Systems science and engineering is based on an approach that views an entire system of components as an entity rather than simply as an assembly of individual parts; each component is designed to fit properly with the other components rather than to function by itself.

The engineering and mathematics of systems is a rapidly developing field. It is one of the most modern segments of applied mathematics, as well as an engineering discipline. It is concerned with the identification, modeling, analysis, design and control of systems that are potentially as large and complex as the U.S. economy or as precise and vital as a space voyage.