Dimensions of the systems to be mastered

Compared to the mainly technical aspects that structure systems engineering, SoS management requires the involvement of other, non-technical dimensions, in order to achieve the expected capability, budget and cost objectives.

The specific features of SoS stem from the capability vision that underpins the concept of SoS. Such a capability-based vision is de facto long-term, insofar as the capabilities sought can only be achieved through an incremental approach, which means that foresight must be taken into account in SoS engineering, and the very notion of the SoS lifecycle must be thoroughly reconsidered. This will be discussed in detail in the following sections, as engineering standards are based on the notion of the life cycle; it is therefore essential to see the differences in order to better master SoS engineering.

Secondly, the different...