Structured Analysis and Design Technique (SADT) is a [[diagram]]matic notation fordesigned constructingspecifically ato sketchhelp forpeople adescribe softwareand applicationunderstand [[system]]s<ref name="sadt">D. Marca, C. McGowan, Structured Analysis and Design Technique, McGraw-Hill, 1987, ISBN 0-07-040235-3</ref>. It offers building blocks to represent entities and activities, and a variety of arrows to relate boxes. These boxes and arrows have an associated informal [[semantics]].<ref name ="JM04"> John Mylopoulos (2004). [http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~jm/2507S/Notes04/SADT.pdf Conceptual Modelling III. Structured Analysis and Design Technique (SADT)]. Retrieved 21 Sep 2008.</ref> SADT can be used as a functional analysis tool of a given process, using successive levels of details. The SADT method allows to define user needs for IT developments, which is very used in the industrial Information Systems, but also to explain and to present an activity’s manufacturing processes, procedures.<ref name="FL">[http://www.free-logistics.com/index.php/Download-document/22-SADT_eng.html SADT] at Free-logisitcs.com. Retrieved 21 Sep 2008.</ref>
The SADT supplies a specific functional view of any enterprise by describing the functions and their relationships in a company. These functions fulfill the objectives of a company, such as sales, order planning, product design, part manufacturing, and human resource management. The SADT can depict simple functional relationships here and can reflect data and control flow relationships between different functions. The [[IDEF0]] formalism is based on SADT, developed by [[Douglas T. Ross]] in 1985.<ref>Gavriel Salvendy (2001). ''Handbook of Industrial Engineering: Technology and Operations Management.''. p.508.</ref>
