The systems analyst generally works on a project-by-project basis and recommends one of several alternatives for each project:
- maintain current information systems
- collect or process the same information more efficiently
- capture additional information valuable to users
- restructure the basic ways the current system collects, processes, records, or reports the data
Analysts usually are forced to make tradeoffs between efficiency, cost, and reliability. Capturing stock prices directly from quotation machines when the market is active would be efficient but costly and subject to loss of important data if a brief computer outage occurred. Subscribing to Dun & Bradstreet's financial database or copying day-old stock prices from computer tapes onto computer disc storage would be less costly and less variable, but the information would be less up-to-date.
After analyzing who uses the data and for what purpose, the systems analyst might suggest collecting more information than the current system collects. For example, the analyst might conclude that users need summaries of stock prices on a daily and weekly basis, rather than monthly. The analyst can then suggest subscribing to a system that provides this information plus average stock price, grouping by size or industry, or whatever variables are appropriate. Finally a systems analyst may sometimes recommend restructuring the flow of information if he or she sees that it is present in the corporation but not getting to the right people in the right order.
More and more often, systems analysts are recommending that organizations switch to use of computers, expand present computer capability, or upgrade systems to incorporate new technologies, especially in cases where activities involve systematic data capture, manipulation or retrieval. People use computers for three basic purposes: daily operations, strategic decision making, and office automation. Some systems provide a combination of these uses; others are specialized.
Systems that run daily operations are often referred to as transaction systems. They record decisions to buy or sell, receivables and payables, cash receipts and payments, and changes in physical inventory, or they run production processes. Accounting procedures are commonly handled by transactional systems, as are the retail arms of many organizations. The last time you reserved a theater seat through Ticketron or an airline seat with a commercial carrier, you benefited from such a system.
Decision support systems provide managers with critical information at a level of detail appropriate to their decision making. For example, managers might prepare pro form a financial statements with financial spread-sheet software on a personal computer. Or a marketing department may collect data on computer records to compare sales revenues, sales-force activities, and product sales performance across several sales territories for a given period. After collecting and entering relevant data on computer-readable records, marketing experts can manipulate the data and print tables of relevant figures.
Office automation covers such things as word processing, electronic filing and information-retrieval systems, and electronic mail. Such automation adds to greater office efficiency, especially in corporations where creation and storage of paper work is a large part of the workday activity of management and support personnel. Electronic mail is especially useful for firms that depend on timely interoffice communication. Users can send letters or memos to other users via time-sharing terminals. This reduces mail costs and delays dramatically.
As a systems analyst, you may also suggest that your firm discontinue use of a computer or remove an application from a computer system if it is not saving work. Sometimes a computer operation is simply too troublesome for the firm's personnel to manage. Or, in declining markets, the volume and frequency of transactions may be low enough to warrant reversion to a manual system.
In all of these situations, the systems analyst's job is to serve the information needs of other people. An irony here is that usually the users of the information system lack the technical know-how to assess the quality of your work in process. Only afterward can users see whether your solutions solve more problems than they create.
The Systems Analysis Field
Virtually all firms whose existence depends upon their ability to use computers to manage extensive information employ systems analysts. These organizations fall into several broad categories:
- manufacturers of computer hardware or software
- users of computers and computer services
- computer consulting firms
Systems analysts working for computer companies tend to assist sales personnel in the sale and service of computers. Because computers are expensive pieces of capital equipment, a systems analyst is often involved in analyzing a potential customer's needs in order to recommend the most relevant type of computer equipment for purchase or lease. In effect, the systems analyst acts as a consultant to the purchasing firm, while employed full-time by the computer manufacturer.
Computer-using organizations can buy or lease computers or rent the right to use a computer via remote terminals through time sharing. The largest American user of computers and computer services is the federal government, followed by large financial institutions such as commercial banks, securities brokerage firms, and insurance companies. But users exist in every conceivable field: profit and nonprofit, manufacturing, service, agricultural. Once a computer is purchased or leased, systems analysts work with the client's existing system to solve organizational and managerial problems.
Computer consulting firms are in the business of placing experienced computer science professionals with computer users on a project basis. Often their consultants are independent subcontractors. They perform programming, analysis, user training, and management consulting for their clients. Consultants' fees are usually substantial, because clients have hired them for time-critical work on projects that demand the attention of an expert. Consultants are self-managing, skilled professionals. Some consultants manage the work of staff programmers, in addition to doing their own analysis and programming.
Required Skills and Educational Background
Traditionally many people have moved from being a computer programmer to systems analyst. A possible career progression is programmer trainee to programmer to programmer-analyst to systems analyst. Programmer-analysts who hope to become systems analysts typically develop expertise in applications programming that permits flexibility later in their career. Then they can either concentrate in more technical areas of systems programming and design, or apply their technical background to practical business and management problems and become a systems analyst, operations manager, or operations researcher.
In recent years, systems analysts have been actively recruited from business schools-out of both undergraduate and graduate programs- in such fields as computer applications and information systems (CAIS), operations research, statistics, and computer science. Although people with these backgrounds do not necessarily have computer programming experience, they can bring a more "macro" view to the systems analyst position. For those with no programming background, training is initially in programming and then in systems analysis. Training programs usually emphasize the computer language COBOL. COBOL is an efficient language for high-volume transaction processing, and can be used to manipulate information in many ways that other computer languages do not allow.' Because most corporations have made many applications in COBOL, it would be very complicated for them to switch to another language. Hence, COBOL training is likely to continue to provide a marketable background for someone interested in systems analysis.
Once programming basics are mastered (either through job experience or formal instruction), systems analysis training commences. Systems analysts are sometimes trained via an apprentice program. Junior analysts will often perform clerical or programming work for senior analysts. The senior will give the junior analyst simple modules of a larger system to analyze and document. As proficiency develops, the senior analyst will then delegate more difficult programs. The apprentice also observes meetings the senior analyst has with users, technicians, and managers. Through example and experience, the junior analyst learns the subtleties of project management.
To some extent classroom preparation in computer applications and information systems has replaced apprenticeship for systems analyst trainees. However, classrooms have the disadvantage of ignoring the interpersonal, social, and interactive nature of the systems analyst's job. Many feel that corporate training environments using only classroom training will produce mediocre systems analysts, because of this lack of practical experience. Somehow the training program must teach the systems analyst's basic skills-logical reasoning, creative thinking, clear writing, researching, leadership, personal presentation, listening, public speaking, and interviewing. Many of these cannot be taught in classroom settings alone.
Sometimes programmers who become systems analysts find themselves frustrated in that they cannot apply the skills and techniques that made them successful programmers to systems analysis. Systems analysis work is much more socially oriented than programming, and those who do switch must be able and willing to make the necessary personal adjustments. Businesses currently have a shortage of qualified systems analysts; many whom they train are either not as competent as desired or not sufficiently motivated to do the work. Hence, there is great opportunity in this field for people who can combine computer facility and good analytical skills with enjoyment of analysis of business problems and interaction with others on the job. Conversations with managers, analysts, and users suggest the following as the most essential skills for systems analysts: listening-to be able to articulate proposals, reports, and memos correctly as well as interview and observe; speaking-to interview and to conduct meetings; reading-to use existing documentation and keep up with innovations reported in trade journals. Other essential qualities include an understanding of and desire to solve business problems; a strong liking for extensive social contact at work; and the desire to continue learning throughout one's career.
Employers tend to look for people who are skilled in communication, analysis, and project management. Good writing skills enable you to write clear reports, memos, and proposals. Listening and speaking skills are useful in group meetings, where you must resolve conflicts among users and technical specialists, or in presentations. You will also need to be effective at interviewing users and establishing rapport with them in order to obtain useful information efficiently.
To be a good analyst you must solve business problems. The first step is to define a problem. This often involves reinterpreting others' definitions, and discarding personal biases in an attempt to articulate some sort of truth about systems.
Project management skills enable you to delegate assignments and coordinate everyone's actions toward a final report. Managers value an analyst's ability to form an effective team, schedule realistically, motivate and teach users and technicians, produce deliverables of consistent quality, and cooperate with management, keeping them informed of project progress.
Employers desire analysts who are interested in understanding how various parts of an operation fit together, in seeing the "macro" rather than the "micro" picture. Some employers are also interested in hiring analysts with active social and intellectual interests outside of work. This attribute helps to keep fresh ideas and a sense of spirit in the workplace. Most of all, employers need people who want to solve users' problems and enhance the quality of information available to them.
