system of systems is a collection of task-oriented or dedicated systems that pool their resources and capabilities together to create a new, more complex system which offers more functionality and performance than simply the sum of the constituent systems. currently, systems of systems is a critical research discipline for which frames of reference, thought processes, quantitative analysis, tools, and design methods are incomplete.popper, s., bankes, s., callaway, r., and delaurentis, d., system-of-systems symposium: report on a summer conversation, july 21â22, 2004, potomac institute for policy studies, arlington, va. the methodology for defining, abstracting, modeling, and analyzing system of systems problems is typically referred to as system of systems engineering. == overview == commonly proposed descriptionsânot necessarily definitionsâof systems of systems,collected partly from:  jamshidi, m., "system-of-systems engineering - a definition," ieee smc 2005, 10-12 oct. 2005. are outlined below in order of their appearance in the literature: # linking systems into joint system of systems allows for the interoperability and synergism of command, control, computers, communications, and information (c4i) and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (isr) systems:manthorpe jr., w.h., "the emerging joint system-of-systems: a systems engineering challenge and opportunity for apl," johns hopkins apl technical digest, vol. 17, no. 3 (1996), pp. 305&ndash;310.  description in the field of information superiority in modern military. # system of systems are large-scale concurrent and distributed systems the components of which are complex systems themselves:kotov, v. "systems-of-systems as communicating structures," hewlett packard computer systems laboratory paper hpl-97-124, (1997), pp. 1&ndash;15.  description in the field of communicating structures and information systems in private enterprise. #system of systems education involves the integration of systems into system of systems that ultimately contribute to evolution of the social infrastructure:luskasik, s.j. "systems, systems-of-systems, and the education of engineers," artificial intelligence for engineering design, analysis, and manufacturing, vol. 12, no. 1 (1998), pp. 55-60. description in the field of education of engineers on the importance of systems and their integration. # system of systems integration is a method to pursue development, integration, interoperability, and optimization of systems to enhance performance in future battlefield scenarios:pei, r.s., "systems-of-systems integration (sosi) &ndash; a smart way of acquiring army c4i2ws systems," proceedings 
Systems_engineering Systems_theory