System-of-Systems Governance: New Patterns of Thought

October 2006 • Technical Note

Edwin J. Morris, Patrick R. Place, Dennis B. Smith

This 2006 technical note examines the ways in which six key characteristics of good IT governance are affected by the autonomy of individual systems in a system of systems.

Publisher:

Software Engineering Institute

CMU/SEI Report Number

CMU/SEI-2006-TN-036

DOI (Digital Object Identifier):

10.1184/R1/6584570.v1

Subjects

System of SystemsSystem of Systems

Abstract

Systems of systems introduce complications for information technology (IT) governance because their individual system components exhibit considerable autonomy. This technical note examines the ways in which six key characteristics of good IT governance are affected by the autonomy of individual systems in a system of systems. The characteristics discussed are (1) collaboration and authority, (2) motivation and accountability, (3) multiple models, (4) expectation of evolution, (5) highly fluid processes, and (6) minimal centrality. This report examines each characteristic in detail and, where possible, provides guidance for the practitioner.

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Cite This Report

SEI

Morris, Edwin; Place, Patrick; & Smith, Dennis. System-of-Systems Governance: New Patterns of Thought. CMU/SEI-2006-TN-036. Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. 2006. http://resources.sei.cmu.edu/library/asset-view.cfm?AssetID=8001

IEEE

Morris. Edwin, Place. Patrick, and Smith. Dennis, "System-of-Systems Governance: New Patterns of Thought," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Technical Note CMU/SEI-2006-TN-036, 2006. http://resources.sei.cmu.edu/library/asset-view.cfm?AssetID=8001

APA

Morris, Edwin., Place, Patrick., & Smith, Dennis. (2006). System-of-Systems Governance: New Patterns of Thought (CMU/SEI-2006-TN-036). Retrieved March 27, 2023, from the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University website: http://resources.sei.cmu.edu/library/asset-view.cfm?AssetID=8001

CHI

Edwin Morris, Patrick Place, & Dennis Smith. System-of-Systems Governance: New Patterns of Thought (CMU/SEI-2006-TN-036). Pittsburgh, PA: Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, 2006. http://resources.sei.cmu.edu/library/asset-view.cfm?AssetID=8001

MLA

Morris, Edwin., Place, Patrick., & Smith, Dennis. 2006. System-of-Systems Governance: New Patterns of Thought (Technical Report CMU/SEI-2006-TN-036). Pittsburgh: Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. http://resources.sei.cmu.edu/library/asset-view.cfm?AssetID=8001

BibTex

@techreport{MorrisSystemofSystemsGovernance2006,
title={System-of-Systems Governance: New Patterns of Thought},
author={Edwin Morris and Patrick Place and Dennis Smith},
year={2006},
number={CMU/SEI-2006-TN-036},
institution={Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University},
address={Pittsburgh, PA},
url={http://resources.sei.cmu.edu/library/asset-view.cfm?AssetID=8001} }

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