SAD1 Assignment 2

Last December 11, 2009 we had our interview with the head system analyst working in the Davao Light and Power Company Bajada branch. When we got there we were welcomed warm fully. They accommodated us and gave very comfortable seats. Our interviewee was very kind enough to answer all of our questions because we did not ask him only for a certain topics but various topics according to the other assignments in this subject. We gave him a questionnaire to serve as a basis for the question. Well actually my group mates made the questionnaire and we were assigned to take notes. However, just recently my cell phone got lost and sad to say that all of my jotted down notes were stored or saved in my cell phone. Now the last option for me is to base my answers on my memory and on the notes of my group mates who also took notes from the interview. As what I have remembered our head system analyst interviewee said that a system analyst, based on his experience, must have good communication skills, must have good technical skills, must know how to model process and must know the process within the company or the organization. He/she must also know the business flows and every operation of the company or the organization. Their team is actually composed of system analyst, not to mention that one of his subordinate or assistant analyst is a student from the University of Southeastern Philippines and their counterpart or should I say their partner is the development team or the team that are composed of the programmers that develop a certain system for the organization.

As what is defined in the previous assignment in System Analysis and Design 1 a definition from Wikipedia states that a systems analyst is responsible for researching, planning, coordinating and recommending software and system choices to meet an organization's business requirements. The systems analyst plays a vital role in the systems development process. A successful systems analyst must acquire four skills: analytical, technical, managerial, and interpersonal. Skills enable systems analysts to understand the organization and its functions, which helps him/her to identify opportunities and to analyze and solve problems. Technical skills help systems analysts understand the potential and the limitations of information technology. The systems analyst must be able to work with various programming languages, operating systems, and computer hardware platforms. Management skills help systems analysts manage projects, resources, risk, and change. Interpersonal skills help systems analysts work with end users as well as with analysts, programmers, and other systems professionals. Because they must write user requests into technical specifications, the systems analysts are the liaisons between vendors and the IT professionals of the organization they represent. They may be responsible for developing cost analysis, design considerations, and implementation time-lines. They may also be responsible for feasibility studies of a system before making recommendations to senior management. A system analyst interacts with the customers to their requirements, interact with designers to convey the possible interface of the software, interact or guide the coders or developers to keep track of the system development, perform system testing with sample/live data with the help of testers, implement the new system and prepare high quality documentation. However, the skill and characteristics I will be stating are those characteristics and skills that our interviewee answered us.

Good communication skills. Why does a system analyst need this? A system analyst must know how to deal with people, his co-workers, and people with high positions in the organization, the clients, and the user. It is important for a system analyst to have good communication skill to better deal with the people around him to because he acts as a bridge between the coders or the developers and the clients. Good communication skills make it better for the both sides to understand each other thus providing a harmonious environment between the two sides. By saying that a system analyst acts as a bridge between the coders and the clients it means that the system analyst servers as a liaison or much better identified as an interpreter between the coder side and the client side. Why is this so? Because the system analyst is responsible for gathering the necessary data that the client needs or want in the system and then he/she relays it to the coders but this time he relays it on the technical side. Understandably, the clients are not aware or do not have any knowledge about the technical side so it is the system analyst’s job or responsibility to make the technical side understandable by the clients. Knowing the requirements and the needs of the clients makes the planning and the modeling of the system better and more effective. Thus, it eliminates the possibility of doing the planning and modeling all over again if they encounter mismatching or laps in the requirements. It also eliminates the possibility of over pricing or exceeding the allotted amount of budget for the development.

Good technical skills. Technical skills are knowledge and proficiencies required in the accomplishment of engineering, scientific, or any specific task. A system analyst must know all about the system of the company. It includes system application, administrative work, business functions, and lastly technical functions. Most importantly a system analyst must know everything about the company or the organization. Its operations and business flows. As what our interviewee said, their department acts as a support group of the company. By saying this, it means that they do everything to make the processes of the company or organization even better and easier for the user to use. In the modeling process it is highly important, as I might say that a system analyst is knowledgeable or has good technical skills. I may not have experienced modeling, well I mean real modeling, but I know that it sure takes a lot of knowledge on the technical side to come up with an effective system model. Our interviewee also happens to say that it is not necessary that the system analyst is really good at programming or coding. What is important is that he/she knows how to model or come up with an effective model for the system. System analysts, back in the day, were not graduates of any computer related courses. Most of them are from business related courses, some were accountancy students. It means that a system analyst must really know how to model. Knowledge on programming is just an edge that you can have against other system analyst. Why is this? Because there is already a programming department or development team thus a system analyst can leave the coding or programming job to the developers.

Knowing the company and its processes. Our interviewee said that it is most important that a system analyst is aware of all the processes, flows and operations of the company. Thus, this is where a system analyst’s analytical skills come into play. If he/she knows every process and operation of the company then he/she can identify its strengths and weaknesses thus he/she can devise a way of improving its strengths and reinforce their weaknesses by putting up means of helping their processes, a software for example. If he/she knows every flow then he/she can immediately identify problems within the company or the organization and if he/she can identify problems fast then he/she can devise a solution for that problem also as fast. (This post will be updated)

SAD1 Assignment 1

Based on my learnings I have realized some characteristics that are very essential and these characteristics are the characteristics that a good system analyst must have. But before that I will site some definitions of a system analyst. In the definition from Wikipedia, a system analyst is responsible for researching, planning, coordinating and recommending software and system choices to meet an organization’s business requirements. The system analyst plays a vital role in the systems development process. A successful systems analyst must acquire four skills: analytical, technical, managerial, and interpersonal. Analytical skills enable systems analysts to understand the organization and its functions, which helps him/her to identify opportunities and to analyze and solve problems. Technical skills help systems analysts understand the potential and the limitations of information technology. The systems analyst must be able to work with various programming languages, operating systems, and computer hardware platforms. Management skills help systems analysts manage projects, resources, risk, and change. Interpersonal skills help systems analysts work with end users as well as with analysts, programmers, and other systems professionals. Systems analysts, as motivated and talented IT professionals, solve computer problems and apply computer technology, to meet the individual needs of an organization, realize the maximum benefit from investment in equipment, personnel, and business processes, plan and develop new computer systems, or devise ways to apply existing systems’ resources to additional operations. However, I have heard from an anonymous person that system analysts need not to be an IT professional nor a software developer, these factors are just added value or what I call an edge to other system analyst, what is important is that a system analyst must know how to manage and analyze business processes to be able to come up with a device that could bring an organization to meet their goals. System analysts on the early years were not information technology professionals because these courses were not yet widely spread or I might say not yet know to everyone. System analysts on the early years were most likely people from business related courses, some of them are accountants like the one that the reporter or the people who shared about chapter one. However, there are essential characteristics or skills to be able to a competent system analyst.

THE SKILLS AND CHARATERISTICS OF A GOOD SYSTEM ANALYST (Some are from the sharing and some are from my insights)

A system analyst must be a problem solver. A system analyst must know and be aware of all the business processes and business flows of the company or organization. This characteristic is particularly essential because a system analyst must know how to solve problems within an organization. He/she must be able to identify problems and must also be able to find and device solutions for these problems. Being able to identify problems whenever a system analyst sees one is important because the sooner he/she sees a problem the sooner he/she can find a solution to that problem. What happens if a system analyst is incapable of identifying a problem? Then the company or the organization that the system analyst is working is at risk. A system analyst must also know how to use logical methods to be able to come up with a solution to a problem. To become a problem solver, a system analyst must have the utmost desire to make things better within a company or an organization. Commitment and passion to perform a system analyst’s duty is one that can help him/her become a good problem solver. A system analyst must be a problem solver especially when he/she is an IT professional because IT professional are solution providers and problem solver (as what is stated in the Philippine Society of Information Technology Students Shirt Design)

Technical skills are also skills that a system analyst must have. He/she must have knowledge on computer and peripheral devices, computer and communication networks, project planning, system analysis and design and the like. Why does a system analyst need to have technical knowledge or skills? Because if a system analyst is the one that analyses business processes and flows, problem solver, and the bridge between the developers and the clients, then he/she must have knowledge that is needed to be able to perform the tasks of a system analyst.

People skills and interpersonal and communication skills these skills are the ones that I think is most important other than having technical skills and being a problem solver. People skills is the characteristic, skill or the ability to deal with people, the ability to deal with people and get along with them, for example, because of being sensitive and diplomatic. Being able to understand the people around you especially the ones that you are working with and successfully communicating with other people are essential and important talents or skills that a system analyst must possess. Developing interpersonal communication skills is vitally important in today’s workplace. Even though you are an individual contributor in the workplace, you still need to communicate effectively with your boss as well as customers. Almost all kinds of work require communicating. Most people have colleagues with whom they need to communicate in order to be successful at their job. Having a good charisma also counts to the advantage. Why are these characteristics and skills important to a system analyst? Because when you are in a business scenario having to work properly and harmoniously with your co workers is really important. For example when a company or organization is in a project development phase, a system analyst must be able to work with his/her colleague harmoniously because having a harmonious environment can bring about the advantage or should I say the device that could help the organization do their task properly and possibly increase performance level. A system analyst must also know how to motivate another person, in a business scenario, his/her co-workers. Harmony within organizations especially to the team that is responsible for the development of the softwares most likely the devices that could solve problems within an organization can speed up the process of the development. It can lessen the possibilities of having a development failure. A system analyst is also the bridge that connects the top ranking persons, Chief Executive Officer, or the manger to the programmers or the software developers. The system analyst carefully acquires the necessary information and analyzes it to come up with a proper and effective design for the software and then passes it on to the programmers and developers so that they will know what to do, the necessary features and the important details.

Part of these skills and characteristics, I think that a system analyst might need to have knowledge like being able to understand and speak other languages. I have read a testimony of a system analyst and his experiences being a system analyst. A system analyst acts as the middle man assessing the needs of the end user and translating them into programming or tuning over the programming responsibility to the development department. The scenario was he is sitting in a meeting, the one on his left speaks French and the one his right speaks English and both individual needs to speak with each other. How are they suppose to interact and understand each other if you don’t even understand what they are saying? I’m saying that being able to understand and speak different languages is an edge in becoming a good system analyst.

Determination is also one of the characteristic that a system analyst must possess. Determination is decision on course of action: decision-making on, or the establishment of, a course of action. A good system analyst must have the guts and the determination to achieve a goal. It is the drive that pushes a team or an organization to work hard and finish what they have started.

Another characteristic that a good system analyst must possess is patience. Patience, according to the definition in Wikipedia, is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast. Why patience? Because you will be working with people that are different from you, different in working styles, different in perspective and sometimes different in personality. One must possess great patience if one wants the course of the development be continuous. What happens if the system analyst is impatient? Then everything will be in chaos. It would create a troublesome environment which can bring about failure in the development of a certain project. This I think is also one of the characteristics that I must possess even if I am not a system analyst. Patience cannot be only utilized in work but also in different aspects like mingling with other people and in relationships.

There are many more characteristics that a system analyst must possess but I think that the ones that I have stated above are the ones that I possess. It may not be my strong side but the said characteristics are the characteristics that I somehow possess. The first is the problem solver. Typically person who engage in the area of information technology are problem solvers. Basically they are the solution providers to those problems that other people cannot solve. As a student I know that I am a problem solver although the things that I consider problems are not problems but challenges and barriers that block me from achieving my goals as a student. When teachers give us assignments usually students treat this as problems rather than challenges. In a math problem you need to find solutions to be able to come up with the write answer. That is what I think of a student as a problem solver. The next is the problem solver as a person living within a community. We find many problems in our community this may be personal, problems in a relationship, family problems, financial problems, political problems and the like. As a person living in a community I find solutions to the problems that I encounter. The usual problems that I encounter based on my experience are the problems encountered in a relationship and financial problems. In finding solution to these problems I usually analyze the situation and then evaluate. In a relationship I usually make amends to patch up what is wrong in the relationship. It is similar in the working scenario. In finding solutions to my financial problems I usually find means of acquiring money. The usual means that I think is doing services like reformatting, burning data, fixing things that are related to computers and the other means that I usually think about is by playing music in places like bars and restaurants.

The next characteristics that I know that I have are determination and patience. Determination as a student because I know that I am determined to do and finish the things that I have come to start. (Why did I come to this school in the first place?) As a student I am determined to finish my course, Bachelor of Arts in Information Technology. It is the course that I have chosen. I was fortunate that my parents let me choose the course that I want and let me pursue what I really want. I am happy that my parents continually support me even if I am not going to graduate in this course in four years. Determination is the one thing that drives to me push thru and work hard to achieve my goals and never stop no matter what barriers are set in front of me. The next thing is patience. This characteristic is the characteristic that I know I truly possess. I have a long patience especially to those people that are not like me or should I say people who have characteristics different from me. (However, this long patience is always disregarded when I encounter stupid jeep drivers. And I do not know why they bug me all the time.) For me patience is important because in life we will surely encounter unfortunate events (not to mention that I just lost my cell phone this afternoon and it is so frustrating) and annoying people. If you have no patience then I will guarantee that you will have a bad trip all the time and I know that when you are in bad mood your days are always not good. As what my music teacher said “Life is a journey. Don’t get a bad trip.”

As for the people skills and interpersonal and communication skills, I do have these characteristics. After all I am a part of a group, a circle of friends we call alien eye. I am also a member of a band and part member of a dance troupe and all of these peers I have good relationship with. People skills and interpersonal and communication skills are important because we need these to better mingle with other people. These characteristics are also important to a leader. Without these characteristics it is hard to communicate and dwell with other people. It is an advantage to have these traits because you can gain more bearing and often time people who have these characteristics perform well in the jobs because they have no restrictions. I mean they can freely dwell and mingle with the people around them especially those they work with. This is also important because we need to establish good relationship with our co workers and when you are in a team let us say the development team of an organization or a company it is very important to have good people skills and to have good relationship with your co-workers because this can bring about harmony thus making the work continuous and without delay. Talking about the technical skill that I have stated above I believe that I have these skills however it is not yet my strong part. I have still much to learn about the technical field. I mean that I do have knowledge but it is not enough yet. That is why I am continually learning so that it becomes a strong part of me.

There are still many characteristics that a good system developer must have like being time bounded, meticulous and the like which could help him/her become a far better system analyst. I know that I have yet to develop my characteristics and skill to be competent enough. Competent enough to battle it out against those people that will become will competition when I graduate. Finding a job is not an easy task to do and I know that I’ll need all the advantages and the edge that I could possibly conjure to become globally competent.