Identify and discuss some characteristics you have as a good Systems Analyst? Well, before we answer that question, and in case the one reading this post doesn’t know what a Systems Analyst is, then we shall give the definition of a Systems Analyst. I got this definition right here from the popular online encyclopedia, Wikipedia (which I think most of my classmates will also use as a reference for the definition of Systems Analyst).
“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. 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.
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 computer system before making recommendations to senior management.
A systems analyst performs the following tasks:
• Interact with the customers to know their requirements
• Interact with designers to convey the possible interface of the software
• Interact/guide the coders/developers to keep track of system development
• Perform system testing with sample/live data with the help of testers
• Implement the new system
• Prepare High quality Documentation ”
Well, if you (the reader) read the definition above, I think it explained already what characteristics a good systems analyst must have, in order for the company he / she is working at to be more successful.
Analytical Skills
-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.
Well, this is a must for computer systems analysts. As the name suggests, systems analyst analyze systems for the progress of the company that they work in. He or she must know the background of the system, whether it has past problems or it is still on the developing stage, or it has worked very well for the company in the past years. The analyst must be able to find out the needed components (software, hardware, peopleware) from the data that he / she has gathered from the analysis. And from the analysis he or she has made, the systems analyst must prepare cost-benefit and return-on-investment analyses to help management decide whether implementing the proposed technology would be financially feasible.
But before they analyze something, a systems analyst must first inquire and consult with the management on what they want with the company and what its goals are. Then if they have the necessary information, they shall conduct an analysis on the computer system of the company based on the specifications given by the management. Then they design a system that shall meet the needs of the company, or the specific department he or she is working in for the company. That’s where the next skill is required, which is the technical skills.
Technical Skills
-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.
This skill here is essential (although I think all skills are essential and important), because there is no use in analyzing systems if you don’t know what you’re analyzing, am I right? That’s why you have to have the knowledge on different computer hardware, operating systems, different software and programming languages, and other technical things. And even though the systems analyst is not a graduate of any computer-related course, he / she has to have even at least a little knowledge of computers, because I think most of the time they will be working with computers. At least, they aren’t ignorant of what they are doing.
But if you have skills in different programming languages, different computer hardware (old or new), network systems, operating systems and other IT-related things, you will be more preferred by the company. In short, if you are a graduate of any bachelor’s degree course where there is a connection with IT, then it is a plus for you.
Management Skills
-Management skills help systems analysts manage projects, resources, risk, and change.
This is the part of being a systems analyst where you really have to be serious. Managing is not an easy task. As what I recall our professor has said to us, management is concerned with PDOC (Planning, Directing, Organizing and Controlling). All of these are essential in managing something, may it be people, resources, time, money, etc. It starts with planning, where you first plan what you have to manage. Its more like preparing for what you have to manage, really. Just like a floor plan or a blueprint or something like that. Next would be directing. It is where the instructions and directions are made, hence the word direction, right? And then there’s organizing. To organize means to coordinate something, or in cases of organizing people, it means to make somebody more effective. For the tasks in the company to be coordinated, there has to be someone that organizes everything, so that it goes out well. Then lastly, the controlling aspect. To control means to restrain or limit something. When there is chaos (the term is very dramatic, but correct nonetheless) in the business, there has to be someone in charge of controlling everything, and that is what the controlling task is all about. All in all, you need all these skills to manage something or someone effectively and efficiently.
With management skills, a systems analyst can have his assignment or project work in an organized way. His team and those under him can work well with each other, provided that they are managed well. Everything will be under control with the correct management skills and all will go to the right direction. When resources are managed well, there would be less resources that would come to waste. The right resources would be used in the right way. Risks would be prepared for, because the systems analyst has readied himself for it, because he has managed himself. Changes would be easier to handle because the systems analyst has managed everything that by the time changes occur, the system can adapt easily.
Interpersonal Skills
-Interpersonal skills help systems analysts work with end users as well as with analysts, programmers, and other systems professionals.
Systems analysts don’t just the need the technical knowledge to be able to be good systems analyst. They have to develop their personality as well. They have to be what you call a “people person”. That means he must be able to socialize with people well, know how to communicate with them, how to talk to them with respect.
For example, an analyst has an idea about how to solve a certain problem within their system, and his colleague (another systems analyst) has also something to say and has another idea as well. They mustn’t argue on which solution is better or not immediately. They have to talk about it first. And they must not disprove of the other’s ideas immediately, not without the proper analysis (that’s what they do, analyze). Each must respect the other’s intent; because they are just doing all that they can for the improvement of the company.
And with the programmers, they have to deal with them nicely, because programmers as you know are very important, because they do the technical work in the system. If for example, as a systems analyst, you always underestimate them, or you always criticize their work in a not so good way that makes them depressed or stressed or something like that. If that’s the case, the programmer might not do his or her job well, and that would be bad for the company.
Here are some characteristics that for me are important when you are a Systems Analyst (the others are given above):
Ethical:
Concerning ethics, a systems analyst must keep information private.
Because you, as a systems analyst, are dealing with the company’s data, you have to access to it. So as not to ruin your career as a systems analyst, you have to keep all the information that comes to you as private. And as a systems analyst, it is part of your job to have a security plan for the system so information doesn’t leak to other people.
Industrious:
In my opinion, a systems analyst has to be industrious / hard-working (as with any job that you have). Being a systems analyst is a tedious task, and if you just get lazy all the time, then it’s counting light posts for you (from the Filipino phrase “nagbibilang ng poste”, which I think, means you don’t have a job). In all the jobs that you work for, you have to be hard-working, because when you work hard, better results will come. And with better results are better performances from the company.
Determination:
If you don’t have the determination to do something, then you wouldn’t want to finish that something, right? If the task given to you think will take long to finish, then your determination to finish that project will be your weapon to finish it. You also have to have some kind of a love for the project given to you so that you will enjoy what you want to do. And if you want, you can make something as a model for your determination (more like an inspiration to me), like the outcome of the project, if it can make the performance of the company better and if it can help you with your tasks. Or maybe you can make your pay as the object of your determination to finish your job.
Background of the Business:
If you work for a certain company as a systems analyst, you should have at least a little background with the processes and the activities with that company, even if the duty of the company isn’t your forte. With this knowledge, you can do better as a systems analyst, because you know what the specific parts of the company are that need improvement and development.
Flexibility:
Just like with a Strategic Plan, a systems analyst must also be flexible with the nature of work, because there might be some changes in the future that might happen. If he or she is flexible with everything, then he / she can adapt to the changes that might happen within the company, and he / she can be ready for it.
Responsibility:
This characteristic also is connected with the ethical issue for the System Analyst. Because the systems analyst is given the information and data of the company to work with so as to make a solution to the different problems within the system of the company, he must be responsible in handling it. Only the right people must have the power to take a look at that information. And because there are many people under the systems analyst, he should be responsible for what they might do, because all they do are just from the instructions that he / she have given them.
References:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos287.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_analyst
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