Complexity Perspective and Engineering Systems – Novel Approaches

Abstract

Systems perspective is nowadays expanded to complexity perspective, by including aspects of disorder, instability, nonlinearity, unpredictability, and it is widely applied to different disciplines. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to engineering systems theory by observing projects as complex adaptive systems (CAS). Complexity theory could give some insights in the way organizations interact, relate, and evolve within their environment. Authors of this paper used literature review as a methodological approach, and focused on structural and dynamic complexity of systems. There is a need for understanding complex systems with numerous techniques and algorithms necessary for an engineer to operate in complex and dynamic environments (e.g. production and manufacturing). Implications of this paper could be used as a basis for further research that copes with complexity of CAS, as well as in bridging complexity concepts and managerial reality.