Systems analysis is "the process of studying a procedure or

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

to identify its goal and purposes and create

system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...

s and procedures that will efficiently achieve them". Another view sees system analysis as a

problem-solving Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...

technique that breaks down a system into its component pieces, and how well those parts work and interact to accomplish their purpose. The field of system analysis relates closely to

requirements analysis In systems engineering and software engineering, requirements analysis focuses on the tasks that determine the needs or conditions to meet the new or altered product or project, taking account of the possibly conflicting requirements of the ...

or to

operations research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve deci ...

. It is also "an explicit formal inquiry carried out to help a

decision maker In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be either rati ...

identify a better course of action and make a better decision than they might otherwise have made." The terms

analysis Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...

and synthesis stems from Greek, meaning "to take apart" and "to put together," respectively. These terms are used in many

scientific discipline The branches of science, also referred to as sciences, scientific fields or scientific disciplines, are commonly divided into three major groups: *Formal sciences: the study of formal systems, such as those under the branches of logic and mat ...

s, from mathematics and logic to economics and psychology, to denote similar investigative procedures. The analysis is defined as "the procedure by which we break down an intellectual or substantial whole into parts," while synthesis means "the procedure by which we combine separate elements or components to form a coherent whole." System analysis researchers apply

methodology In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...

to the systems involved, forming an overall picture. System analysis is used in every field where something is developed. Analysis can also be a series of components that perform organic functions together, such as system engineering.

System engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinking ...

is an

interdisciplinary field Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed.

Information technology

The development of a computer-based information system includes a system analysis phase. This helps produce the

data model A data model is an abstract model that organizes elements of data and standardizes how they relate to one another and to the properties of real-world entities. For instance, a data model may specify that the data element representing a car be co ...

, a precursor to creating or enhancing a

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...

. There are several different approaches to system analysis. When a computer-based information system is developed, system analysis (according to the

Waterfall model The waterfall model is a breakdown of project activities into linear sequential phases, meaning they are passed down onto each other, where each phase depends on the deliverables of the previous one and corresponds to a specialization of tasks. ...

) would constitute the following steps: * The development of a feasibility study: determining whether a project is economically, socially, technologically, and organizationally feasible * Fact-finding measures, designed to ascertain the requirements of the system's end-users (typically involving interviews, questionnaires, or visual observations of work on the existing system) * Gauging how the end-users would operate the system (in terms of general experience in using computer hardware or software), what the system would be used for, and so on Another view outlines a phased approach to the process. This approach breaks system analysis into 5 phases: * Scope Definition: Clearly defined objectives and requirements necessary to meet a project's requirements as defined by its stakeholders * Problem analysis: the process of understanding problems and needs and arriving at solutions that meet them * Requirements analysis: determining the conditions that need to be met * Logical design: looking at the logical relationship among the objects * Decision analysis: making a final decision

Use case In software and systems engineering, the phrase use case is a polyseme with two senses: # A usage scenario for a piece of software; often used in the plural to suggest situations where a piece of software may be useful. # A potential scenario ...

s are widely used system analysis modeling tools for identifying and expressing the functional requirements of a system. Each use case is a business scenario or event for which the system must provide a defined response. Use cases evolved from the object-oriented analysis.

Policy analysis

The discipline of what is today known as

policy analysis Policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science to enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected ...

originated from the application of system analysis when it was first instituted by

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...

Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the Lis ...

Practitioners

Practitioners of system analysis are often called up to dissect systems that have grown haphazardly to determine the current components of the system. This was shown during the year 2000 re-engineering effort as business and manufacturing processes were examined as part of the

Y2K The year 2000 problem, also known as the Y2K problem, Y2K scare, millennium bug, Y2K bug, Y2K glitch, Y2K error, or simply Y2K refers to potential computer errors related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates in and after ...

automation upgrades.Géza HUSI: Mechatronics Control Systems Employment utilizing system analysis include system analyst,

business analyst A business analyst (BA) is a person who processes, interprets and documents business processes, products, services and software through analysis of data. The role of a business analyst is to ensure business efficiency increases through their kno ...

manufacturing engineer Manufacturing engineering or production engineering is a branch of professional engineering that shares many common concepts and ideas with other fields of engineering such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, and industrial engineering. Manufa ...

, systems architect, enterprise architect, software architect, etc. While practitioners of system analysis can be called upon to create new systems, they often modify, expand, or document existing systems ( processes, procedures, and

methods Method ( grc, μέθοδος, methodos) literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In recent centuries it more often means a prescribed process for completing a task. It may refer to: *Scien ...

). Researchers and practitioners rely on system analysis. Activity system analysis has been already applied to various research and practice studies including business management, educational reform, educational technology, etc.

References

Selected publications

Bentley, Lonnie D. Lonnie D. Bentley (born 1957) is an American computer scientist, and Professor and former Department Head of Computer and Information Technology at Purdue University, known with Kevin C. Dittman and Jeffrey L. Whitten as co-author of the textboo ...

, Kevin C. Dittman, and

Jeffrey L. Whitten Jeffrey L. Whitten (born ) is an American computer scientist, and professor of information technology at Purdue University, known with Kevin C. Dittman and Lonnie D. Bentley as co-author of the textbook ''Systems Analysis and Design Methods'', whic ...

. ''System analysis and design methods.'' (1986, 1997, 2004). * Hawryszkiewycz, Igor T. ''Introduction to system analysis and design.'' Prentice-Hall PTR, 1994. *

Whitten, Jeffery L. Jeffrey L. Whitten (born ) is an American computer scientist, and professor of information technology at Purdue University, known with Kevin C. Dittman and Lonnie D. Bentley as co-author of the textbook ''Systems Analysis and Design Methods'', whi ...

Lonnie D. Bentley Lonnie D. Bentley (born 1957) is an American computer scientist, and Professor and former Department Head of Computer and Information Technology at Purdue University, known with Kevin C. Dittman and Jeffrey L. Whitten as co-author of the textbook ...

, and Kevin C. Dittman. ''Fundamentals of system analysis and design methods.'' (2004).

External links