Ensuring resilience and agility of complex organizational-technical systems

Abstract

Modern organizational and technical systems have been developing in an environment that is marked by capriciousness, uncertainty, risk, variability, and evolution (CURVE factors). As organizational-technical systems grow bigger, their internal complexity increases, too, both structurally and dynamically. The article substantiates the appropriateness of employing the principles of systems engineering for managing such systems. The authors analyzed various theoretical concepts of and practice-based approaches to the development of systems engineering in the context of ensuring the resilience and agility of complex organizational-technical systems. Using the case of power engineering and hi-tech industries, the authors show that for organizations that operate critical infrastructure facilities it is essential to make sure that the system stays functional in adverse conditions and is able to recover quickly after a failure. It is demonstrated that for addressing the above task it is critical to use instruments that nurture interdisciplinary competences in individual professionals and in teams that manage the development of complex systems and implement major innovation projects. As part of the study, the authors also look at the possibility of using the principles of resilient systems design and the fundamental principles for agile systems engineering when managing critical infrastructure facilities. © 2018 WIT Press.