Complexity and Normative Engineering Design

About Complexity and Normative Engineering Design

Abstract

One of the many challenges facing the engineering profession is the increasing complexity of modern technological systems. Clearly, the physical systems being designed are becoming more complicated over time. Perhaps more importantly, interactions are multiplying, between both technological artifacts and the humans and societies who create and use them, and the technological artifacts and the living world in which they are embedded. We need to develop and apply robust models for accurately predicting the behavior of engineered systems, since this activity is crucial in reducing risks of failure. This paper will explore and categorize various engineering modeling approaches currently used by engineers and taught in engineering programs to deal with the design of increasingly complex technological systems. Engineering education invests most of its resources in teaching students reductionist mathematical models based on scientific understanding in order to predict physical system behavior. In order to encourage the development of a more comprehensive approach to modeling which includes the contexts in which physical systems are implemented, some Christian engineering educators have tried to augment these models with consideration of a comprehensive set of design norms. The norms point to the need for a more expansive toolbox of modeling approaches to better understand system behavior at multiple levels. The relatively recent development of the inter-disciplinary field of complexity theory suggests some potential strategies for approaching engineering system design. Complexity theory attempts to describe and model certain classes of systems, particularly biological systems, which exhibit characteristics such as rich interaction between components, non-equilibrium responses, and emergent behavior. This paper will present a description of this particular type of complexity, referred to by the author as special complexity. Some conceptual modeling approaches to dealing with special complexity will be discussed. This will provide rationale for the further exploration of special complexity applications for the purpose of identifying new tools or methods that might apply to engineering design. Finally, some recommendations will be made for integrating general complexity awareness into the engineering curriculum.