Modelling, Analysis and Sensory Metrication towards a Quantitative Understanding of Complexity in Systems for Effective Decision Making

Modeling and metrication of the complexity of service systems has remained an underdeveloped problem space in the literature. Complexity modelling of service systems from a sensory perspective is quite significant for the understanding of their behaviour and effectiveness in their overall management.

In this research, the complexity of a service system premised on a tertiary institution of learning was modelled and quantified. The concept deployed, focused on modelling the trio core blocks of a system viz: the functional elements (FEs), physical elements (PEs) and the intricacy of connectivity (IoC) associated with the flow of signals including data and information in the normal systemic operations. The modelling process of the IoC, focused on the intra and inter-functional dynamics of the system viz: interactions and operations within the system on one hand, and direct operations between the system and other systems on the other hand as holistically captured during the course of this research.

The numerous tasks and activities depicting functional elements, and their corresponding embodiments depicting the physical elements of the system in their diversity and multiplicity, were holistically enumerated prior to carrying out the modeling and metrication process using core theories such as systems thinking, and binary interaction matrices of interacting system elements.

The outcome of this research has contributed to the literature of complex systems modelling and metrication by proffering quantitative solutions to the complexity of a service system via a case study educational problem domain. This research has extended the principles of metrication and sensory perception to the wider social space in a bid towards understanding societal entities and their complex nature from a sensory dimension premised on quantification.