Engineering a Complex System: A Study of the AOC

Suggested in this paper are a set of processes which augment—and do not replace—traditional systems engineering. As a complex system, the AOC evolves. Drawn from principles of complex adaptive systems, the augmentations to traditional systems engineering, known as Complex Systems Engineering, seeks to mimic the forces which drive evolution and guide the results. In this paper, principles of complexity science which apply will be presented, and the engineering approaches outlined.