Application of concept mapping to systems engineering

A graphical tool called concept mapping, which provides an easy means of organizing, communicating, and validating information in the early definition stages of a system study, is presented. Concept mapping is based on the premise that all knowledge can be represented by relationships between fundamental concepts. The concept map is a graphical representation that identifies the fundamental concepts and explicitly shows their relationships. The potential for using concept mapping in systems engineering is discussed, and an example application is given