Metric for Calculation of System Complexity based on its Connections

Abstract

This paper proposes a methodology based on system connections to calculate its complexity. Two study cases are proposed: the dining Chinese philosophers’ problem and the distribution center. Both studies are modeled using the theory of Discrete Event Systems and simulations in different contexts were performed in order to measure their complexities. The obtained results present i) the static complexity as a limiting factor for the dynamic complexity, ii) the lowest cost in terms of complexity for each unit of measure of the system performance and iii) the output sensitivity to the input parameters. The associated complexity and performance measures aggregate knowledge about the system.