System Farming
Bruce Edmonds · 2017
In order to effectively produce complex socio-technical systems (CSS) that work, we have to learn to be more like farmers and less like mathematicians or traditional engineers. A design-centric engineering approach to producing CSS will not work; the emphasis has to shift from the pre-construction to the post-construction stages of system development. In particular, the design of CSS cannot be based on complex simulations built upon unvalidated assumptions. This chapter looks at the nature of CSS, reviewing some of the difficulties of applying a traditional “specify and design” approach. It then looks at the nature of engineering, distinguishing different strategies and discussing their likelihood of success with CSS. Finally, it looks at ten different aspects of the shift argued for.