Systems Thinking

This Knowledge Area provides a guide to knowledge about systems. This knowledge is not specific to Systems Engineering, but is part of a wider Systems Body of Knowledge. We have not attempted to capture all of the system knowledge here, but to identify those aspects of systems and systems science which are relevant to Systems Engineering.

The fundamental ideas of system as an abstract concept, and System context as a way of viewing real world situations as systems are introduced. A general overview of the way these simple ideas have been used to explore a variety of more complex issues and concerns is given, looking at both the general ideas of Systems Thinking and the more formal definitions of Systems Science.

Topics

The topics contained within this knowledge area include:

• What is a System?
• System Context
• Overview of System Science
• Systems Thinking

References

Please make sure all references are listed alphabetically and are formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed). See the BKCASE Reference Guidance for additional information.

Citations

List all references cited in the article. Note: SEBoK 0.5 uses Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed). See the BKCASE Reference Guidance for additional information.

Primary References

Bowler, D.T. 1981, General systems thinking: its scope and applicability”, Elsevier, Amsterdam.

INCOSE 2008, INCOSE Handbook Issoue 3.2

Laszlo, E., ed. 1972, The relevance of General Systems Theory, George Brazillier.

von Bertalanffy, L. 1941, General Systems Theory, George Brazillier.

Warfield, J.N. 2006, An Introduction to Systems Science, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd, Singapore (2006).

Additional References

All additional references should be listed in alphabetical order.

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