TY - JOUR
T1 - A contribution to the scientific foundations of systems engineering
T2 - Solution spaces and requirements
AU - Salado, Alejandro
AU - Nilchiani, Roshanak
AU - Verma, Dinesh
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Systems Engineering Society of China and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
PY - 2017/10/1
Y1 - 2017/10/1
N2 - Some researchers have suggested that scientific foundations expressed in a mathematical form are needed to thrust the success of systems engineering as a discipline on its own merit. In order to contribute the development of such systems science, this paper investigates from a foundational standpoint the relationships between stakeholder needs, system requirements, and sets of systems. Various theorems and corollaries are proposed and mathematically proven. The theoretical elements are presented as a foundation for the development of a science for requirements engineering. The proposed foundations are finally tested to mathematically describe, in a rigorous and precise manner, qualities of good requirements, which are otherwise traditionally defined using vague narrative. By showcasing practical examples of the theoretical aspects, the paper is intended to serve as a bridge between practitioners and theorists.
AB - Some researchers have suggested that scientific foundations expressed in a mathematical form are needed to thrust the success of systems engineering as a discipline on its own merit. In order to contribute the development of such systems science, this paper investigates from a foundational standpoint the relationships between stakeholder needs, system requirements, and sets of systems. Various theorems and corollaries are proposed and mathematically proven. The theoretical elements are presented as a foundation for the development of a science for requirements engineering. The proposed foundations are finally tested to mathematically describe, in a rigorous and precise manner, qualities of good requirements, which are otherwise traditionally defined using vague narrative. By showcasing practical examples of the theoretical aspects, the paper is intended to serve as a bridge between practitioners and theorists.
KW - Systems science
KW - formal concepts
KW - mathematical formulation
KW - requirements engineering
KW - requirements qualities
KW - systems theory
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U2 - 10.1007/s11518-016-5315-3
DO - 10.1007/s11518-016-5315-3
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84982994984
SN - 1004-3756
VL - 26
SP - 549
EP - 589
JO - Journal of Systems Science and Systems Engineering
JF - Journal of Systems Science and Systems Engineering
IS - 5
ER -