The Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK)*

Systems Analysis Approach

From SEBoK Wiki:

According to the Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (1973), analysis is the resolution of anything complex into its simple elements.

This article briefly discusses the nature of systems analysis using a systems approach. Any of the activities described below may need to be considered concurrently through the systems' life, as discussed in the Applying the Systems Approach article. Systems analysis assumes that the problem or opportunity that the system is intended to address has previously been identified and understood or, more likely for any non-trivial system, is being identified and understood concurrently with system analysis activities. The elements of system analysis discussed below are: Identification of the Elements ofa System, Division of Elements into Smaller Elements, Grouping of Elements, Identification of the Boundary of a System, Identification of the Function of Each Element, and Identification of the Interactions Among the Elements.

SEBoK Development:

The first version of the SEBoK – a prototype labeled Version 0.25 – was released as a PDF document for limited review in September 2010. A total of 3135 comments were received on this document from 114 reviewers across 17 countries. The author team reviewed these comments, paying particular attention to the reviews related to content and highlighting diversity within the community. With this input, the authors began development of Version 0.5 – the current draft version – believed to be close in structure to the final version. In January 2011, the authors agreed to transition from a document-based SEBoK to a wiki-based SEBoK, with the intent to make the information readily accessible worldwide, provide additional methods for searching and navigating the content, and provide a forum for the community to offer feedback while keeping the content of the SEBoK stable between versions. For more information, please see the SEBoK Evolution article.