A Broad View of Systems Analysis and Design

This article presents a broad view of systems analysis and design (SA&D) research. Although SA&D is a critical area of research in the information systems field, relatively little such research has been published in leading IS journals. To point toward increased research opportunities for SA&D work, this article presents a framework that illustrates the broad range of activities within the SA&D area. This framework contrasts with narrower views that consider SA&D to be concerned primarily with software development. The framework positions SA&D activities in a two-dimensional space. We identify theoretical and practical research issues that apply across the full range of SA&D activities as well as issues that apply to specific situations. Research opportunities in SA&D are described and discussed