Exploring Systems Analysis with Markov Chains

Pelin Okutan
3 min readFeb 6, 2024

In the realm of complex systems, understanding and predicting behavior is paramount. From financial markets to biological processes, numerous systems exhibit dynamic behavior that can be challenging to comprehend using traditional analytical methods alone. This is where Markov chains come into play, offering a powerful tool for modeling and analyzing stochastic processes. This story was written with the assistance of an AI writing program.

What are Markov Chains?

Markov chains are mathematical models used to describe the evolution of a system over time in a probabilistic manner. The key principle underlying Markov chains is the Markov property, which states that the future state of a system depends only on its current state and is independent of its past states. This property simplifies the modeling process and makes it particularly useful for systems with memoryless behavior.

At its core, a Markov chain consists of a set of states and transition probabilities between these states. These transitions occur according to certain rules or probabilities, which determine the likelihood of moving from one state to another at each time step.

Applications of Markov Chains in Systems Analysis

--

--

Pelin Okutan

PhD Candidate & Researcher & Data Scientist & Engineer & Risk Analyst & Language Enthusiast