System-of-Systems Design Thinking on Behavior

Due to the increasing digitalization of all societal systems, informed design of services and systems becomes pertinent for various stakeholders. This paper discusses the design of digital systems in a user-centered way with the help of subject-oriented design. The approach follows a communication-driven and network-centric perspective on a System-of-Systems, whereby system specifications encapsulate behavior and exchange messages, including relevant data, such as business objects. Systems can represent activities of human actors, as well as artefacts. Stakeholders can be actively involved in their roles in the design of a System-of-Systems. In the course of design, they identify and refine role-specific behavior, based on communication to other actors or systems. A System-of-Systems specification evolves as a network of cooperating behavior entities. It develops according to communication needs and system-specific capabilities, on the level of synchronized execution agents, or as an overlay mechanism on existing applications or sub networks. Since certain behavior sequences, such as decision-making procedures, are re-occurring in organizations or eco-systems, the design of complex systems can be facilitated by behavior patterns stemming from existing modeling experiences.