Engineering analysis
Engineering analysis when applied in the context of engineered systems involves the application of scientific analytic principles and processes to reveal the properties and state of the system. Engineering analysis is decompositional, it proceeds by separating the engineering design into the mechanisms of operation or failure, analysing or estimating each component of the operation or failure mechanism in isolation, and re-combining the components according to basic physical principles and natural laws 1.
1 Baecher, G, B., Pate, E. M., and de Neufville, R. (1979) “Risk of dam failure in benefit/cost analysis”, Water Resources Research, 16(3), 449-456.