The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines system analysis as "the process of studying a procedure or business in order to identify its goals and purposes and create systems and procedures that will achieve them in an efficient way". Another view sees system analysis as a problem-solving technique that breaks down a system into its component pieces for the purpose of the studying how well those component parts work and interact to accomplish their purpose. The field of system analysis relates closely to requirements analysis or to operations research. It is also "an explicit formal inquiry carried out to help a decision maker identify a better course of action and make a better decision than she might otherwise have made." The terms and stem from Greek, meaning "to take apart" and "to put together," respectively. These terms are used in many scientific disciplines, from mathematics and logic to economics 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," while synthesis means "the procedure by which we combine separate elements or components in order to form a coherent whole." System analysis researchers apply methodology 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 is an interdisciplinary field 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 precursor to creating or enhancing a database. There are a number of different approaches to system analysis. When a computer-based information system is developed, system analysis 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
Gauging how the end-users would operate the system, 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 object-oriented analysis.
