13.2 Understanding Complexity
Complexity
We defined complexity in Chapter 3 as the property of having many interrelated, interconnected, or interwoven elements and interfaces. Most of the systems that we deal with professionally are complex, hence the growth of system architecture in practice. Complexity is driven into systems by asking more of them: more function, more performance, more robustness, more flexibility. It is also driven into systems by asking them to work together and interconnect—monitoring power demand at a manufacturing site relative to the grid’s capacity,* connecting customer order systems directly to manufacturing sequencing, instant communications among co-workers, and the like.
Underlying this definition of complexity is ...
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