Application of complex systems science to systems engineering

This article discusses how we can modify our approaches for performing systems engineering by incorporating the ideas inherent in the complex system science approach. The reductionist approach is described in terms of its effect on the classical systems engineering efforts. The holistic approach is then described with emphasis on the concepts of emergence and nonlinear, dynamic behavior. Having laid this groundwork, the paper then will discuss a melding of the reductionist and holistic approaches. This paper will suggest how we might modify the systems engineering processes used today to gain a whole-brained approach that bridges the gulf between these two strategies.