Understanding the Implementation of System Architectures in the Context of Distributed Cognition

Abstract

Current system architectures are typically attributed to the technical leader that holds the formal title of "System Architect" and for larger projects there may be a team of system architects. There is no question that this person (or team) is responsible for the development and management of the system architecture. However, a theory in cognitive science known as "Distributed Cognition" challenges the notion that a single person or a single team can entirely understand the implemented architecture. This theory can aid in our understanding of system architectures and thus improve the probability of a successful implementation of an architecture. When applied to the domain of systems engineering, distributed cognition theory suggests that a system architecture can only be fully understood through the collective minds of the group that develops and implements the architecture. in fact, the group's understanding likely diverges from the understanding of any single individual. This helps explain why architectures implemented by a large group commonly deviate from the vision held by the lead system architect(s). after system architectures are understood as a distributed "system of knowledge", a systems engineer can actively manage the interfaces between distributed units of knowledge. the goal is to ensure that the collective system of understanding is a healthy system, and thereby increase the probability of success that the implemented architecture will meet the needs in the problem space. This paper summarizes current research in distributed cognition and applies that research to form heuristics that can be leveraged when developing and implementing an architecture. © 2010 by Christopher Watkins and Cihan Dagli.

Department(s)

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

978-161738887-3

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2024 International Council on Systems Engineering, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Dec 2010

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