System analysis seeks to understand a System so that outcomes of that system can be improved by shifting the system into better behavior patterns.
The best way to deduce the system’s purpose is to watch for a while to see how the system behaves1. The behavior of a system cannot be known just by knowing the elements of which the system is made.
Many of the interconnections in systems operate through the Stocks and Flows of information. Information holds systems together and plays a great role in determining how they operate1
A diverse system with multiple pathways and redundancies is more stable and less vulnerable to external shock than a uniform system with little diversity.
1. Meadows, D. H. Thinking in Systems: A Primer. (Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, Vt, 2008).