System (glossary)
(1) "A System is a set of elements and a set of inter-relationships between the elements such that they form a bounded whole relative to the elements around them.
This simple idea is then further elaborated through a set of system concepts independent of the nature of the elements. (von Bertalanffy 1968)
(2) “An interacting combination of system elements to accomplish a defined objective. These include hardware, software, firmware, people, information, techniques, facilities, services, and other support elements.” (INCOSE 2011).
Source
(1) von Bertalanffy, L. 1968. "General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications." Revised ed. New York, NY, USA: George Braziller, Inc.
(2) INCOSE 2011, INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook Issue 3.2.1. INCOSE-TP-2003-002-03.2.1. Seattle, WA, USA: International Council on Systems Engineering.
Discussion
Definition (1) is the System Science definition and applies to all systems: natural, social or technical.
Definition (3) is the recognized definition for Systems Engineers. This definition should be restricted to engineered systems
See What is a System? for a full discussion of the nature of systems in general and the scope of Engineered Systems of particular interest to SE.
SEBoK Discussion
Please provide your comments and feedback on the SEBoK below. You will need to log in to DISQUS using an existing account (e.g. Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) or create a DISQUS account. Simply type your comment in the text field below and DISQUS will guide you through the login or registration steps. Feedback will be archived and used for future updates to the SEBoK. If you provided a comment that is no longer listed, that comment has been adjudicated. You can view adjudication for comments submitted prior to SEBoK v. 1.0 at SEBoK Review and Adjudication. Later comments are addressed and changes are summarized in the Letter from the Editor and Acknowledgements and Release History.
If you would like to provide edits on this article, recommend new content, or make comments on the SEBoK as a whole, please see the SEBoK Sandbox.
blog comments powered by Disqus