One embodiment of the invention comprises a system and method method for creating a sub-system in a measurement system. A user may group together various components of the measurement system into a sub-system. Grouping a subset of components together in the sub-system may enable the subset of components to be treated as an atomic unit in various ways. In particular, the subset of components may be displayed as a single unit. For example, in one embodiment the user may be able to request the sub-system to be collapsed into a single icon. In response the individual components within the sub-system may be hidden from view, and a single sub-system icon representing the entire sub-system may be displayed. Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a method for grouping together a plurality of measurement components into a single icon, where each measurement component represents a measurement to be acquired by the measurement system.