Systems analysis involves studying a business or procedure to identify goals and create efficient systems and procedures, often viewed as a problem-solving technique that breaks systems into components to evaluate their interactions. Closely related to requirements analysis and operations research, it supports decision makers in choosing better courses of action. Rooted in analysis and synthesis—the processes of breaking apart and combining elements—systems analysis applies methodology from various scientific disciplines. It’s essential in fields like systems engineering, an interdisciplinary field focused on designing and managing complex engineering projects.
Information technology
The development of a computer-based information system includes a system analysis phase. This helps produce the data model, a precursor to creating or enhancing a database. There are several different approaches to system analysis. When a computer-based information system is developed, system analysis (according to the Waterfall model) 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 cases 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
Main article: Policy analysis
The discipline of what is today known as policy analysis originated from the application of system analysis when it was first instituted by United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.4
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 automation upgrades.5 Employment utilizing system analysis include system analyst, business analyst, manufacturing engineer, 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). 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.
See also
| Related topics | Types of system analysis | System thinkers |
Selected publications
- Bentley, Lonnie D., Kevin C. Dittman, and Jeffrey L. Whitten. System analysis and design methods. (1986, 1997, 2004).
- Hawryszkiewycz, Igor T. Introduction to system analysis and design. Prentice-Hall PTR, 1994.
- Whitten, Jeffery L., Lonnie D. Bentley, and Kevin C. Dittman. Fundamentals of system analysis and design methods. (2004).
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Systems analysis. Look up systems analysis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.- A useful set of guides and a case study about the practical application of business and system analysis methods
- A comprehensive description of the discipline of system analysis from Simmons College, Boston, MA, USA (Archive of original from www.simmons.edu)
- System Analysis and Design introductory level lessons
References
System Analysis and Design for the Global Enterprise by Lonnie D. Bentley p.160 7th edition https://www.amazon.com/Systems-Analysis-Design-Global-Enterprise/dp/0071107665 ↩
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS https://web.archive.org/web/20070822025602/http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/SYSTEM_ANALY.html ↩
Tom Ritchey, Analysis and Synthesis. http://www.swemorph.com/pdf/anaeng-r.pdf ↩
Radin, Beryl A. (2000). Beyond Machiavelli : policy analysis comes of age. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. ISBN 0878407731. OCLC 41834855. 0878407731 ↩
Géza HUSI: Mechatronics Control Systems ↩