Complexity and the integrating disciplines

Abstract

There are a number of important national problems, such as security, which also span multiple systems levels and cannot be addressed by a single integrating discipline, such as systems engineering. Such problems are complex and as one moves up the systems hierarchy towards the international levels, there is increasing anarchy with no shared purpose between actors or in the extreme case, conflicting purposes. Dealing with complexity requires multiple simultaneous interventions at multiple levels in the systems hierarchy. This paper has outlined how this integration could be approached both vertically through technology management, systems engineering, enterprise engineering and whole-of-society levels, each level with increasing decision stakes, conflicting purpose and uncertainty. A whole-of-society approach is introduced which is more than just the application of systems thinking at a higher level in the systems hierarchy. This paper argues that complexity requires governance at multiple levels for problem solving in conjunction with longer term vision based on future studies approaches that surface underlying assumptions for deep transformation. Just as enterprise engineering emerged from enterprise architecture to deal with complexity, so whole-of-society is emerging from inter-sectoral approaches to deal with complexity.