Where shall we draw the boundaries of the system?
Everything is a system, and in this system universe there are infinitely many relationships that can be hardly reviewed and managed. System science deals with approaches to this infinite amount of tasks. One such approach is to define the boundaries of phenomena for the examinations and control decisions in line with the specific aim. These sections are defined according to the technological and conceptual units and with view to the rational aspects of modelling. All system examinations start with reasonably drawing these practical-conceptual boundaries, being aware that these boundaries are relative. Therefore, system examinations must anticipate the predictable consequences of the delineations made and the differences resulting from the varying conceptual frameworks.
Systems are connected to their environment. Incoming effects, i.e. the input signals containing information, have an impact on the process. The process in turn has an impact on its environment by means of the output signals, i.e. the responses given to the input signals. The aim of the examination defines how the system’s boundaries should be determined.
A complex system is built of smaller interrelated subsystems. The output signal of a subsystem can be the input signal of another. The observer or the user, however, often wants to examine the behaviour of the resultant system as a whole.