System Element (glossary)
A system element is a physical or informatical object which is part of a system or a process which the system performs that transforms one or more of its objects. A system element can be hardware, software, data, humans, processes (e.g., processes for providing service to users), procedures (e.g., operator instructions), facilities, materials, and natural entities (e.g., water, organisms, minerals), or any combination thereof. (ISO/IEC 15288:2008 with additions)
Source(s)
ISO/IEC/IEEE. 2008. Systems and Software Engineering - System Life Cycle Processes. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electronical Commission (IEC), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288:2008 (E).
Discussion
Elements are generic system building blocks. Two major types of elements (things) are distinguishable: objects and processes.
An object is a thing that exists or might exist physically or informatically and can have states, while a process is a thing that transforms at least one object by creating it, consuming it, or changing its state.
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