Information systems, software engineering, and systems thinking: challenges and opportunities

This article traces past research on the application of the systems approach to information systems development within the disciplines of information systems and software engineering. Their origins historically are related to a number of areas, including general systems theory. While potential improvement of software development practices is linked by some leading experts to the application of more systemic methods, the current state of the practice in software engineering and information systems development shows this is some way from being achieved. The authors propose possible directions for future research and practical work on bringing together both fields with systems thinking

Towards a wider application of the systems approach in information systems and software engineering

The chapter provides possible directions for the wider application of the systems approach to information systems development. Potential improvement of software development practices is linked by some leading experts to the application of more systemic ideas. However, the current state of the practice in software engineering and information systems development shows the urgent need for improvement through greater application of systems thinking

A CONCEPUTAL FRAMEWORK OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF E-LEARNING OFFERINGS FROM A PRODUCT SERVICE SYSTEM PERSPECTIVE

The term e-learning subsumes all forms learning where electronic media is used for the presentation and distribution of thecourse content. Although various guidelines and models exist, the development and operation of e-learning offerings hasshown to be a difficult task. Often existing approaches focus on single aspects such as technical details or the content ofteaching, while neglecting other aspects such as level of service requirements. As e-learning offerings are IT-based systemsconsisting of hardware, software, and services that have to be considered from a lifecycle perspective, they exhibit similarcharacteristics as Product Service Systems. We, therefore, suggest designing e-learning offerings from a systems perspective.As a first step, we synthesize a requirements framework for e-learning offerings from the e-learning and PSS literatures. Weenrich the framework with examples from a real-life e-learning offering and argue why the PSS approach is useful for thedesign of e-learning offerings

Executable system architecting using systems modeling language in conjunction with Colored Petri Nets - a demonstration using the GEOSS network centric system

Models and simulation furnish abstractions to manage complexities allowing engineers to visualize the proposed system and to analyze and validate system behavior before constructing it. Unified Modeling Language (UML) and its systems engineering extension, Systems Modeling Language (SysML), provide a rich set of diagrams for systems specification. However, the lack of executable semantics of such notations limits the capability of analyzing and verifying defined specifications. This research has developed an executable system architecting framework based on SysML-CPN transformation, which introduces dynamic model analysis into SysML modeling by mapping SysML notations to Colored Petri Net (CPN), a graphical language for system design, specification, simulation, and verification. A graphic user interface was also integrated into the CPN model to enhance the model-based simulation. A set of methodologies has been developed to achieve this framework. The aim is to investigate system wide properties of the proposed system, which in turn provides a basis for system reconfiguration --Abstract, page iii