Workshop: Investigation of the Theoretical Foundations in Systems Engineering; Frost, West Virginia; October 2015

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

Systems engineering has evolved over the last forty years as a systematic approach towards the engineering of complex systems. While the practice of systems engineering has resulted in many successful systems, the theory underlying this practice has not yet been fully developed. This workshop aims to provide an investigation of the theoretical foundations of systems engineering. Over the long-term this will have implications for the practice, education, and outreach of systems engineering. In the current practice there is a wide spread need to have well educated systems engineers that exhibit flexibility and capability when addressing the design and production issues associated with complex engineered systems. The discovery of the theoretical foundations of the field will be a step forward in addressing societal needs related to better designed engineered systems and improved systems engineering and educational and outreach programs. The objective of this workshop is to investigate and define theoretical foundations for systems engineering with respect to one among many fundamental thrust areas such as risk management or trade-space exploration. To achieve this objective, the workshop participants will follow an approach that will address theoretical gaps in the literature, define an axiomatic framework, suggest what can be borrowed from other disciplines, investigate synergies among thrust areas and link the theoretical foundations to societal needs. If successful, the approach followed in this workshop can be used and augmented to address additional thrust areas in the future. This will allow for the creation of rigorous theoretical frameworks that can subsequently be tested with solid empirical fieldwork.