Optical analysis systems and methods that utilize integrated computational elements (“ICE”) may be useful for characterizing dry cements and determining cement slurry additives suitable for use therewith. For example, a method may include optically interacting a dry cement with an ICE configured to detect a characteristic of the dry cement; generating a plurality of output signals corresponding to the characteristic of the dry cement detected by the ICE; receiving and processing the plurality of output signals with a signal processor to yield a value for the characteristic of the dry cement; and determining at least one of a composition and a concentration of a cement slurry additive for use in combination with the dry cement based on the value of the characteristic of the dry cement.