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Categorical Foundations for System Engineering

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Disciplinary Convergence in Systems Engineering Research

Abstract

In this paper, we argue that category theory (CT), the mathematical theory of abstract processes, could provide a concrete formal foundation for the study and practice of systems engineering. To provide some evidence for this claim, we trace the classic V-model of systems engineering, stopping along the way to (a) introduce elements of CT and (b) show how these might apply in a variety of systems engineering contexts.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA

    Spencer Breiner & Eswaran Subrahmanian

  2. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Eswaran Subrahmanian & Albert Jones

Authors
  1. Spencer Breiner
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  2. Eswaran Subrahmanian
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  3. Albert Jones
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Spencer Breiner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Systems Architecting and Engineering Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Azad M. Madni

  2. Center for Systems and Software Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Barry Boehm

  3. Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Roger G. Ghanem

  4. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Daniel Erwin

  5. Systems Engineering Fellow, The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, California, USA

    Marilee J. Wheaton

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Breiner, S., Subrahmanian, E., Jones, A. (2018). Categorical Foundations for System Engineering. In: Madni, A., Boehm, B., Ghanem, R., Erwin, D., Wheaton, M. (eds) Disciplinary Convergence in Systems Engineering Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62217-0_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62217-0_32

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-62216-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-62217-0

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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