systems analysis

In information processing, a phase of systems engineering. The principal objective of the systems-analysis phase is the specification of what the system needs to do to meet the requirements of end users. In the systems-design phase such specifications are converted to a hierarchy of charts that define the data required and the processes to be carried out on the data so that they can be expressed as instructions of a computer program. Many information systems are implemented with generic software, rather than with such custom-built programs.

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