Meaning & use
system analysis
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablecomputingbusiness
The study of an organization's or computer system's parts and processes to understand how it works and find ways to improve it.
Grammar: Usually uncountable as a general activity: system analysis is the first step.
Patterns
- carry out system analysis
- system analysis of something
The team began with a system analysis of the company's billing process.
System analysis showed that orders were delayed at the approval stage.
She studied system analysis before becoming a software designer.
nouncountabletechnical
A particular piece of such work, a written assessment of how a system performs and what it needs.
Grammar: Countable when it means a specific report: a system analysis of the hospital's records.
Patterns
- do a system analysis
- a system analysis of something
The consultant delivered a system analysis of the school's network.
A detailed system analysis cost less than replacing the software.
We requested a system analysis before upgrading the servers.
Word forms
| plural | system analyses |
|---|
Common combinations
- carry out system analysis
- Engineers carry out system analysis before any redesign.
- detailed system analysis
- A detailed system analysis revealed several weaknesses.
- system analysis and design
- The course covers system analysis and design.
- perform a system analysis
- She performed a system analysis of the warehouse.
- system analysis report
- The system analysis report is due on Friday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- systems analysis
- Systems analysis is the more common form of the same term, particularly in textbooks and job titles.
- requirements analysis
- Requirements analysis is one part of the process that focuses on what users need, so it is narrower.
- audit
- An audit checks whether rules or numbers are correct, while system analysis seeks to understand and improve how a system works.
- evaluation
- Evaluation judges how good something is, whereas system analysis breaks it into parts to see how it functions.
Opposites
Word family
- analyst noun
- a person who studies and explains something
- analyze verb
- to examine something in detail
- analytical adjective
- using careful examination and logic
- systematic adjective
- done in an organized, step-by-step way
Commonly confused: system analysis or system design?
system analysis vs system design
System analysis studies what a system does and needs; system design plans how to build the improved version.
Practice
Before building new software, the company hired a consultant to carry out a ___ of the existing order process.
Choose one answer.
System analysis means studying how a current system works so it can be improved. The other choices are not studies of a process.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “system analysis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.