Systems analysis is a broad term applied to the study of real-world processes. It involves the careful examination of systems -- entities, organisms, organizations, beings and things. Systems analysis breaks problems associated with entities down into their component parts and relationships in order to formulate a conceptual definition of the situation. The purpose is to develop “an overall understanding of optimal solutions to executive type problems” [Churchman et al. 1957, p. 7]. The resulting conceptual definition is then often translated into a Web site, a process-support system, or a mathematical model. Systems analysis has been applied to complex, dynamic systems — both physical and social — such as businesses, governments, and computer software, as well as to economic, weapons, mechanical, and manufacturing systems. While it is ultimately a subjective form of innovation, systems analysis is based on a growing set of key theories: systems, cybernetics, mathematical...
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University of Dallas, Irving, TX, USA
Sue A. Conger
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA
Richard O. Mason
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Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Saul I. Gass
Robert H. Smith School of Business and Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Michael C. Fu
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Conger, S.A., Mason, R.O. [2013]. Systems Analysis. In: Gass, S.I., Fu, M.C. [eds] Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science. Springer, Boston, MA. //doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1153-7_1032