Where might systems engineers and systems scientists productively collaborate? The idea is simple; responses require some deliberation.
A novice might refer to the Wikipedia description of systems engineering (that doesn’t refer to the systems sciences), and the Wikipedia description of systems science (that sees systems engineering as an application). A professional might refer to “What is Systems Engineering” as a consensus by the INCOSE fellows, and the origins and purposes of the ISSS describing the evolution from the Society for General Systems Research and roots in American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Members of INCOSE and the ISSS are collaborating on the Systems Science Working Group wiki, complemented by an associated discussion group. This open electronic space is independent of both the incose.org and isss.org domains, supporting an opportunity for wider participation.
A White Paper on Systems Science / Systems Engineering Synergies was led by Gary Metcalf, with a first draft released on June 9. This was complemented by a slide presentation at the INCOSE International Symposium 2011 in Denver on June 20. and a workshop at ISSS Hull 2011 on July 20.
Version 1.1. of the white paper was posted on the SysSciWG wiki on September 26, with a welcome for more comments.
P.S. As a footnote to preparing this blog post, I discovered a “Systems Engineering for Dummies” e-book by IBM when looking up definitions. That’s yet another perspective to put into the mix.