SYSTEMS ENGINEERING RESOURCES TRAK Enterprise Architecture Framework TRAK is a pragmatic, simple, general, systemcentric enterprise architecture framework. It’s simple, user-friendly, pragmatic, and not limited to IT. TRAK was released under opensource licenses and won an INCOSE Working Group award in 2010. TRAK allows one to describe a system, its parts (which can include people, software, other systems, and physical things), and how it relates to the outside world. TRAK covers everything from the enterprise and its goals to its conceptualization, to the procurement of its solution via projects, to its introduction and withdrawal from service. TRAK was based on the ISO/IEC/IEEE-42010 standard of architecture-description and tied to the systems-engineering lifecycle defined in ISO/IEC-15288. Although the original intent was to develop a rail-specific architecture framework, any domain-specific content was removed, and the resulting metamodel and viewpoints enable the representation of any complex system. View its Wikipedia article here. Visit its SourceForge project here.
Systems 1: An Introduction to Systems Thinking The first textbook on systems thinking for a broad audience, now updated for the modern reader, Systems 1 is a perfect introduction to the complex systems making up the world around us.
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Originally written in 1980, Systems 1 has remained a classic and mainstay of workshops and classrooms around the world for 40 years. It has been used in courses for gifted middle schoolers as well as for graduate programs. It is the introductory text in the MIT course on systems theory for educators, and it has been incorporated into many business and military training programs. It begins with a basic summary of systems theory, then proceeds through simple steps to help the reader understand the more complex systems with which we deal every day. It concludes with “Kauffman’s Rules,” 30 proverbs that every systems thinker needs to know. The 4th edition has been completely updated, with an added chapter on exponential growth. See this book on Amazon.
Critical Systems Thinking and the Management of Complexity The world has become increasingly networked and unpredictable. Decision-makers at all levels are required to manage the consequences of complexity every day. They must deal with problems that arise unexpectedly, generate uncertainty, are characterized by interconnectivity, and spread across traditional boundaries. Simple solutions to complex problems are usually inadequate and risk exacerbating the original issues. Systems thinking is an essential leadership skill for managing the complexity of the economic, social, and environmental issues of today’s world. Decision-makers must utilize critical systems thinking, through understanding the strengths and weaknesses of various systems-
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PPI SyEN
