Systems Analysis

Abstract

In principle, a concept is the best response to one or more tangible needs. A comprehensive approach implies that one must first identify the relevant needs as well as the corresponding functional requirements to be met by the concept in the context in which it will fit.1 The process that leads to identification of a project concept should be as open as possible, in the sense that it’s not excessively constrained to specific operational solutions or tied to a predetermined choice. The process should facilitate unbiased identification of various alternatives.

Systems analysis is a collective term for various methodological approaches to find an optimum solution to a problem. Instead of springing from an assumed best solution, systems analysis considers the problem to be solved in its context, described as a system, and asks which conditions must be fulfilled for the system to function. The solution is that which best satisfies the conditions. Such an open approach makes systems analysis a useful tool as an initial approximation on the road from a problem to a successful project.