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Socio-Technical Systems. Software systems. “A system is a purposeful collection of interrelated components that work together to achieve some objective”. Software systems (cont.). Technical computer-based systems: hardware and software (TV, Cell phone, Word Processor)
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Software systems • “A system is a purposeful collection of interrelated components that work together to achieve some objective”
Software systems (cont.) • Technical computer-based systems: hardware and software (TV, Cell phone, Word Processor) • Socio-technical system: technical system + knowledge of goals to achieve (operational processes + people involved)
Socio-technical systems • Contain emergent properties inherent to the system as a whole. • Are non-deterministic • The extent of support to organizational objectives does not depend on the system itself
Emergent systems properties • Functional emergent properties: all the part of the system working together towards a particular goal (ex. Bicycle => transportation) • Non-functional emergent properties: behavior of the system in its operational environment. Failure of one may not render the system usable
Non-functional emergent properties • Volume (space) • Reliability (hardware/software/operator) • Security (from foreign attacks) • Reparability (easiness to fix a problem) • Usability (easiness of use)
Systems engineering process System Decommissioning Requirements Definition System Design System Evolution Sub-system development System Installation System integration
System design process Define sub-system interfaces Partition requirements Identify sub-systems Specify sub-system functionality Assign requirements to sub-systems See also Figure 2.5 (page 29)
Additional Reading • Organizations, people and computer systems (2.3) • Legacy systems (2.4)