The formal model of an information system proposed here consists of a set of concepts that describe its structure and behavior, the definition of its static and dynamic properties, and predictions concerning its behavior. The authors emphasize rigorously describing the internal structure of a system. A good system decomposition is declared when a well-defined internal transformation has been induced in each subsystem for each system transformation.

The necessity for this formal model is based on the premise that current system formalisms do not precisely define the mapping between the external and internal view of a system or, stated in the traditional manner, what is to be accomplished and how it is to be accomplished. This premise is weakened by the fact that an abundance of literature exists on this very matter, dating as far back as the 1970s. Despite the author’s emphasis on defining a “good” system decomposition, this work does not illustrate how to devise one.