Abstract
The reductionism behind today's software-engineering methods breaks down in the face of systems complexity.
Key Insights
Coalitions of systems, in which the system elements are managed and owned
independently, pose challenging new problems for systems engineering.
When the fundamental basis of engineering—reductionism—breaks down, incremental improvements to current engineering techniques are unable to address the challenges of developing, integrating, and deploying large-scale complex IT systems.
Developing complex systems requires a socio-technical perspective involving
human, organizational, social, and political factors, as well as technical factors.
Key Insights
Coalitions of systems, in which the system elements are managed and owned
independently, pose challenging new problems for systems engineering.
When the fundamental basis of engineering—reductionism—breaks down, incremental improvements to current engineering techniques are unable to address the challenges of developing, integrating, and deploying large-scale complex IT systems.
Developing complex systems requires a socio-technical perspective involving
human, organizational, social, and political factors, as well as technical factors.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 71-77 |
| Journal | Communications of the ACM |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2012 |