Unraveling complexity

Abstract

Complexity is a loaded and imprecise term used to describe systems. It is often used in many different contexts in academic literature to mean everything from having many parts to being difficult to comprehend. In order to understand the term and what it means to the development and operation of systems, this paper explores complexity and its related notions of simplicity, complicatedness, and chaos. The goal of this paper is to begin a discussion regarding the use of the term complexity, what it really means, and how it can be useful in designing and operating systems. It is suggested that a paradigm shift is necessary, where we move away from describing systems as complex, and focus on their behaviors instead.