12 Project Management for the Oil and Gas Industry

skills of these foreign nationals should include training in the m

­ anagement
fields, particularly project management, to buttress their technical assets.
The educational infrastructure should be viewed and managed as a part of
the overall world system of the oil and gas industry.

System of Systems Framework

This book advocates using an SoS framework so that all factors of impor-
tance can be included in the overall design and execution of projects in the
oil and gas industry.

What Is a System?
A system is a collection of interrelated elements working together synergis-
tically to achieve a set of objectives. The composite output of a system is
greater than the sum of the individual outputs of its components. A sys-
tems view of a process facilitates a comprehensive inclusion of all the factors
involved in the process.

What Is System of Systems?

SoS engineering is an interdisciplinary approach focusing on the synergistic
integration of the elements making up a composite complex system, which is
made up of other systems. Each subsystem of an SoS is a complete system in
its own right. Some of the elements of an SoS include

• Self-regulation
• Self-adjustment
• Self-resolution
• Environmental sensitivity (i.e., interaction with prevailing operating
conditions)
• Consolidation of capabilities
• Coordinated input–process–output relationships
• Structural interfaces between the systems within the SoS
• Composite equilibrium of the systems making up the SoS
• Value trading and transfers between the systems in the overall SoS