Enterprise Opportunity and Risk

This article describes the emerging roles of the systems engineering (SE) function in supporting enterprise management in information‐intensive organizations. “Enterprise Systems Engineering” (ESE) comprises three major roles or “levels” of systems engineering for successful and efficient development or procurement of large complex systems of systems (SoS). While the authors' experience focuses predominantly on government organizations acting as their own SoS integrators, the SoS ESE concept has generic applicability for any organization, public or private, seeking to attain competitive advantage through leveraging of information technology resources and systems. The processes and tools described here have been developed and successfully employed to facilitate government project management and investment decisions and control. [Carlock and Decker, 1998] This paper describes a formal three‐level SoS ESE process that, at the top level, organizes and maintains all of the details of the enterprise‐wide SoS architecture and strategic development plan in a flexible framework that accommodates the changes expected over a long SoS evolution. The information maintained in this framework allows the organization to know where it is going, how and when it is going to get there, the required capabilities and interfaces of each SoS component, and the impact of changes to system requirements, budgets, schedules, etc., on the overall SoS. The middle level processes allow the organization to perform trade studies among alternative solutions to implement required capabilities based on what is best for the enterprise‐wide SoS rather than just local considerations. The end result of the middle level processes is a selected and approved solution and its associated cost, schedule, benefits, and technical baselines. The third level processes implement the approved solutions in accordance with the approved baselines. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Syst Eng 4: 242–261, 2001

In traditional Systems Engineering, the Systems Engineer acts as the overall system creator. Primarily through stakeholder interaction, requirements analysis, and architectural design, the Systems Engineering shapes and influences the system solution through specifications, top-down design, and bottoms-up integration and test. With the large-scale introduction of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components, the Systems Engineer acts more like a composer. The top-down requirements and design activities need to be adjusted to account for the bottoms-up constraints imposed by the COTS technology. The System Engineer shapes and influences COTS-based developments through requirements modifications and negotiations, along with simultaneous system design, integration, and test. This paper explores the changing role of the Systems Engineer in today's complex system of systems (SoS) environment. We will use the analogies of conductor and choreographer to describe the System Engineering leadership challenges that exist in a SoS environment. Similar to a conductor, we will look at the set of activities that ensure the elements in the SoS work together in harmony. Similar to a choreographer, we will look at the set of activities that ensure the expressive nature of each of the SoS elements is fully realized, while still conforming to its overall objectives. Using these analogies, we will draw some conclusions for the evolving Systems Engineering role in a SoS environment. We will also explore which of these activities emerge as dominant in situations both with and without a lead SoS integrator.

In systems engineering (SE) activity in System of Systems (SoS), Enterprise Systems Engineering (ESE), and Complex Systems Engineering (CSE) continues to increase. There is controversy as to how well conventional methods of SE are able to handle our most difficult complex systems problems, and whether new ways of systems thinking will help. This tutorial will: 1) explain and give examples of complex systems and CSE; 2) review related definitions and terminology; 3) present CSE principles to create mindsets that will accelerate progress in your application domains; 4) provide tools for characterizing SE environments and what is being doing about it; and 5) suggest a methodology for CSE. Teamed class exercises will stimulate creative thought and interactions among participants. The presentation materials and accompanying discussions should deepen our understanding of SE and better prepare us for future SE endeavors.

Advanced military and large scale commercial systems are getting bigger and more complex as we approach the 21st century. A new systems engineering paradigm which employs simulation and modeling capabilities may provide significant opportunities to reduce cost, schedule and risk in the development of large complex systems. The central feature of a simulation based systems engineering paradigm is an advanced systems engineering environment which supports synthesis, capture, analysis, simulation and optimization of complex system designs. The focus of this paper is a description of a high level architecture for such an environment. The essential components of an advanced distributed complex systems engineering (ADCSE) environment are partitioned into five categories: generic computing infrastructure; ADCSE specific schema; the capability to support execution of distributed simulations; application specific tools; and design libraries of reusable components.

About the Authors

The credit risk of Shouguang vegetable enterprises in China is the biggest obstacle to corporate loans. Building a credit risk assessment model for Shouguang vegetable enterprises and accurately rating the risk of loan enterprises is the key to successful loans. This article aims to construct an AHP evaluation model for the credit risk of Shouguang vegetable enterprises. The data is sourced from managers, bank credit personnel, university researchers, and enterprise related customers who are familiar with the enterprise, while considering four risk levels: impact degree(I), occurrence probability(P), risk manageability(M), and government support(S). This article uses AHP and risk index scores to evaluate the credit risk of Shouguang vegetable enterprises. This model calculates the risk index score based on survey data from 41 corporate credit risk professionals, constructs a pairwise comparison judgment matrix, and conducts consistency testing. It calculates the risk level membership vectors of impact degree, occurrence probability, risk manageability, and government support level at four risk levels, and then calculates the comprehensive evaluation membership vector of credit risk for Shouguang vegetable enterprise. The calculation results show that the comprehensive credit risk assessment level of Shouguang vegetable enterprise belongs to the general risk level, with a membership value of 0.5836. The results still show that the credit rating of Shouguang vegetable enterprises in the four risk levels of impact degree, occurrence probability, risk manageability, and government support are all average risk levels, but there are differences in membership values. The maximum membership value under the impact degree level is 0.6163, and the minimum membership value under the risk manageability level is 0.5572. This study provides a feasible and practical model for enterprise credit risk assessment and conducts a detailed evaluation of the credit risk of Shouguang vegetable enterprise, providing valuable reference for enterprise managers, bank credit personnel, and related researchers.

This paper is concerned with the engineering of systems that are themselves comprised of other component systems, and where each of the component systems serves organizational and human purposes.i¾ i¾ These component purposes may be locally managed and optimized independently, or nearly so, of the objectives to be met by the composite system.i¾ i¾ There are a number of inherent characteristics of these systems, and such related terms as systems of systems (SOS) or federations of systems (FOS) or federated systems of systems (F-SOS) are often used to characterize them.i¾ i¾ It is asserted that the resultant systems generally possess the characteristics of complex adaptive systems.i¾ i¾ We provide an overview of the literature describing these engineering efforts and provide plausible strategies for systems engineering and management of SOS and FOS that are based on the principles of a 'new federalism'.i¾ i¾ Finally, the implications of these plausible SOS and FOS systems engineering and management concepts are discussed with emphasis on evolutionary acquisition in the style of DoD and Intelligence Community related programs.

This paper provides a review of advances in the enterprise risk and resilience management of electric vehicle charging infrastructures. The works reviewed address the interactions of electric vehicles with power grids through coordinated networks of bidirectional chargers, or vehicle-to-grid technology, and the enterprise resilience of infrastructure that supports logistics systems that use electric vehicles. The latest research identifies potential for revenue generation, e.g., through frequency regulation and demand charge management, when electric vehicle fleets connect to vehicle-to-grid infrastructure. Other leading research evaluates the impact of a variety of emergent and future conditions on mobile power grid initiatives utilizing methods of resilience analytics and risk management. The examination of research reveals a potential for mitigating initial investment costs. It also suggests how further work is beneficial to develop reliable power demand prediction models and scheduling techniques to maximize vehicle-to-grid technology. Scenario-based analysis and risk and resilience management may assist in infrastructure development until economic factors make electric vehicles a preferred option.

In the complex landscape of modern business, risk management is a critical factor in deciding whether organizations succeed or fail. This review delves into the significance of risk management in enterprise dynamics, exploring its evolution, conceptual framework and the categories of risks organizations face. The study emphasizes the importance of risk identification, assessment, response and continuous monitoring. Additionally, it categorizes enterprise risks, including financial, operational, strategic, compliance and reputational risks. This work highlights the pivotal role of risk management in strategic decision-making, stakeholder confidence, operational resilience, value creation, and innovation, as well as cost reduction. Furthermore, it investigates the emergence of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and its integration with management science. Empirical findings underscore the positive impact of ERM on organizational risk evaluation and management. The study concludes with thoughts on the objectives of ERM, risk assessment, group impacts, preference consistency, risk management frameworks and potential implementation obstacles that organizations may encounter. The integration of ERM with strategic management is emphasized, providing a comprehensive understanding of organizational dynamics and promoting long-term success.

To meet increasing demand worldwide for electricity, efforts are underway to augment today's electrical grid infrastructure with enhanced information technology (IT), creating a Smart Grid capable of advanced monitoring, information exchange, analytics, and control. Because of the nature of the electrical grid, the stakeholders that control and use it, and the interconnectedness of proposed IT solutions, Smart Grid is a system-of-systems (SoS) that warrants new approaches to design. In this paper, the Relational-Oriented Systems Engineering and Technology Tradeoff Analysis (ROSETTA) Environment is assessed in light of Smart Grid system-of-systems (SoS) design. The specific example considered is a demand response (DR) problem of monitoring and leveling peak electricity demand. DR is first presented as an SoS design problem, comprising multiple, managerially independent systems (both human and technical) and subject to a variety of scenarios. Through discussion of the DR example, the intent and structure of ROSETTA is elucidated and initially considered for relevance to Smart Grid SoS design decisions.

Contributors

Systems of Systems (SoS) modeling is becoming increasingly important in both civilian and military systems. The Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Acquisition Guidebook, [1] defines a SoS as a “set or arrangement of systems that results when independent and useful systems are integrated into a larger system that delivers unique capabilities.” Organizations are changing their emphasis from “We need a new system” to “We need to achieve a specific outcome.” As these outcomes become more complex and the associated systems more complex, the management, modeling and simulation of these SoS becomes equally challenging. Often, the SoS is modeled in all its complexity, often at a single level of abstraction or level of detail. Instead of a “megamodel” approach, a standards-based “model of models” approach is what is necessary. This approach will use the Object Management Group (OMG) Unified Profile for DoDAF and MODAF (UPDM) for modeling enterprise architectures from capabilities to detailed components, and the Reusable Asset Specification (RAS) for defining reusable assets. Combining UPDM and RAS provides a Model of Models approach with the main model specifying assets in various levels of details. The models specified by these assets can be referenced when detailed analysis is required, or hidden when a SoS viewpoint is required, allowing the analyst to see the forest through the trees. The paper will also include an assessment of the applicability and effectiveness of this approach. The International Conference on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) System of Systems Working Group (SoSWG) has collected a set of “Pain Points on SoS” from a variety of international sources. This paper will review these pain points and discuss how the application of a Model of Model approach, combined with standards-based modeling tools and a reusable assets approach can help to alleviate some of the pain currently being felt by SoS architects and managers. Hopefully, this response to their SOS will deliver some much-needed assistance.

This describes a system of systems (SoS) systems engineering (SE) artifacts, compares and contrasts them with similar ones developed and used for individual systems, and explains how they are used to guide SoS engineering processes. This concludes with next steps for using SoS artifacts to continue maturing the understanding of SoS SE in an international cooperative effort with the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.

As the DOD moves through the brave new world of transformation in a NetCentric environment, the importance of understanding how system engineering needs to evolve to embrace this environment becomes more urgent. System of systems (SoS) in an environment dominated by applying NetCentric principles and influenced by our customers would, by its very nature, require us to redefine how we apply system engineering. This paper presents observations on what would influence and define the evolution of system engineering into the SoS environment. It highlights new competencies that would be needed in order to leverage SoS. Experimentation would be a key enabler to realize the impacts of SoS in order to understand its inherent emergent properties. What does this mean for classical system engineering as we know it today and SE of a SoS be that much different than SE for the systems? This paper examines these issues and implication on the vision for net centric operations (NCO) and net centric warfare (NCW).

In this paper, we introduce environmental systems engineering (ESE) and describe some of its applications combined with process systems engineering (PSE) to problems related to environmental systems. These systems—the water cycle and ecosystem cycles—are complex and highly dynamic, with an uncertainty level comparable to that of chemical systems. To illustrate the challenges of applying PSE to ESE, some novel approaches and examples of the latter are shown for water and wastewater systems. The challenges associated with the modeling, control and optimization of environmental systems provide fascinating opportunities. These opportunities for PSE researchers, as well as the challenges, are the goals of this paper.