Systems thinking and aircraft design: managing complexity


Dişlitaş A. N., Yeşil Ş., Yildiz M.

AERONAUTICAL JOURNAL, cilt.2025, ss.1-16, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 2025
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1017/aer.2025.10090
  • Dergi Adı: AERONAUTICAL JOURNAL
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Applied Science & Technology Source, Scopus, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Compendex, Computer & Applied Sciences, INSPEC
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-16
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Systems are holistic entities that represent complex structures in which different components interact. Systems

thinking plays an important role as a methodology used to solve and analyse these complex problems. This approach

emphasises addressing problems holistically rather than simply breaking them down into parts, providing a deeper

understanding of identifying and resolving root causes. The article aims to explain the conceptual framework of

systems thinking by discussing the basic concepts and principles of systems thinking in detail. In this context,

the literature focuses on reaching a common definition of the term ‘systems’ and discusses practical approaches

to the use of systems thinking in aircraft design. It also includes analysis of the application of systems thinking

through examples of catastrophic accidents resulting from the misunderstanding or mismanagement of complex

systems in engineering studies. The change in aircraft design process over the years has been examined, and a new

categorisation method is proposed. By integrating systems thinking into the aircraft design process, it examines the

advantages it will provide in understanding and optimising the interaction of components, saving time and costs.

This study aims to deal with the systems thinking perspective of aircraft design. The importance of the system

concept in aviation is emphasised with concrete examples, and its applicability is examined. Thus, a base is formed

for its use in aviation.