From Systems to Systems of Systems, Planning Capabilities for Capability Configurations

Dealing with Systems of Systems (SoS) translates to handling various cross-cutting concerns. These include autonomy of Constituent Systems (CS), acceptable abstraction levels for different stakeholders and views, meanwhile observing adaptability and traceability of capabilities, as well as attaining satisfactory outcome of the SoS. Applying systems thinking in this context is an interesting research challenge due to the multi-dimensionality of the capability concerns involved. What if the wholesomeness of the system were examined from capability aspects? In this study, we focus on understanding the problem domain of SoS by looking at the capability viewpoint of SoS. We look at how to gauge capability-related concerns by treating capability as a system. The main contribution of this paper is a mapping of capability concerns to specific SoS dimensions, and a broader reflection on the impact of autonomy, interdependence, and evolution of capability associated concerns in SoS.