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Systems of systems (SoS) are interconnected systems that include human, social, organizational, and technological elements. These complex systems have increased in today’s digital society; the elements in a SoS are called constituent systems (CS) and are characterized by managerial and operationally independent interactions to achieve a common goal. Such a goal could be lower cost, robustness, or greater capability. Examples of SoS in modern society include systems in the health, aviation, transport, crisis management, and energy sectors and smart cities. SoS are dynamic and evolve. This dynamic and evolving nature of SoS, coupled with interactions between CS and their managerial and operational independence, poses challenges for risk analysis. Traditional risk analysis methods tend to focus on individual components and known probabilities. This renders them inadequate for the complexities of risk that could arise during CS interactions and can emerge as SoS evolves. The main goal of the thesis is to contribute towards a general process for systematic risk analysis of interconnected societal systems, where modeling methods and tools support each process step. Using a non-traditional approach to safety, the System-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP), this thesis validates its suitability for risk analysis in SoS. Results indicated that the approach supported risk analysis in SoS, however, various risk sources with SoS characteristics, such as dynamic structure and latent risks, are not sufficiently handled in STAMP. This thesis demonstrates and proposes a process broadening approach for SoS risk identification, analysis, and modeling adapted for SoS. The Thesis validated this approach by analyzing and modeling risk for a wildfire and COVID-19 management SoS. Further, the thesis contributes to the body of knowledge of a process for identifying risks in SoS. This process demonstrates how broader sources could be identified in SoS and the thesis contributes to knowledge of methods for SoS risk analysis. This systematic identification and analysis of risk in SoS contributes to a conceptual framework for risk analysis in SoS. Furthermore, through a systematic literature review, the thesis contributes to the state of the art in SoS risk analysis, management, and governance providing indications to researchers with areas for research in SoS risk analysis. The thesis enhances the understanding of risk in SoS by bridging the gap between the literature and practice, for risk analysis in non-traditional systems such as SoS. Future work aims to create a general process for systematic risk analysis of interconnected societal systems. 

A socio-technical system of systems (SoS) is a collaboration of independently operated and managed systems. These constituent systems join the SoS to work together for a common goal: to achieve positive emergent behaviors such as greater capability, efficiency, resource utilization, reliability, and robustness. To achieve such a goal, an SoS needs to be well-managed with mitigation plans for all system risks. However, existing risk management strategies were developed for individual, non-integrated systems and are therefore inadequate for use with SoS. This paper uses the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden as a case study for exploring risk analysis for SoS management. We performed a risk analysis of this SoS based on STAMP (System-Theoretical Accident Model and Processes), an existing method from the safety domain, as part of developing a preliminary risk analysis process for practitioners. Preliminary results reveal that extended SoS structures, uncertainty-driven decision-making, emerging behavior, and changes in trust, policy, and legislation pose significant challenges. The study's contribution is that our findings provide a knowledge base to act as a guide for risk management of SoS. Applying a method for safety analysis to crisis management also extends the body of knowledge on methods for SoS risk analysis.

Managing a system can be critical for its successful functioning. This is especially crucial for the socio-technical systems of systems (SoS) that characterize many of modern society's critical operations. However, the management of SoS becomes complex as systems are increasingly interconnected and the dependence among connected systems intensifies. This paper explores the current state of the art on SoS management and governance from a risk management perspective. Our findings show a higher focus on SoS management; however, many studies do not holistically deal with the SoS. Moreover, our findings indicate fewer studies in SoS governance. Hence there is still a research gap. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by adding insight into how risk management fits in these domains and provides direction on the possible areas of mitigating risks.

Crisis management (CM) is facing new challenges due to the increasing complexity of contemporary society. To mitigate a crisis, it is often necessary for a collection of independent systems, people, and organizations to cooperate. These collaborating entities constitute an interconnected socio-technical system of systems (SoS). An important question is how a CM SoS should be constructed to minimize the risk of failure and accurately handle a crisis. SoS pose new challenges in analysing risk during interactions. This paper investigates whether the risk analysis method STAMP (System-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes) is suitable for SoS, using a forest fire rescue operation case study. Results show characteristics of various risk sources and identify some SoS characteristics, such as dynamic structure and latent risks, that are not sufficiently handled in STAMP. The study further contributes to the body of knowledge by presenting potential directions for research on SoS risk assessment methods.