By Scott Jackson and Ricardo Moraes dos Santos
Contents
Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………………..xi
About the Authors…………………………………………………………………………………….. xiii
Chapter 1 Vision ……………………………………………………………………………………… 1
Chapter 2 Systems……………………………………………………………………………………. 3
Types of Systems………………………………………………………………………. 3
The Systems View…………………………………………………………………….. 4
Cohesion ……………………………………………………………………………… 4
Emergence …………………………………………………………………………… 4
Holism ………………………………………………………………………………… 5
Hierarchy …………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Boundary …………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Typical Systems in the Aviation Domain……………………………………… 6
Other Properties of Systems……………………………………………………….. 8
Properties Associated with Some Systems …………………………………… 8
The Hierarchy of Systems Theory ………………………………………………. 9
Systems Engineering……………………………………………………………….. 10
Systems in the Broader View ……………………………………………….. 10
Systems Architecting ………………………………………………………………. 10
Systems of Systems (SoS) Engineering………………………………….. 11
References ……………………………………………………………………………… 11
Chapter 3 Systems Theory………………………………………………………………………. 13
References ……………………………………………………………………………… 14
Chapter 4 Worldviews …………………………………………………………………………….. 15
A View of an Aircraft Across Worldviews …………………………………. 17
References ……………………………………………………………………………… 17
Chapter 5 Commercial Aircraft in the Context of Systems Theory………………. 19
Summary of the Expanded View of Systems Engineering…………….20
Systems Engineering: The Broader View ………………………………. 21
The Systems Engineering Context …………………………………………….. 21
Seven Thought-Provoking Ideas About Systems Engineering ………. 22
References ………………………………………………………………………………25
Chapter 6 The Engineering of Systems in a Systems Theory Context……………27
The Vee Model ………………………………………………………………………..27
The Procurement Specifcation ………………………………………………….28
Recommendations …………………………………………………………………… Other Systems Aspects……………………………………………………………..30
References ……………………………………………………………………………… 31
Chapter 7 The Systems Approach…………………………………………………………….. 33
Related Disciplines…………………………………………………………………..34
References ………………………………………………………………………………
Chapter 8 Systems Architecting ……………………………………………………………….37
Systems Architecting and Systems Engineering…………………………..39
Systems Architecting in the Aircraft Life Cycle………………………….. An Architecting Tool: The Rich Picture …………………………………….. 41
Architecting: An Overview……………………………………………………….42
References ………………………………………………………………………………42
Chapter 9 Complexity in a Systems Theory Context……………………………………
Complexity and Architecting …………………………………………………….46
References ……………………………………………………………………………… 47
Chapter 10 Humans in the System………………………………………………………………49
Humans in an Aircraft Resilience Context ………………………………….49
Humans in Aviation Automation Context …………………………………… The Billings Rules ……………………………………………………………….51
References ……………………………………………………………………………… 52
Chapter 11 Risk……………………………………………………………………………………….. 53
Basic Risk Theory……………………………………………………………………53
Risk Handling ………………………………………………………………………… 53
Some Final Comments on Risk………………………………………………….54
Recommended Actions ……………………………………………………………. Reference……………………………………………………………………………….. 55
Chapter 12 Cybersecurity …………………………………………………………………………. 57
Airworthiness Certifcation Process Overview…………………………….58
Aircraft Evolution and Connectivity Aspects ………………………………58
References ………………………………………………………………………………59
Chapter 13 Safety…………………………………………………………………………………….. 61
Safety as an Emergent Property of Systems ……………………………….. 61
Safety and Decisions ………………………………………………………………..63
Organizational Biases……………………………………………………………….65
Example Organizational Biases …………………………………………………66
Mitigation Approaches …………………………………………………………….. 67
Self-Mitigation……………………………………………………………………. 67
Automated Mitigation………………………………………………………….. 67
Group Methods………………………………………………………………………..68
Summary of Cognitive Bias Conclusions…………………………………….69
Summary of Emotion and Cognitive Bias on Flawed Decisions and Safety ………………………………………………………………..69
Safety and Accidents………………………………………………………………..71
Decision Errors by Life Cycle Phases…………………………………………71
Component Failures ………………………………………………………………… 75
References ……………………………………………………………………………… 76
Chapter 14 The Supply Chain…………………………………………………………………….79
What is the Supply Chain? ………………………………………………………..79
Supply Chain Risks ………………………………………………………………….79
Summary of Supply Chain Risks……………………………………………….80
Reference………………………………………………………………………………..80
Chapter 15 Aircraft Systems with Feedback Loops ……………………………………… 81
How a Feedback System Works?……………………………………………….. 81
Feedback Loops With Balancing Loops ……………………………………..82
Feedback Loops With Reinforcing Loops …………………………………..83
Reference………………………………………………………………………………..83
Chapter 16 A Final Word…………………………………………………………………………..85
References ………………………………………………………………………………85
Systems Approach Glossary with Aviation Examples………………………………….87
Index…………………………………………………………………………………………………………95
Preface
Previous books, for example, Jackson (1997, 2015), focus on the use of the principles of systems engineering for the defnition and development of commercial aircraft. This book takes a broader approach. It places the development of commercial aircraft in the broader scope of systems science and its derivative processes of systems thinking, systems approach, and fnally systems engineering.
We also discuss the felds of complexity, systems architecting, and cognitive bias which are part of systems science. Terms from systems science include holism, emergence, hierarchy, and cohesion.
The good news is that aviation fatalities have fallen dramatically in recent years. The phenomena of complexity and cognitive bias have been shown to be factors in many of the remaining accidents. An understanding of these phenomena promises to bring the fatality rate even lower. The goal is that a deeper understanding of commercial aircraft in the context of systems science will contribute to that trend.
This book is an elaboration of material from workshops at aircraft companies worldwide. It does not contain any material that refects internal processes in those companies; this book is intended to be generic.
Vision
The idea of this book is to prepare the audience for the new perspective in a practical way, the authors put the vision about the entire experience of several years using systems approach to solve problems and create new opportunities for new systems in the commercial aviation scope.
This approach includes aspects that this book addresses, for example, safety, cybersecurity, architecture, and design decisions.
Another important point is the infuence of human cognitive aspects on decisions. The authors explore cognitive bias as a cause of accidents. This book includes a discussion about important accidents and tries to connect those biases through new perspective about these accidents.
An aircraft, including the pilot, is a system, that is, a collection of parts that act together (the principle of holism) to achieve a stated purpose, that is, to deliver passengers and cargo to a destination safely and economically. The parts acting together achieve powered fight. The aircraft, including the pilot, is part of a larger system called the world aviation system. Even the aircraft with pilot and passenger loaded can’t achieve its purpose without the support of enabling subsystems like the navigation system, the ground support system, and the loading and unloading support system.
To accomplish the purpose, the parts must individually be qualifed by test, demonstration, analysis, or inspection to achieve its performance level and constraints, such as electromagnetic interference (EMI) and durability, and environments during all phases of the life cycle to include purchase, deployment, operation, support, and retirement. The qualifcation of the parts must also include the interaction among the parts (the principle of interactions).
The process for defning the aircraft is called the systems approach, which begins with identifying the stakeholder needs. Stakeholders for the aircraft include, at a minimum, the airline customers, the passengers, the aircraft manufacturer, and the regulatory agencies. The airline customers will defne the minimum expected performance and cost goals. The regulatory agencies will establish the minimum acceptable safety levels. The aircraft manufacturer will demonstrate compliance with these safety levels (the process of certifcation).
After the stakeholder needs are identifed, the aircraft itself is defned by two major processes systems, architecting and systems engineering. The purpose of systems architecting is to defne the major parts of the aircraft both functionally and physically. For most modern aircraft, these parts consist of the wings, the fuselage, the empennage (the tail), and the propulsion. The purpose of systems engineering is to assure that the aircraft satisfes the stakeholder needs and that its component parts support this purpose.