Rethinking Systems Analysis and Design

Systems analysis and design have solved many problems, but they have also created many problems. This unique book tackles crucial analysis and design issues that are glossed over in conventional texts. It recognizes that while many problems are solved with systems analysis and design, many problems are also created.

Using a short, highly readable essay format, Rethinking Systems Analysis & Design presents readers with both the logical and the more intuitive aspects of the analysis/design process. The book is intended as an alternative for those who must deal with the less structured processes of analysis and design.

A witty and illustrative fable concludes each of this engaging book's seven parts. Among the informative topics are
- mastering complexity
- general systems thinking
- observing and interviewing
- trading off quality versus cost
- understanding the designer's mind
- design philosophy.

Computerworld said, "This isn't just another systems analysis and design book, but one about the problems and possible solutions encountered when implementing a structured approach."

Managing End-User Computing said: "Almost everything in this book translates directly into your own environment. . . . [You'll] find more wonderful stories, anecdotes, and fables in this book than you're likely to find even in a book on a more interesting subject than systems analysis!"

The International Journal of General Systems wrote: "For over twenty years, Gerald Weinberg has been enlivening the often solemn scene of design methodology with his distillations of experience into expertise. His collections of essays, anecdotes, and consolidated wisdom are always inspiring and entertaining: his new work in this tradition will be good reading not only for designers but for anyone wanting to understand design, particularly the users and managers of information systems. . . . Until we do have the Grand Unified Theory of Design (if this is even possible), life lessons such as those in this book will continue to be the most useful guide there is, both for introducing prospective practitioners and for reminding the old hands of what they may occasionally forget."

An Amazon.com reviewer concluded, "This is a wonderful and timeless book. Mr. Weinberg's style, wit and intellectual breadth is a rare treat in the technology world, dominated by undertrained and narrow-minded professionals. It is a pleasure to read any of his writings and this book is no exception.