ABSTRACT
A thorough understanding of systems theory, principles and practices is needed to design system architectures. Unfortunately, different disciplines have developed their own theories and practices independently. There is no universal system theory and practice accepted by all scientists. This would not be a problem if engineers could ignore political, social and environmental issues in the performance of their work. But in today’s world they cannot. We face the same issues in writing this chapter. We have the difficult task of trying to be as inclusive as possible, yet at the same time reconcile the conflicting definitions and practices from different disciplines.
