Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering

Program/Concentration

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering

Committee Director

Charles Keating

Committee Member

Samuel Kovacic

Committee Member

Andres Sousa-Poza

Committee Member

Resit Unal

Committee Member

James Pyne

Abstract

“A complex system’s identity and viability are directly related and affected by its context. It is important to identify, monitor, and manage (or mitigate risk) system contextual elements” (Keating C. B. et al., 2022, p. 209). Despite this importance, there is very limited research and literature on complex systems context. This research seeks to expand our understanding of complex system context and improve our ability to govern complex technology development programs effectively. The ability to analyze complex systems and their problems is necessary for this improvement.

A “clear understanding of the specific complex system context is fundamental to the process of understanding and analyzing complex systems and complex system problems” (Crownover, 2005, p. ii) Crownover’s Complex System Contextual Framework (CSCF) is the first and only framework of context that provides a characterization of context relative to a complex system. However, until now, the CSCF has not been used in an operational setting for analysis. This research addresses this gap through exploration of the use of CSCF to analyze a complex technology development program with two sub-systems or projects, one successful and one failed.

A rigorous research methodology, employing Case Study analysis, most closely related to Yin’s Embedded, Single-Case Design (Yin, 2018), was used for this exploration. Specifically, the method was used to answer two research questions:

1. How can the CSCF be adapted for analysis of complex systems?

2. What results from the application of the CSCF in an operational setting?

The research methodology evolved into an inductive method and framework that provided an understanding of complex system context, contextual relationships, and influence on the complex system. CSCF was successfully adapted as a framework and augmented with a methodology to conduct analysis. It shows the usefulness of the framework for analysis and provides visibility for others to continue refining and exploring its usefulness for other areas of complex system governance. This framework and method not only evolve our systems engineering knowledge but provides a foundation for the development of tools to govern context and its influence on the complex system of interest.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/p1w7-6t33

ISBN

9798280752337

ORCID

0009-0008-0447-5368

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