Toward An Axiomatic Approach to Information Systems Development

This paper advocates an approach called the axiomatic method to reduce the costs of constructing an information system. Further, we contrast the applicability of the axiomatic method to the more traditional approach of enumerating alternatives (the algorithmic method) in constructing an information system. We delineate the steps involved in building an information system, present a set of pilot axioms, and offer some derivative theorems. We then apply these axioms and theorems to each phase (specification, design, implementation, and maintenance) of the information system life cycle, and confirm a number of empirical results other information system builders have observed

Robust decision making for agile systems development Part 2: a decomposition and analysis

The need for agility in operational systems within the defence enterprise and procurement domains has been identified by many authors, and over time, there have been a number of initiatives and programmes that have sought to identify the nature of agility, and the means by which it can be defined and employed within individual cases and scenarios. These have identified impediments to the successful realization of agile practices and methods, particularly the resilience of agile decision making throughout the conceptual understanding, design and implementation of the operational system. To further investigate the extent to which this process can be implemented in a robust and reliable manner, Cranfield University created the ‘Robust Enterprise-based Approach for Agility in Capability Through-life (REA2CT)’ framework, which provides a number of functional steps to institute a systems development lifecycle approach to producing agile solutions for use in networked systems and systems-of-systems. This paper builds upon the description of the framework[1] by applying the Axiomatic Design (AD) theory to identify where complexity exists within the requirements and design activities that underpin the framework. Using this analysis, this paper identifies ‘pain points’ within the REA2CT framework, and suggests necessary improvements to facilitate the implementation of agility throughout the systems development lifecycle

Modeling the Structure and Complexity of Engineering Routine Design Problems

This paper proposes a model to structure routine design problems as well as a model of its design complexity. The idea is that having a proper model of the structure of such problems enables understanding its complexity, and likewise, a proper understanding of its complexity enables the development of systematic approaches to solve them. The end goal is to develop computer systems capable of taking over routine design tasks based on generic and systematic solving approaches. It is proposed to structure routine design in three main states: problem class, problem instance, and problem solution. Design complexity is related to the degree of uncertainty in knowing how to move a design problem from one state to another. Axiomatic Design Theory is used as reference for understanding complexity in routine design

Cauchy, infinitesimals and ghosts of departed quantifiers

Procedures relying on infinitesimals in Leibniz, Euler and Cauchy have been interpreted in both a Weierstrassian and Robinson's frameworks. The latter provides closer proxies for the procedures of the classical masters. Thus, Leibniz's distinction between assignable and inassignable numbers finds a proxy in the distinction between standard and nonstandard numbers in Robinson's framework, while Leibniz's law of homogeneity with the implied notion of equality up to negligible terms finds a mathematical formalisation in terms of standard part. It is hard to provide parallel formalisations in a Weierstrassian framework but scholars since Ishiguro have engaged in a quest for ghosts of departed quantifiers to provide a Weierstrassian account for Leibniz's infinitesimals. Euler similarly had notions of equality up to negligible terms, of which he distinguished two types: geometric and arithmetic. Euler routinely used product decompositions into a specific infinite number of factors, and used the binomial formula with an infinite exponent. Such procedures have immediate hyperfinite analogues in Robinson's framework, while in a Weierstrassian framework they can only be reinterpreted by means of paraphrases departing significantly from Euler's own presentation. Cauchy gives lucid definitions of continuity in terms of infinitesimals that find ready formalisations in Robinson's framework but scholars working in a Weierstrassian framework bend over backwards either to claim that Cauchy was vague or to engage in a quest for ghosts of departed quantifiers in his work. Cauchy's procedures in the context of his 1853 sum theorem (for series of continuous functions) are more readily understood from the viewpoint of Robinson's framework, where one can exploit tools such as the pointwise definition of the concept of uniform convergence. Keywords: historiography; infinitesimal; Latin model; butterfly modelComment: 45 pages, published in Mat. Stu

Poznawcze przesłanki semiozy zorientowanej na mit

This article addresses the cognitive premises of designation units denoting mythic concepts in a variety of texts and discourses. The article focuses on myth-oriented semiosis as a cognitive and cultural phenomenon reflected in the semantic transformations of lingual signs, resulting in the development of noematic senses relevant to the states of affairs in diverse worldviews or modelled alternative realities. This article provides an analysis of the basic cognitive models and procedures responsible for irrational cognition. The reconstructed cognitive models are then discussed in terms of their correspondence with the universal patterns of open system interaction and information exchange.Ten artykuł dotyczy poznawczych przesłanek jednostek desygnacyjnych oznaczających mityczne pojęcia w różnych tekstach i dyskursach. Artykuł koncentruje się na semiozie zorientowanej na mit jako zjawisku poznawczym i kulturowym odzwierciedlonym w semantycznych przekształceniach znaków językowych, co skutkuje rozwojem noematycznych zmysłów związanych ze stanami rzeczy w różnych światopoglądach lub modelowanych alternatywnych rzeczywistościach. Ten artykuł zawiera analizę podstawowych modeli i procedur poznawczych odpowiedzialnych za irracjonalne poznanie. Zrekonstruowane modele poznawcze są następnie omawiane pod kątem ich zgodności z uniwersalnymi wzorcami interakcji otwartego systemu i wymiany informacji