Complex Systems Engineering: Theory and Practice (Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics)

Complex Systems Engineering: Theory and Practice represents state-of-the-art thought leadership on system complexity for aerospace and aviation, where breakthrough paradigms and strategies are sorely needed. The costs and consequences of current knowledge and practice gaps are substantial. In short, this problem is caused by several factors: the lack of human capacity to comprehend complexity without machine/autonomation interfaces, the rapid pace of changes in the sector, and the increasing complexity and complicatedness of systems of all types and sizes (occurring by design and by default).

The chapters in this volume are derived from the work of the noted Complex Aerospace Systems Exchange (CASE) Scholars, who presented their work at the AIAA SPACE Forums in 2016 and 2017. The CASE Scholars program was begun to support the needs of practitioners facing perplexing systems challenges through the work of outstanding systems academics from engineering and the social sciences. In addition, the CASE Scholars program enabled CASE to better capture and document the well-informed intersection of users and theorists regarding system complexity aerospace/aviation challenges and possibilities.

Featured topics include:

Challenging the culture of systems engineering
Human systems
Human systems, calling upon Bayesian game theory to capture the issues of complexity management
Incremental and agile methods, with futuristic insights into optimal estimation and control
Adaptive validation and verification
The digital twin and digital thread, a critical breakthrough technology for systems engineering
The digital and physical twins and futuristic methods that deconstruct the traditional engineering V-model in favor of virtual intelligence
Cybersecurity, urging for the conceptualization of cybersecurity as a complex system
Concurrent engineering centers as a strategy for each essential phase of lifecycle governance
Teaching complexity in systems engineering, providing advocacy for the development of systems competency through specified methods
The pedagogy needed for systems engineering education, with the use of experiential learning for lessons on drones

The breadth of topics was selected to provide an enriched view of all types of systems technical, machine, and human systems to both practitioners and academics. There are many sides to every system, and this volume attempts to challenge the critical process owners of systems engineering education and practice to consider the heft of what is possible for leveraging the bright future of system complexity in aerospace and aviation.

Dr. Shannon Flumerfelt is Endowed Professor of Lean, Department of Organizational Leadership, Oakland University. Dr. Katherine G. Schwartz is Strategy Manager, Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Dimitri Mavris is Director of the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Simon Briceno is Research Engineer II at Georgia Institute of Technology.