Managing Complexity. For Real!
Today, we recognize that we manage extremely complex systems and that we face complex situations. We realize that the complexity of our economy and society are increasing as globalization creates new links between remote markets and societies. Engineering systems are also increasingly complex. Increasing complexity is becoming a major concern in every sphere of social life. Complexity needs to be managed but if you can’t measure it you can’t manage it! OntoSpace™ is the World’s first software tool which enables one to quantify and to manage the complexity of a particular system or process. The point is that excessive complexity implies fragility and fragility is the prelude to risk. This is precisely why complexity must be managed.
If complexity can be understood and measured, it can be managed. With Ontonix´s technology it is possible for the first time to actually measure complexity in a practical manner, so that complexity can become an important component of decision-making or design. At Ontonix we have conceived ground-breaking and innovative ways of using
q A computer model of a system is available
q Generic data is available, for example originating from sensors or any other source
In the first case, it is necessary to run a full stochastic simulation with the computer model in question. This provides the Fitness Landscape of the problem. In the second case, raw data manipulation may be necessary.
Based on a given Fitness Landscape ��" essentially a multi-dimensional set of data - OntoSpace™ identifies a set of attractors, that is locations in the landscape in the vicinity of which the system exhibits distinct patterns of behaviour. These patterns, known as modes, are sets of interrelated rules that govern the system behaviour in each mode. In each mode, only the system variables, or elements, that participate in the corresponding attractor, are displayed in a clear and intuitive manner via maps. As the user navigates the Fitness Landscape, and moves from one attractor to another, the topology of the maps may change, and new variables may become important, while others lose relevance. The connections between the active variables represent rules. But what is an organized dynamic set of interrelated rules? It is knowledge. OntoSpace™ is a tool which determines and displays knowledge in a form that is easily understood, managed and shared. OntoSpace™ shows that the understanding of complexity and knowledge are inextricably linked.
The power of OntoSpace™ lies in its ability to unveil often non-intuitive behavior of systems. In fact, as the complexity of a system increases, the number of modes which represent non-intuitive or pathological behavior increases rapidly. In order to rigorously anticipate and manage risk it is of paramount importance to determine this kind of behavior before it manifests itself in reality. However, it must be remarked that complex behavior doesn’t only originate from complex systems. In fact, many simple autonomous agents, when combined, can give rise to astonishingly complex behavior.