Systems analysis is the study of sets of
interactInteraction is a kind of action that occurs as two or more objects have an effect upon one another. The idea of a two-way effect is essential in the concept of interaction, as opposed to a one-way causal effect...
ing
entitiesAn entity is something that has a distinct, separate existence, although it need not be a material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually regarded as entities. In general, there is also no presumption that an entity is animate.An entity could be viewed as a set...
, including computer systems analysis. This field is closely related to requirements analysis or
operations researchOperations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
. It is also "an explicit formal inquiry carried out to help someone (referred to as the decision maker) identify a better course of action and make a better decision than he might otherwise have made."
Overview
The terms
analysisAnalysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle , though analysis as a formal concept is a relatively recent development.The word is...
and synthesis come from Greek where they mean respectively "to take apart" and "to put together". These terms are in scientific disciplines from mathematics and logic to economy and psychology to denote similar investigative procedures. Analysis is defined as the procedure by which we break down an intellectual or substantial whole into parts. Synthesis is defined as the procedure by which we combine separate elements or components in order to form a coherent whole. Systems analysis researchers apply
methodologyMethodology is generally a guideline for solving a problem, with specificcomponents such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools . It can be defined also as follows:...
to the analysis of systems involved to form an overall picture.
System analysis is used in every field where there is a work of developing something. Analysis can also be defined as a series of components that perform organic function together.
Information technology
The development of a computer-based information system includes a systems analysis phase which produces or enhances the
data modelA data model in software engineering is an abstract model, that documents and organizes the business data for communication between team members and is used as a plan for developing applications, specifically how data is stored and accessed....
which itself is a precursor to creating or enhancing a
databaseA database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
(see
Christopher J. DateChris Date is an independent author, lecturer, researcher, and consultant, specializing in relational database theory.-Biography:Chris Date attended High Wycombe Royal Grammar School from 1951 to 1958 and received his BA in Mathematics from Cambridge University in 1962. He entered the computer...
"An Introduction to Database Systems"). There are a number of different approaches to system analysis. When a computer-based information system is developed, systems analysis (according to the
Waterfall modelThe waterfall model is a sequential design process, often used in software development processes, in which progress is seen as flowing steadily downwards through the phases of Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Construction, Testing, Production/Implementation and Maintenance.The waterfall...
) would constitute the following steps:
- The development of a feasibility study, involving determining whether a project is economically, socially, technologically and organizationally feasible.
- Conducting fact-finding measures, designed to ascertain the requirements of the system's end-users. These typically span 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 etc.
Another view outlines a phased approach to the process. This approach breaks systems analysis into 5 phases:
- Scope definition
- Problem analysis
- Requirements analysis
- Logical design
- Decision analysis
Use caseIn software engineering and systems engineering, a use case is a description of steps or actions between a user and a software system which leads the user towards something useful...
s are a widely-used systems analysis modeling tool 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 out of object-oriented analysis; however, their use as a modeling tool has become common in many other methodologies for system analysis and design.
Practitioners
Practitioners of systems 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. Employment utilizing systems analysis include
systems analystA systems analyst researches problems, plans solutions, recommends software and systems, and coordinates development to meet business or other requirements. They will be familiar with multiple variety of programming languages, operating systems, and computer hardware platforms...
,
business analystA Business Analyst analyzes the organization and design of businesses, government departments, and non-profit organizations; BAs also assess business models and their integration with technology.-Levels:...
,
manufacturing engineerIndustrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
,
enterprise architectEnterprise architects are practitioners of enterprise architecture; an information technology management discipline that operates within organizations.-Role of enterprise architects:...
, etc.
While practitioners of systems analysis can be called upon to create new systems, they often modify, expand or document existing systems (
processesIn engineering a process is a set of interrelated tasks that, together, transform inputs into outputs. These tasks may be carried out by people, nature, or machines using resources; so an engineering process must be considered in the context of the agents carrying out the tasks, and the resource...
,
proceduresA procedure is a sequence of actions or operations which have to be executed in the same manner in order to always obtain the same result under the same circumstances ....
and
methodsMethodology is generally a guideline for solving a problem, with specificcomponents such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools . It can be defined also as follows:...
).
A set of components interact with each other to accomplish some specific purpose. Systems are all around us. Our body is itself a system. A business is also a system. People, money, machine, market and material are the components of business system that work together that achieve the common goal of the organization.
See also
Types of Systems analysis
- Accident Analysis
Accident analysis is carried out in order to determine the cause or causes of an accident or series of accidents so as to prevent further incidents of a similar kind. It is also known as accident investigation. It may be performed by a range of experts, including forensic scientists, forensic...
- Business analysis
Business analysis is the discipline of identifying business needs and determining solutions to business problems. Solutions often include a systems development component, but may also consist of process improvement, organizational change or strategic planning and policy development...
- Logico-linguistic modeling
Logico-linguistic modeling is a method for building knowledge-based systems with a learning capability using Conceptual Models from Soft systems methodology, modal predicate logic and the Prolog artificial intelligence language.- Overview:...
- Morphological analysis
Morphological Analysis or General Morphological Analysis is a method developed by Fritz Zwicky for exploring all the possible solutions to a multi-dimensional, non-quantified problem complex.-Overview:...
- Soft systems methodology
- Software prototyping
*Software prototyping, refers to the activity of creating prototypes of software applications, i.e., incomplete versions of the software program being developed...
- Spiral model
The spiral model is a software development process combining elements of both design and prototyping-in-stages, in an effort to combine advantages of top-down and bottom-up concepts. Also known as the spiral lifecycle model , it is a systems development method used in information technology...
- Waterfall model
The waterfall model is a sequential design process, often used in software development processes, in which progress is seen as flowing steadily downwards through the phases of Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Construction, Testing, Production/Implementation and Maintenance.The waterfall...
Related topics
- System architecture
- Software architecture
The software architecture of a system is the set of structures needed to reason about the system, which comprise software elements, relations among them, and properties of both...
- Enterprise architecture
An enterprise architecture is a rigorous description of the structure of an enterprise, which comprises enterprise components , the externally visible properties of those components, and the relationships between them...
- Systems analyst
A systems analyst researches problems, plans solutions, recommends software and systems, and coordinates development to meet business or other requirements. They will be familiar with multiple variety of programming languages, operating systems, and computer hardware platforms...
- Systems design
Systems design is the process of defining the architecture, components, modules, interfaces, and data for a system to satisfy specified requirements. One could see it as the application of systems theory to product development...
- Policy analysis
Policy analysis is "determining which of various alternative policies will most achieve a given set of goals in light of the relations between the policies and the goals". However, policy analysis can be divided into two major fields. Analysis of policy is analytical and descriptive—i.e., it...
- Program designer
A program designer is the person responsible for the overall design of an internet or interactive project. Relying on a broad base of visual, media and computing skills, the program designer shapes the project's look and functionality from initial stages to completed project...
- Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
- Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
Systems thinkers
- Gregory Bateson
Gregory Bateson was an English anthropologist, social scientist, linguist, visual anthropologist, semiotician and cyberneticist whose work intersected that of many other fields. He had a natural ability to recognize order and pattern in the universe...
- Stewart Brand
Stewart Brand is an American writer, best known as editor of the Whole Earth Catalog. He founded a number of organizations including The WELL, the Global Business Network, and the Long Now Foundation...
- Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....
- Robert S. McNamara
- Stafford Beer
- Gordon Pask
Andrew Gordon Speedie Pask was an English cybernetician and psychologist who made significant contributions to cybernetics, instructional psychology, experimental epistemology and educational technology....
- Ludwig von Bertalanffy
Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy was an Austrian-born biologist known as one of the founders of general systems theory . GST is an interdisciplinary practice that describes systems with interacting components, applicable to biology, cybernetics, and other fields...
External links