Systems, Man & Cybernetics - January 2017 - 29

holistic-thinking approach that will assist engineers to
identify concealed MEI sources, sinks, bearers, and transfers not otherwise included in the SoS definition, which
may lead to unexpected emergent phenomena either problematic and only revealed late in the day or employed inservice unbeknown to and not under the control of the
design authority. Examples of such emergence in both
naval- and land-based domains have been found during the
test and development of this work. The more complete
insight from this approach enhances delivered products
and services, it improves the PLM engineering processes
used to create them, and it facilitates the task of identifying and implementing the SoS adaptation (through reconfiguration at the SoS level or changes to constituent
systems) to maintain that SoS as FFP. This article has provided an overview of the FFP method and indicated how it
may be implemented in organizational processes such that
it may offer improved management of a complex SoS,
enabling it to be maintained as FFP to address new
unforeseen tasks or changes, both internal and external,
throughout the life cycle at an affordable scale.
Acknowledgments
This research has been supported by the Loughborough
University Graduate School and Thales. We would like to
thank M. Sinclair (visiting fellow, Engineering Systems of
Systems Research Group, Loughborough University), A.
Johnson (head of systems research, Thales), P. Davies (former visiting professor, Engineering Systems of Systems
Research Group, Loughborough University), H. Sillitto
(former systems engineering director, Thales), and JeanLuc Garnier (systems engineering and architecting
director, Thales).

leads the Engineering Systems of Systems Research
Group at Loughborough University, Leicestershire, United
Kingdom. He joined British Aerospace (later BAE Systems) as an aerodynamicist and worked for 17 years in
aeronautical engineering, tackling problems associated
with unsteady aerodynamics (computational and experimental) and multidisciplinary integration. He was appointed as a chair in systems engineering at Loughborough
University in 2006 to direct the large multi-university, multidisciplinary program in Network Enabled Capability.
Carys E. Siemieniuch (c.e.siemieniuch@lboro.ac.uk)
earned her B.A. degree in French studies from Manchester
University, United Kingdom, in 1974 and her M.Sc. degree
in information technology and her Ph.D. degree in enterprise systems engineering from Loughborough University,
United Kingdom, in 1987 and 2007, respectively. She is a
professor of enterprise systems engineering and a member
of the Engineering Systems of Systems Research Group in
the Wolfson School at Loughborough University. A member of INCOSE, she has worked as a systems ergonomist
for 29 years in the manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace domains dealing with both civilian and military systems. She is also a member of the Institute of Ergonomics
and Human Factors, holding chartered status as a Chartered Ergonomist and Human Factors Specialist and European registration via the Centre for Registration of
European Ergonomists.
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About the Authors
Steven W. Hinsley (s.w.hinsley2@lboro.ac.uk) earned his
B.Sc. (honors) degree in electrical engineering from De
Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom, in 1996
and his M.Sc. degree in advanced systems engineering
from Loughborough University in 2005. He is a Ph.D.
research student under Prof. Mike Henshaw and Prof.
Carys Siemieniuch in the Engineering Systems of Systems
Research Group in the Wolfson School at Loughborough
University, Leicestershire, United Kingdom. He was previously the technical lead of the systems engineering capability for the BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre
and the chief engineer at the Systems Engineering Innovation Centre. He is a chartered engineer and a member of
the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the
International Council on Systems Engineering.
Michael J. Henshaw (m.j.d.henshaw@lboro.ac.uk)
earned his B.Sc. (honors) and Ph.D. degrees in applied
physics from the University of Hull, United Kingdom, in
1983 and 1989, respectively, and his M.B.A. degree from
the University of Lancashire and Humberside, United Kingdom, in 1998. He is a professor of systems engineering and

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