Systems Analysis Current Page

Systems Theory

A system is composed of interacting parts that operate together to achieve some objective or purpose.

a system is intended to "absorb" inputs, process them in some way and produce outputs

outputs are defined by goals, objectives or common purposes

There are five components that need to be considered when defining the system: people, organization, data, technology and type of decision.

In order to understand the relationship between inputs, outputs and processes, you need to understand the environment in which all of this occurs.

The environment represents everything that is important to understanding the functioning of the system, but is not part of the system.

The environment it is that part of the world that can be ignored in the analysis except for its interaction with the system.

It includes: competition, people, technology, capital, raw materials, data, regulation and opportunities.

The boundary defines the difference between the environment and the system; the correct boundary is a function of the problem under consideration.

One way to define a system is to work backwards from the definition of outputs to that of inputs.

Another way is to work forward by completing a stimulus-response analysis.

Finally, one can examine the essential transformations of the system.

Of course, the subsystems (or the interacting components) must each be defined using a similar process.

Some of the tools and processes we will use this semester are illustrated below.