Usage and collaborations
Any complex system design process is based fundamentally on understanding the value that the system holds for stakeholders, which requires starting with a detailed analysis of the uses and needs of these stakeholders. At this stage, the creation of collaborative design methods is also an essential condition of “good” design to ensure that all points of view are incorporated into the system architecture.
Application domains and associated examples
- Economic & operating models
- Socio-technical & economic networks
- People/systems interfaces
- Collaborative engineering
Modelisation and optimisation
The second stage of a system design process is a systemic modellingstage, where the various operational, functional and dysfunctional views, of multi-scale heterogeneous systems need to be captured. A number of design choices then emerge, which it must be possible to compare them in order to create an “optimal” system. A verification stage is also required to validate that the modelled system fully complies with its specifications.
Application domains and associated examples
- Formal models
- Supervision & control
- Discrete and continuous optimisation
- Formal verification
Simulation and infrastructure
The final stage of a system design process is a system simulation and implementation. This consists in simulating the multi-physical and hybrid dimensions of the systems whilst combining different scales and incorporating actions taken by humans. The underlying digital infrastructures also play a key role, as their technical performances are intimately linked to the functional performances of the system simulations.
Application domains and associated examples
- Applied mathematics
- Scientific calculation
- Digital infrastructures
