MFESA: The Ontology of Concepts and Terminology 91
Behavior and characteristics. N A system has both behavior (i.e., functionality) and charac-
teristics (e.g., quality characteristics). When engineering the architecture of a system, it is
critical to consider both its required functionality and its required attributes. e function-
ality of the system is largely provided by the internal processing and storage of the infor-
mation, matter, and energy transmitted during the collaborative interactions between the
system components.
Emergent behaviors and characteristics. N Often, the most important behaviors and char-
acteristics of a system only emerge when the system’s components are integrated together.
Because of the integration and collab ...