How to use this standard

The description of the SEP, and its application throughout the life cycle, demands the use of a system paradigm to aid the presentation of this material. The terms used to support this paradigm are defined in Clause 3. As enterprises gain familiarity with the paradigm, they may substitute more familiar terms that are applicable to their industry or business practices. The system paradigm is the foundation of this standard and is described below to support the different uses of the term system. 

On a large scale, there are biological systems, ecological systems, weather systems, solar systems, etc. Thus, a system can be viewed as an element of a larger system, and the challenge is to understand the boundary of the system, which is the focus of the development effort, and the relationships and interfaces between this system and other systems. The focus of this standard is product-oriented systems such as the automobile, the airplane, or information systems. 

Complex components represent system elements that are composed of hardware, software, and/or humans, which are recognizable in terms of life cycle process (how to design, test, produce, support, etc., is known), and the domain-specific engineering team assumes responsibility for the development of the complex 

Elements of the system may include hardware, software, and humans dependent on the system definition. 

The human elements are integral to the systems hiraarchy, and may be present at any level. The human elements are not identified in the system hierarchy since the intent of the hierarchy is to identify the system element for which the system is being defined, and the human/system integration issues should be addressed in terms of the human s role in operating, producing, supporting, etc., the system. 

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In Appendix 13.A, an example calculation showing how to use this standard droplet distribution is given. 

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