SPG
(System-Process-Goal
Approach) is a conceptual framework(/ meta-model) for the
modeling of
real-world goal-oriented (/driven/directed/based/purposive/... ) complex
systems in the
domains of activity
of every intelligent entity/system/agent/personoid.
First time proposed in 1986, at present it is a part of the
TOGA Meta-theory, therefore
SPG
is also called Universal Domain Paradigm (UDP) for the complete and congruent representation of
Domain-of-Activity of personoids
(= an abstraction of the essence of human and artificial intelligent systems).
The
objective of UDP is the formal representation of the relation between an
engineering, social or natural system
and its design-/foundation-/pseudo- goal.
Main advantage of
UDP
The UDP essential
innovative aspect relies on the unique, clear and simple definitions and conceptual separation
of the concepts:
system, process, function
and
goal.
The
key elements of this conceptualization are the synthetic definition of the
function concept and the definition of the carrier relation,
not existing before in the subject matter literature.
The
application below presented definitions enables to unify
formally the designer subjective goal-driven perspective
with the "objective" scientific-technological point of view.
Shortest and most
general UDP definitions
system
-
abstract or physical object
decomposable on other interrelated
objects.
Therefore every system has to have arbitrarily distinguished
components/parts.
process
- sequence of
changes in time of attributes/properties of a system,
which are
connected by cause-consequence relations. Its
carrier
is a
system.
In the
case of an autonomous or not sufficiently known system,
externally observed
processes of its interaction with the
environment , are
called
behavior.
If they are executed by agents
then they are called actions or activity ( see in TOGA :
Universal
Activity Paradigm, UAP).
function
- necessary
goal-oriented property of a process or a system. Its
carrier is a system or process.
Functions
are internal and external.
External
functions of
technological
systems
are called
services.
Carriers of internal functions are system
components.
goal
- state of a
system world which this system
tends to or should
achieve.
In this sense, in
TOGA we distinguish design/foundation
goal
and
intervention goal.
The last one relates only to the activity of
agents and is specified
in
Universal Activity
Paradigm (UAP).
design-goal
is a property of an
existing or planed engineering system.
It
specifies what this system has to achieve in its environment.
foundation-goal
is a property of
an existing or planed organization of
intelligent autonomous agents.
Usually it
is described in the
statute (mission) of human organizations.
pseudo-goal
refers to the natural evolution-based systems. Goal concept
is used
metaphorically.
In similar sense, these systems are
attributed in
pseudo-functions.
During
the
identification/specification
of a system , the
above abstract objects form four graph layers:
S-P-F-G (system-process-function-goal).
carrier
relation
carrier
relation necessary for...
Fig. Graphical representation of the UDP
paradigm with carrier and necessity relations.
carrier
- system or process with a specific property or
which is
attributed
of something (in physical or in abstract sense). More precisely
[TOGA
meta-theory]:
if a is a
property
of an object A then A is a carrier of a.
The specificity of a results from the context.
carrier
relation - oriented relation between a carrier and its
property:
for example, system S "is a
carrier of" process P .
necessary
relation
-
oriented relation;
it is equivalent to:
A "is
necessary for" B under conditions (X).
For example, a function Fa is necessary for the achieving
goal Ga (in the domain of activity
D of a designer).
structure
- is described by
the "difference" between the system
description and the description of its
well observed components.
It means, it is an interrelations network between
distinguished
system components.
In
the case of a dynamic system, its structure is determined by
an
invariant network of the
attributes of the system components.
component
- is the relative concept. It is any distinguishable
physical or
abstract element of a system, it can be functional, structural or a
process part (when process
is seen as a system).
It means, a system without components does not exist,
and the concept "component" does not exist without a system.
Therefore, every component is
or can be connected with others.
In many cases, one specific component can be used for the
construction/configuration of different systems. Usually, in
technological devices, as well as in human organizations,
components are removable and substitutable.
Initial Remarks
F
In TOGA, every
before defined concept and its instances are
considered as
abstract objects, therefore they may be described
/modeled in the
common attributes space of a problem of
interest.
F
In the case of the
engineering
specification of a system, the first is
defined its Goal (called design-goal), In the case of the
scientific
research, the first
identified abstract object is a system or process.
F
Using designer's preferences and decomposition and specialization
relations, the
top system, process, function and goal can be
presented
as conected
formally: system
net, function net, process net
and goal net.
F
Among others, the application
of the UDP meta-ontology enables also
the structured
diagnostics of
abnormalities of natural and engineering
goal-oriented systems,
as well as a conceptual design of the domain of
decisions for DSSs
(Decision Support
Systems).
History: The SPG conceptualization
pattern
and the separation of function and
process concepts
have been developed in ENEA (proposed
by Gadomski
1986-88) for the modeling of nuclear and high-risk plants [A.M. Gadomski.
Information
about System-Process-Goal Approach to diagnostics and supervisory of nuclear
reactor system. Materials of 19th Informal Meeting on Reactor Noises,
Rome, June 1986] and described in the form of an ENEA's
research report (1988).
-
At present, the SPG Approach is a part of the TOGA
axiomatic assumptions a (meta-ontology)
in frame of the KNOCS (Knowledge Conceptualization System).
