Systems Engineering in a Context of Systemic Cooperation (SCOOPs): Development and Implications

Abstract

We present details of the development of a conceptual framework for systems engineering in a context of Systemic Cooperation, henceforth the SCOOPs model, begun at the International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR) ‘Conversation’ held in Linz in 2014. The authors constitute a group convened by the IFSR with joint sponsorship between the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Systems Science Working Group (SSWG) and the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS). The 2014 IFSR working group continued with the development of the Systems Praxis Framework (SPF), the product of the previous IFSR conversation in 2012, and focused on a pragmatic framing of Systems Engineering within its wider context. In presenting the details of the development of the SCOOPs model, we review relevant foundational work in addition to the SPF leading to a critical discussion of its implications for the theoretical underpinnings and practice of Systems Engineering. This is not a final articulation of the SCOOPs model, but a report on an important milestone in its ongoing development.