Robert E. Machol - System Quotes

9 Sourced Quotes

View all Robert E. Machol Quotes
There are four distinct bases on which a system-design book might be organized. First are the chronological phases through which the system-design effort passes, such as organization and preliminary design. Second are the logical steps such as analysis of the single thread (operation on a single input) and high traffic (methods of handling multiplex inputs). Third are the parts of the system, such as communications and displays. Fourth are the tools of system design, such as information theory and queueing theory.

Robert E. Machol
[Systems should be classified] on the basis of the types of inputs with which they must cope.

Robert E. Machol
[This set of inputs [can be defined] as 1) input which is always the same or is of many types, 2) input which occurs periodically (or very infrequently), and 3) input which does or does not seek to destroy the system. Their rationale for developing the classification was to aid in the definition of steps to be followed in order to find the] solution of the problem of a large-scale or complex system.

Robert E. Machol
Everyone knows what engineering is. All that's left is to define systems, and I'm not fool enough to do that.

Robert E. Machol
The purpose and real value of systems engineering is... to keep going around the loop; find inadequacies and make improvements.

Robert E. Machol
Most accidents in well-designed systems involve two or more events of low probability occurring in the worst possible combination.

Robert E. Machol
The lack of formal definition does not prevent us from noting the characteristics which are frequently present in large scale systems. Each such system has a certain integrity. It may or may not be rigidly controlled from some central point, but in every case, all the parts of the system have some common purpose; in some sense, they all contribute to the production of a single set of optimum outputs from the given set of inputs, with respect to some appropriate measure of effectiveness.

Robert E. Machol
The ideal system engineer is an engineer thoroughly versed in his field but conversant with and knowledgeable of other fields. You have to have the capability and desire to become a 'six-month expert'... You've got to want to become a generalist, too.

Robert E. Machol
Every large-scale system is an information system. The automatic factory, the vehicular-traffic system, any military system- in the design of all these systems, primary attention should be given to the flow of information about the elements of the system.

Robert E. Machol