Holistic Systems Integration

Systems engineers can no longer expect to design and build single-purpose systems that operate flawlessly in isolation. Instead, they must assume that they will create new systems by integrating independently developed elements to function harmoniously in a new framework and that their creations, in turn, will become components of larger, evolving, and unpredictable systems. To paraphrase John Donne, in today’s increasingly interconnected world no system is an island.