Modeling the characteristics of system of systems

TLDR

The term system of systems (SoS) is widely used but lacks a single accepted definition. The authors aim to define and apply five core SoS characteristics—autonomy, belonging, connectivity, diversity, and emergence—to develop a theoretical model that advances systems engineering understanding. They construct a theoretical model based on these characteristics and instantiate it as an agent‑based simulation to explore SoS behavior. The analysis identifies the five characteristics and the simulation demonstrates their appropriateness, offering a basis for further SoS exploration.

Abstract

The term system of systems (SoS) has become a quite common expression with no single accepted definition. Based on analysis [1], five characteristics have been identified from an assortment of SoS descriptions. These characteristics are named autonomy, belonging, connectivity, diversity, and emergence, whose degrees of strength determines the foundation of any SoS. To utilize these characteristics, concrete definitions are presented in context and then applied to the development of a theoretical model. The resulting model forms the basis of a generic SoS instantiated as an agent-based modeling simulation. This simulation demonstrates the appropriateness of the characteristics and can be used to explore further aspects of a SoS. Modeling and experimenting on these characteristics will contribute to the field of systems engineering by providing a means to increase our understanding of SoS.