Reconciling complexities: for a stronger integration of approaches to complex socio-technical systems

TL;DR

This paper advocates for integrating systems engineering and natural/social complex systems approaches to better understand and design socio-technical systems, demonstrated through a biological network model for transportation networks.

Contribution

It provides a bibliometric analysis of disciplinary isolation and demonstrates a bio-inspired model for designing efficient transportation networks.

Findings

Citation networks show disciplinary separation.

Biological models can optimize transportation networks.

Hybrid approaches offer new insights for socio-technical systems.

Abstract

Systems engineering has developed a mature knowledge on how to design, integrate and manage complex industrial systems, whereas disciplines studying complex systems in nature or society also propose numerous tools for their understanding. Socio-technical systems, that situate at their intersection, could benefit from a higher integration between these. This position paper advocates for such integrated approaches. A bibliometric study through citation networks first illustrates the respective isolation of some of these approaches. We then produce a proof-of-concept of how the transfer of concepts from biology can be useful for the design of complex systems, in the particular case of transportation networks, using a biological network growth model to produce various optimal networks in terms of cost and efficiency. We finally discuss possible disciplinary positioning of such hybrid approaches.