Diagnostic systems detect and evaluate the deviations between the actual and the target state or between the occurred behavior and the target behavior of a system. The basis of this evaluation is information based on recorded data or models. Using the methods of model building and system analysis developed at the IOSB, for example, characteristic values are determined which allow statements about the overall state of a process by classifying information about the behavior as normal or abnormal and by step-by-step drawing conclusions about the underlying causes and errors.