Kevin MacG. Adams – författare

Whether you’re an academic or a practitioner, a sociologist, a manager, or an engineer, one can benefit from learning to think systemically. Problems (and messes) are everywhere and they’re getting more complicated every day. How we think about these problems determines whether or not we’ll be successful in understanding and addressing them. This book presents a novel way to think about problems (and messes) necessary to attack these always-present concerns. The approach draws from disciplines as diverse as mathematics, biology and psychology to provide a holistic method for dealing with problems that can be applied to any discipline.

This book develops the systemic thinking paradigm, and introduces practical guidelines for the deployment of a systemic thinking approach.

This book will help readers gain a solid understanding of non-functional requirements inherent in systems design endeavors. It contains essential information for those who design, use and maintain complex engineered systems, including experienced designers, teachers of design, system stakeholders and practicing engineers.

Coverage approaches non-functional requirements in a novel way by presenting a framework of four systems concerns into which the 27 major non-functional requirements fall: sustainment, design, adaptation and viability. Within this model, the text proceeds to define each non-functional requirement, to specify how each is treated as an element of the system design process and to develop an associated metric for their evaluation.

Systems are designed to meet specific functional needs. Because non-functional requirements are not directly related to tasks that satisfy these proposed needs, designers and stakeholders often fail to recognize the importance of such attributes as availability, survivability, and robustness. This book gives readers the tools and knowledge they need to both recognize the importance of these non-functional requirements and incorporate them in the design process.

This expanded second edition of the 2014 textbook features dedicated sections on action and observation, so that the reader can combine the use of the developed theoretical basis with practical guidelines for deployment. It also includes a focus on selection and use of a dedicated modeling paradigm – fuzzy cognitive mapping – to facilitate use of the proposed multi-methodology. The end goal of the text is a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to structuring and assessing complex problems, including a dedicated discussion of thinking, acting, and observing complex problems. The multi-methodology developed is scientifically grounded in systems theory and its accompanying principles, while the process emphasizes the nonlinear nature of all complex problem-solving endeavors. The authors’ clear and consistent chapter structure facilitates the book’s use in the classroom.