All organizations rely on computer and information technology to conduct business and operate efficiently and to perform specific functions and manage data and business aspects. The businesses rely on the computer systems that made the processes of their company more efficient. As the organizations and businesses are towards changing and improvement, they hire an expert that will study their existing process and develop it and make it more efficient by using computer systems. Computer systems analysts help organizations to use technology effectively and to incorporate rapidly changing technologies into their existing systems. In order to run efficiently, organizations must use technology and to integrate new evolving technologies prudently. Computer systems need updating and customizing on a regular basis. This is where the computer systems analyst comes in. The work of computer systems analysts evolves rapidly, reflecting new areas of specialization and changes in technology.
When we interview a sir Ariel Pabilona, a System Analyst that work as a freelance before, accepting jobs in doing information systems of his client, he gave us five pointers about what it takes to be a good system analyst. It was Thursday last week, December 8 2011. According to Ariel Pabilona, to be a good system analyst, a system analyst should have the following characteristics: The system analyst must be able to communicate in writing and orally. Second, the system analyst must easily get along with people. Thirdly, the system analyst must be a good listener and be able to react to what people say. The fourth pointer is that, a system analyst must be knowledgeable of technology. The analyst is not expected to know the intricacies of programming, but a decent general knowledge of concepts and terms is essential. The last one is that, a system analyst must be knowledgeable of business. The analyst is not expected to be an expert in business but a decent understanding of the client's world is required. Sir Ariel Pabilona explained us something about these characteristics. Like how to develop the characteristic and how to achieve the skill to be one of the good system analysts. He also said that a systems analyst researches problem, plans solutions, recommends software and systems, and coordinates development to meet business or other requirements. They will be familiar with multiple varieties of programming languages, operating systems, and computer hardware platforms. Because they often write user requests into technical specifications, the systems analysts are the liaisons between vendors and information technology professionals. They may be responsible for developing cost analysis, design considerations, and implementation time-lines.
Apparently, a system analyst plays a major role in a project team which works primarily for an information system. A system is defined as a group of interrelated components functioning together to achieve an outcome. An information system (IS) is a collection of interrelated components that collect, process, store, and provide as output information needed to complete tasks. A systems analyst researches problem, plans solutions, recommends software and systems, and coordinates development to meet business or other requirements. He/she also develops information systems that support strategic planning. A systems analyst may: interact with the customers to learn and document requirements, interact with designers to understand software limitations, help programmers during system development, perform system testing, deploy the completed system, document requirements or contribute to user manuals. There are various roles that a system analyst plays: as a business problem-solver, as a consultant, as a supporting agent, as an agent or catalyst of change. The basis of being a good computer system analyst is still not clear since every system analyst have different approach to the problem which they rely on their strength. The characteristics of a good computer system analyst according to sir Ariel Pabilona will be discuss later on.
The first characteristic is all about to be a good speaker and a good writer. Sir Ariel Pabilona said that to be a good speaker a speaker must be confident about what he say and what he or she about to speak. He also said something about the voice to make what the things that a system analyst more understandable. As what sir Ariel Pabilona said, a good speaker is the one that can deliver his thought to the others in efficient way. It makes me think about what are the other simple methods that can make my speaking skills improve. Sir Ariel pabilona told us that an online search can help us if we want pointer on how to be a good speaker. In my online search that I had done, i found out that to be a good speaker, a person should have a good expressive face. A good speaker must not have no extra gestures or mannerism when talking and the most important is to have a good posture of dignity, confidence and grace. When making a system model, being a good speaker can have a great help in making an interaction and communication to the direct user of the system and to the client or the sponsor of the project. Being a good speaker helps the system when expressing what would be the change or the improvement of the information system that the system analyst project. As a good speaker, a good speaker system analyst can organize the members of the project more efficiently since everybody will not have a hard time listening to the instructions came from their leader or the system analyst of the project. With that situation, a good speaker system analyst can organize the group more easily which will result to the better milestone of the project.
The second characteristic is all about getting along with people. Systems analysts need to understand how people think learn, react to change, communicate, and work (in a variety of jobs and levels). Interpersonal and communication skills are crucial in obtaining information, motivating people, getting cooperation, understanding the complexity and workings of an organization in order to provide necessary support. It is all about gaining trust with people so easily. But to think of it, I think it is not about only in gaining someone else’s trust but playing with someone else’s personality so that you can adopt with it and make the other people getting along or will not make a hard time going with you. The key for me is by developing the knowledge on how people think, learn, analyze and socialize. In learning concerning on what people might think, a system analyst can be more sensitive about on what might be the direct user of the system think on the system that he design. also by learning concerning on what people might think, the system analyst can anticipate on what might be the errors that the direct users of the project encounter, execute or put to the inputs of the information systems that the system analyst develop. In learning on how the people learn, it would help the system analyst in making the manual of the system. Also by knowing on how people learn will help the system analyst formulate the functionalities that the system analyst put to the system that the system analyst do. With that characteristic of system analyst within a project, it would be easy for a system analyst in the subject to make a good understanding about the different personalities that are present within the system analyst workgroups and it would easy of the system analyst to adopt and work with that personality. It would be helpful when getting along with the direct user of the system and the client or the sponsor of the project that the system analyst do. If a system analyst can get along with people easily, it would be easy for the system analyst to get a client and gain friends or acquaintance among the system analyst’s workgroups or projects.
The third characteristics is all about the system analyst as a good and listener and be able to react to what people say. It means that a system analyst must have a good understanding on what the system analyst hear and listen. Also, it means that a system analyst must be very sensitive on what people say and react immediately from it. It made me ask to sir Ariel Pabilona how can determine if a person is a good listener. A good listener is attentive and makes a good eye to eye contact. It includes of paying close attention to the speaker and does not interrupt the speaker. A good speaker also does not rush to the speaker, is sensitive to the speaker, ask appropriate questions and reacts responsively. Being a good listener can be a skill that can help a system analyst. When a system analyst is a good listener, the groups, workgroups or teams that are the one who do the projects can accurately identify the problems from the client or the sponsor of the project. a good listener can listen to the suggestions of the members of the groups that would make the information system that the system analyst analyze be more stable or less prone to unfavorable situations. About the characteristic on reacting to what people say immediately is analyzing what people say in a shortest possible time. It would be like a critique on what the other people said might. System analyst must have the ability of reacting, and analyze on what people said because when a client express the what are the problems that the clients wants into his information system or problems that the clients wants to change in order to adopt to the changes of the company, a good listener system analyst would transform the problem into a series of solution and analysis of the system. It is just like when a good listener system analyst listens to something, the system analyst can immediately know what to do and the system analyst would immediately know how to organize the team and workgroups into the what system analyst plan from his mind while listening to the problem.
The fourth characteristic of a good system analyst is knowledgeable of technology. It would important to know the technologies that information system requires in order to run the information system in the machine. It would be needed what are the cost in order to buy those devices, hardware or simply a technology in order to run the system analyst design and implementation to the hardware which can be used by the direct user of the system. A Systems Analyst should have technical knowledge and skills in both tools and techniques. When we say technical knowledge and skills in tools, he/she should be acquainted or has knowledge with computers / peripheral devices (hardware) ,communication networks and connectivity, database and database management systems (DBMS), programming languages (for example, VB.NET or Java), operating systems and utilities, software productivity packages, integrated development environments (IDEs) for programming languages, and CASE tools, testing, documentation support, reverse engineering, configuration management. On the other hand, when we say technical knowledge and skills in techniques, he/she should be acquainted or has knowledge with project planning, systems analysis, systems design, database design, network design, construction, implementation, and systems support. A systems analyst should be flexible to be prepared for the rapid changing technology that we have.
The fifth characteristic is that the system analyst must have knowledge about the businesses. He must know what the business strategies are or make a business strategy for the company; he must know what the plans are or make plans of the company. The system analyst should know the organizational structure of the company, the organization techniques and the system analyst must know the functional work processes that exist in the company. The important thing to be analyst is when understanding the goals and strategies of a business and defining the information requirements that support those goals and strategies are a mighty hard task done by a Systems Analyst. This task requires specific skills and these are: Technical Knowledge, Business Knowledge and People Knowledge.
The characteristic of a good system analyst is in us. All we need to do is to develop it in order to use the potential that we have as a natural system analyst.
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