Intentional EM Interference (IEMI) to adversary target systems, although transmitted signals may additionally degrade/disrupt allied/civilian systems (called victims). To aid decision-making processes relating to IEMI attacks, Risk Assessment (RA) is performed to determine whether interference risks to allied/civilian systems are acceptable. Currently, there is no formalized Quantitative RA Method (QRAM) capable of calculating victim risk distributions, so a novel approach is proposed to address this knowledge gap, utilizing an Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) IEMI RA method modeling scenarios consisting of interacting EM systems within complex, dynamic, diverse, and uncertain environments, using Systems-of-Systems (SoS) theory. This paper aims to address this knowledge gap via critical analysis utilizing a case study which demonstrates the use of an Acknowledged SoS-based model as input to a QRAM capable of calculating victim risk distributions within EW IEMI RA-associated scenarios. Transmitter operators possess only uncertain/fuzzy knowledge of victim systems, so it is proposed that a Moot Acknowledged System-of-Fuzzy-Systems applies to EW IEMI RA scenarios. In summary, a novel SoS description feeding a novel QRAM (supported by a systematic literature review of RA mathematical modeling techniques)is proposed to address the knowledge gap. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue System of Systems Engineering)
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37 pages, 3200 KiB  
Article
Enabling Open Architecture in Military Systems: A Systemic and Holistic Analysis
by Raquel L. V. Radoman, Michael Henshaw, Melanie King and Tim Rabbets
Systems 2025, 13(3), 207; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems13030207 - 17 Mar 2025
Viewed by 577
Abstract
Military systems, with their extended lifecycles, face challenges such as managing obsolescence, adapting to evolving operational needs, and ensuring interoperability in System of Systems contexts. Open Architectures (OAs) have been pursued to address these issues by adopting widely recognized interface standards instead of [...] Read more.
Military systems, with their extended lifecycles, face challenges such as managing obsolescence, adapting to evolving operational needs, and ensuring interoperability in System of Systems contexts. Open Architectures (OAs) have been pursued to address these issues by adopting widely recognized interface standards instead of proprietary solutions, enabling more flexible and cost-effective system modifications. However, establishing effective OA environments—encompassing technical, commercial, and organisational dimensions—remains complex, with much of the existing knowledge restricted to the practices of a few governments. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of OA in military systems, employing systems thinking tools to examine this multifaceted concept. It integrates perspectives from government and industry, addressing the ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ of OA, and introduces a framework for identifying enabling actions. Key findings highlight that OA success depends on defining ‘open for whom’, ‘to what level of detail’, and ‘in which parts of the system’. Moreover, achieving an effective OA environment requires strategic investment, the active engagement of a Community of Practice, and maturity in the technical and legal domains. This study provides decision-makers at early stages of adoption with the necessary strategic understanding to support the customisation of OA transformation plans to suit unique contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue System of Systems Engineering)
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38 pages, 17360 KiB  
Article
Systems Developmental Dependency Analysis for Scheduling Decision Support: The Lunar Gateway Case Study
by Cesare Guariniello and Daniel DeLaurentis
Systems 2025, 13(3), 191; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems13030191 - 9 Mar 2025
Viewed by 550
Abstract
Project Managers face many difficulties when scheduling the development and production of multiple, largely independent systems required for a new capability, especially when there are multiple stakeholders, uncertainties in the expected development time, and developmental dependencies among the systems. The Systems Developmental Dependency [...] Read more.
Project Managers face many difficulties when scheduling the development and production of multiple, largely independent systems required for a new capability, especially when there are multiple stakeholders, uncertainties in the expected development time, and developmental dependencies among the systems. The Systems Developmental Dependency Analysis methodology provides a systemic approach to address these challenges by offering decision support for such a ‘System-of-Systems’. The method, based on a parametric piece-wise linear model of dependencies between elements in the developmental domain, propagates the interactions between systems to estimate delays in the development of individual systems and to evaluate the impact of such delays on the expected schedule of completion for the establishment of the whole desired capability. The schedule can be automatically re-generated based on new system information, changed dependencies, and/or modified risk levels. As demonstrated in this paper using a complex space mission case, the method enhances decision-support by identifying criticalities, computing possible delay absorption strategies, and comparing different development strategies in terms of robustness to delays. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue System of Systems Engineering)
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24 pages, 604 KiB  
Article
Implications of Second-Order Cybernetics and Autopoiesis on Systems-of-Systems Engineering
by Jakob Axelsson
Systems 2025, 13(2), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems13020119 - 13 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1811
Abstract
Systems-of-systems are often characterized as systems where the constituent parts have some independence from the whole. Recent research has aimed at clarifying in more detail what this independence means. It has shown that independence requires the constituent systems to be agents that observe [...] Read more.
Systems-of-systems are often characterized as systems where the constituent parts have some independence from the whole. Recent research has aimed at clarifying in more detail what this independence means. It has shown that independence requires the constituent systems to be agents that observe the system-of-systems from within and construct internal models of it as a basis for decisions. This view on observers as parts of the system-of-systems parallels development in the field of second-order cybernetics several decades ago, yet the connection between that field and systems-of-systems has not been explored previously. This paper, therefore, summarizes key concepts from second-order cybernetics, including the subtopic autopoiesis. It then discusses what the implications are on systems-of-systems engineering through the identification of 17 concerns. These concerns relate to the physical topology, behavior, and control of the system-of-systems. This paper shows how these concerns directly relate to the theoretical concepts of second-order cybernetics and autopoiesis, and thereby, opens the door to further exploitation of this theoretical foundation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue System of Systems Engineering)
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21 pages, 3078 KiB  
Article
An Integrated Method for Selecting Architecture Alternatives and Reconfiguration Options Towards System-of-Systems Resilience
by Zhemei Fang, Hang Li and Dazhi Chen
Systems 2025, 13(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems13010009 - 27 Dec 2024
Viewed by 813
Abstract
Delivering persistent values in a dynamic environment is a challenging but imperative capability for a system-of-systems (SoS). Practitioners in the SoS and defense domains are exploring the benefits of the operational-level reconfiguration strategies via new operational concepts such as mosaic warfare. However, an [...] Read more.
Delivering persistent values in a dynamic environment is a challenging but imperative capability for a system-of-systems (SoS). Practitioners in the SoS and defense domains are exploring the benefits of the operational-level reconfiguration strategies via new operational concepts such as mosaic warfare. However, an architecture design that allows reconfiguration is also a crucial task, but has not yet received adequate attention, not to mention accounting for the mutual impact between architecture design alternatives and reconfiguration options. Therefore, this paper proposes an integrated method that can select the architecture with a specific inherent structure in the design phase that supports dynamic reconfiguration during the operational phase. This method firstly builds a structural framework that connects architecture design and reconfiguration, and identifies the enablers for SoS architecture reconfiguration. After developing an SoS effectiveness evaluator, the method constructs an integrated multi-objective formulation for the initial architecture selection and reconfiguration process, and provides a solution algorithm based on a fast non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm. An application to an air and missile defense SoS illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed method. The generated Pareto optimal set of solutions that have non-dominated recoverability and survivability provide useful decision support for SoS composition and initial architecture configuration, based upon which an SoS can also respond effectively to disruptions by computing the reconfiguration decisions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue System of Systems Engineering)
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27 pages, 4376 KiB  
Article
A Unified Mission Ontology Based on Systematic Integration of Interdisciplinary Concepts
by Zelalem Mihret Belay and Jakob Axelsson
Systems 2024, 12(12), 567; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12120567 - 16 Dec 2024
Viewed by 976
Abstract
The concept of a mission is important to system design and development, especially in system of systems (SoS) engineering. However, the diverse usage of the term ’mission’ across disciplines often results in ambiguity regarding its role in practical applications in mission-centric engineering tasks. [...] Read more.
The concept of a mission is important to system design and development, especially in system of systems (SoS) engineering. However, the diverse usage of the term ’mission’ across disciplines often results in ambiguity regarding its role in practical applications in mission-centric engineering tasks. Clearly defined and precisely represented missions improve communication among stakeholders and help bridge interdisciplinary gaps. This study aims to investigate and analyze the state of the art for mission conceptualizations and representations and proposes a unified mission ontology (UMO) that improves semantic interoperability across various domains. To achieve this goal, we conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) to examine how missions are conceptualized and represented, analyzed the findings to obtain insight about cross-domain concepts related to missions, and developed a UMO that can be adapted to domain specific applications. The UMO facilitates semantic interoperability across domains through a high-level abstraction of shared concepts. To validate the comprehensiveness and adaptability of the UMO, we conducted coverage analysis using semantic similarity estimates to assess the equivalence of ontological concepts. This evaluation quantified the extent to which concepts from various domain-specific ontologies, including the mission engineering guideline, align with those in the UMO. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue System of Systems Engineering)
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15 pages, 2805 KiB  
Article
Optimizing Carbon Emissions in Electricity Markets: A System Engineering and Machine Learning Approach
by Zhiyu An and Clifford Alan Whitcomb
Systems 2024, 12(12), 544; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12120544 - 5 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1074
Abstract
This study addresses the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions in the power sector, a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, by employing system engineering principles coupled with machine learning techniques. It analyzes the interplay between regional marginal prices (LMP) and carbon [...] Read more.
This study addresses the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions in the power sector, a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, by employing system engineering principles coupled with machine learning techniques. It analyzes the interplay between regional marginal prices (LMP) and carbon emissions within electricity markets. The paper explores how market designs and operational strategies influence carbon output by leveraging a dataset that encompasses hourly LMP and carbon emissions data across various regions of New York State. The analysis utilizes neural networks to simulate and predict the effects of different market scenarios on carbon emissions, highlighting the role of LMP, loss costs, and congestion costs in environmental policy effectiveness. The results underscore the potential of system engineering to provide a holistic framework that integrates market dynamics, policy adjustments, and environmental impacts, thereby offering actionable insights into optimizing market designs for reduced carbon footprints. This approach not only enhances the understanding of the complex interactions within electricity markets but also supports the development of targeted strategies for achieving sustainable energy transitions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue System of Systems Engineering)
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23 pages, 1110 KiB  
Article
Optimizing Multi-Stage Project Portfolio Selection Considering Integrating Lifecycle and Interactions
by Biaobiao Qiu, Yajie Dou and Ziyi Chen
Systems 2024, 12(10), 414; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12100414 - 5 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1930
Abstract
Project portfolio selection is essential for a company to achieve its strategic goals. Due to constraints such as budget and manpower, companies cannot undertake all projects simultaneously and must prioritize those offering the highest value. Projects often interact and progress through various phases, [...] Read more.
Project portfolio selection is essential for a company to achieve its strategic goals. Due to constraints such as budget and manpower, companies cannot undertake all projects simultaneously and must prioritize those offering the highest value. Projects often interact and progress through various phases, adding complexity to the selection process. To address these challenges, this study introduces a model that accounts for the multi-stage execution of projects, their interactions, and multiple objectives. A novel multi-objective optimization algorithm is developed to solve this problem, along with a refined project selection method designed to offer decision-makers enhanced insights. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue System of Systems Engineering)
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18 pages, 1482 KiB  
Article
Preemptive Software Project Scheduling Considering Personality Traits
by Hongbo Li, Qianrong Hui and Yuechen Wang
Systems 2024, 12(10), 407; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12100407 - 30 Sep 2024
Viewed by 722
Abstract
The success of software projects is inseparable from the effective scheduling of multi-skilled human resources. In software development, employees’ personality traits often affect the performance of their work. Additionally, software developers are usually multi-tasking, which makes software development tasks preemptive. In view of [...] Read more.
The success of software projects is inseparable from the effective scheduling of multi-skilled human resources. In software development, employees’ personality traits often affect the performance of their work. Additionally, software developers are usually multi-tasking, which makes software development tasks preemptive. In view of this, we investigate the preemptive software project scheduling problem considering personality traits (PSPSP-PT), which aims at assigning employees with different skills and personality traits to suitable tasks and determining the start time of each task with the consideration of preemption, multi-skill, and precedence relations such that the total cost of the project is minimized. We formulate a mixed-integer linear programming model for the PSPSP-PT and design a dual priority rules-based heuristic (DPRH). Based on a benchmark dataset that is generated using a full factorial design, computational experiments are conducted to analyze the performance of our DPRH. Comparative analysis with existing algorithms reveals that our DPRH is competitive in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue System of Systems Engineering)
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29 pages, 3154 KiB  
Article
Using Task Support Requirements during Socio-Technical Systems Design
by Andreas Gregoriades and Alistair Sutcliffe
Systems 2024, 12(9), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12090348 - 5 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1412
Abstract
Socio-technical systems (STSs) are systems of systems, synthesising human and IT components that jointly operate to achieve specific goals. Such systems are overly complex but, if designed optimally, they can significantly improve STS performance. Critical phases in STS design are defining the functional [...] Read more.
Socio-technical systems (STSs) are systems of systems, synthesising human and IT components that jointly operate to achieve specific goals. Such systems are overly complex but, if designed optimally, they can significantly improve STS performance. Critical phases in STS design are defining the functional requirements for automated or software-supported human activities and addressing social and human interaction issues. To define automation support for human operations, STS designers need to ensure that specifications will satisfy not only the non-functional requirements (NFR) of the system but also of its human actors such as human reliability/workload. However, such human factors aspects are not addressed sufficiently with traditional STS design approaches, which could lead to STS failure or rejection. This paper proposes a new STS design method that addresses this problem and introduces a novel type of requirements, namely, Task Support Requirements (TSR) that assists in specifying the functionality that IT systems should have to support human agents in undertaking their tasks by addressing human limitations. The proposed method synthesises a requirements/software engineering approach to STS design with functional allocation and an HCI perspective, which facilitates the application of human factors knowledge in conceptual models and evaluation through VR simulation. A case study methodology is employed in this work that allows in-depth, multi-faceted explorations of the complex issues that characterise STSs. Two case studies are presented in this work; the first is a detailed illustration of how the method is applied during the design of an in-vehicle information system to enhance drivers’ situation awareness. The second is an empirical evaluation of the method using participants that apply it to design a mobile application to minimise the risk of pedestrian travellers conceiving a contagious disease while commuting in public space. The results from the empirical evaluation showed that the method positively contributes to STS design by addressing human factors issues effectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue System of Systems Engineering)
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