Kjell Samuelson

Kjell Samuelson (1932) is a Swedish systems scientist, Sci-Tech consultant, Professor Emeritus at the Stockholm University and Royal Institute of Technology, and a pioneer of Systems Science & Cybernetics, Communications & Informatics Technology and Global Networks.

Biography

Samuelson holds dual Doctors degrees. Since four decades he has been distinguished professor at the Stockholm University and the Royal Institute of Technology, where he launched the first graduate education and doctoral program in Informatics & Systems Science including Cybernetics and Networks. He is further an professor of Information Science, Computers, Systems Engineering, Safety & Security, and General Resource Management at a dozen North American Universities. [http://www.keylab-imie.org/confenis2007/programs/ks.aspx Prof. Kjell Samuelson] . Keynote Speakers at the Confenis 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2008.]

For several years he is an international Sci-Tech advisor to industries and corporations on large-scale management, organizational redesign, and investments for functional development of new infrastructures. He worked as high-level consultant to UNESCO, OECD, UNITAR, ASEAN, UNIDO etc. on regional development. He is past-president in 1975 of the Society for General Systems Research, now International Systems Science Society, and has fulfilled chair functions of professional consortia and associations such as SGSR, IFIP, ASIS, IEEE, FISCIT, ITCA, ASC, INSIST.

Work

Samuelson conducts R & D globally on Total Systems, TeleCom, Satellites, Systems Architecture, Enterprise Planning and Management Structures.

General systems

According to Samuelson in 1977 the field of General Systems had grown over the years since the 1950s into a viable interdisciplinary area of applied trans-science. In the 1970s mankind was "facing severe problems of energy, resources, environment, and population, with symptoms like ignorance explosion, data pollution, and lack of order for information and knowledge". Samuelson at that time saw a continuous development of new General Systems Methodologies, which could master such circumstances that could lead to imminent crisis, making use of current information technology, telecommunications and computers as tools. Kjell Samuelson (1977). "General Systems". In: "Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology: Volume 8". Edited by Jack Belzer and others. CRC Press 1977.]

In the realm of General Systems Samuelson identified the following major directions:
* General Systems Research (GST)
* General Systems Theory (GST)
* General Systems Thinking (GSt)
* General Living Systems (GLS)
* General Systems Approach (GSA)
* General Systems and Cybernetics (GSC)
* General Information Systems (GIS)
* General Systems Networks (GSN) This was, as he said, an open-ended list that might become expended as additional slants are born and new applications of General Systems come into existence by everyday experience.

Systems methodologies

In "Information and data in systems" in 1976 Samuelson has compiled a list of 45 logical and chronological steps, which can be distinguished in various methodologies. This list of sometimes overlapping states with the first five steps starting with: Ultimate objectives, goals statement, constraints, Needs and requirements to definition of the project or problem. [Lars Skyttner (1996), General Systems Theory: An Introduction. p.422-423.]
* From idea towards specification are another nine steps: Idea and inception, conception of solution, conceptual design with a functional model, feasibility study, General systems proposal and master plan, object system analysis, observation of existing systems, alternative designs outlined, identifying alternative technologies, preliminaries and design evaluation towards specification.
* The methodological steps continue with the information systems development, starting with: information systems macrostructuring, information study, detail study, decision analysis, data construction and microstructuring, towards file structuring, component design, simulation and conversion towards an experiment with a pilot system and empirical testing of a pilot evaluation. After the selection of the systems, implementing, installation, testing and evaluation Samuelson determines ten operational steps with the operations: training, maintenance, organizing production resources, product distribution, disposition of waste, result reporting and follow-up review, towards redesign and cessation.

Publications

* 1968. "Mechanized information storage, retrieval and dissemination". Proceedings of the F.I.D./I.F.I.P. joint conference, Rome, June 14-17,1967. Edited by Kjell Samuelson.
* 1969. "Automated international information networks". Systems design concepts, goal-setting and priorities. FID/TM Panel at the ASIS meeting in San Francisco, 2 October, 1969.
* 1972. "Systems, cybernetics and information networks". by K. Samuelson ... [et al.] . Compiled by FID/TM, Stockholm, Sweden.
* 1976. "Information and data in systems". With Börje Langefors. New York : Petrocelli/Charter.
* 1976. "Information systems and networks : design and planning guidelines of informatics for managers, decision makers and systems analysts." With Harold Borko and G. X. Amey. Amsterdam : North-Holland Pub. Co.
* 1978. "Informatics by general systems and cybernetics : a structured methodology for design, anasynthesis, and usage". Stockholm : The Royal Institute of Technology.

References