Our group visited our adopted company, which is AMS Group of Companies, who have given us the honor and permission to conduct an interview with their representative, Mr. Gemrald R. Glibara, MIS head.
But, before going to what we have learned from the interview, let us first define system analysis, system analyst and project manager.
System Analysis
system Analysis has many different meanings. In the sense adopted for the Handbook, systems analysis is an explicit formal inquiry carried out to help someone (referred to as the decision maker) identify a better course of action and make a better decision than he might otherwise have made. The characteristic attributes of a problem situation where systems analysis is called upon are complexity of the issue and uncertainty of the outcome of any course of action that might reasonably be taken. Systems analysis usually has some combination of the following: identification and re-identification) of objectives, constraints, and alternative courses of action; examination of the probable consequences of the alternatives in terms of costs, benefits, and risks; presentation of the results in a comparative framework so that the decision maker can make an informed choice from among the alternatives. The typical use of systems analysis is to guide decisions on issues such as national or corporate plans and programs, resource use and protection policies, research and development in technology, regional and urban development, educational systems, and other social services. Clearly, the nature of these problems requires an interdisciplinary approach. There are several specific kinds or focuses of systems analysis for which different terms are used: A systems analysis related to public decisions is often referred to as a policy analysis (in the United States the terms are used interchangeably). A systems analysis that concentrates on comparison and ranking of alternatives on basis of their known characteristics is referred to as decision analysis.
Systems analysis is the interdisciplinary part of science, dealing with analysis of sets of interacting entities, the systems, often prior to their automation as computer systems, and the interactions within those systems. This field is closely related to operations research. It is also "an explicit formal inquiry carried out to help someone, referred to as the decision maker, identify a better course of action and make a better decision than he might have otherwise made."
The terms analysis and synthesis come from classical Greek where they mean respectively "to take apart" and "to put together". According to Tom Ritchey (1991) "these terms are used within most modern scientific disciplines -- from mathematics and logic to economy and psychology -- to denote similar investigative procedures. In general, analysis is defined as the procedure by which we break down an intellectual or substantial whole into parts or components. Synthesis is defined as the opposite procedure: to combine separate elements or components in order to form a coherent whole".
The systems discussed within systems analysis can be within any field such as: industrial processes, management, decision making processes, environmental protection processes, etc. The brothers Howard T. Odum and Eugene Odum began applying a systems view to ecology in 1953, building on the work of Raymond Lindeman (1942) and Arthur Tansley (1935).
Systems analysis researchers apply mathematical methodology to the analysis of the systems involved trying to form a detailed overall picture.
The development of a computer-based information system often comprises the use of a systems analyst. When a computer-based information system is developed, systems analysis (according to the Waterfall model) would constitute the following steps:
* The development of a feasibility study, involving determining whether a project is economically, socially, technologically and organisationally feasible.
* Conducting fact-finding measures, designed to ascertain the requirements of the system's end-users. These typically span interviews, questionnaires, or visual observations of work on the existing system.
* Gauging how the end-users would operate the system (in terms of general experience in using computer hardware/software), what the system would be used for etc.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_analysis)
System 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
Many systems analysts have morphed into business analysts. And, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that "Increasingly, employers are seeking individuals who have a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) with a concentration in information systems."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_analyst)
A system analyst is the person who selects and configures computer systems for an organization or business. His or her job typically begins with determining the intended purpose of the computers. This means the analyst must understand the general objectives of the business, as well as what each individual user's job requires. Once the system analyst has determined the general and specific needs of the business, he can choose appropriate systems that will help accomplish the goals of the business.
When configuring computer systems for a business, the analyst must select both hardware and software. The hardware aspect includes customizing each computer's configuration, such as the processor speed, amount of RAM, hard drive space, video card, and monitor size. It may also involve choosing networking equipment that will link the computers together. The software side includes the operating system and applications that are installed on each system. The software programs each person requires may differ greatly between users, which is why it is important that the system analyst knows the specific needs of each user.
To summarize, the system analyst's job is to choose the most efficient computer solutions for a business, while making sure the systems meet all the company's needs. Therefore, the system analyst must have a solid understanding of computer hardware and software and should keep up-to-date on all the latest technologies. He must also be willing to listen to the constant needs and complaints of the users he builds systems for.(http://www.techterms.com/definition/systemanalyst)
Project Manager
A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically relating to construction industry, architecture, computer networking, telecommunications or software development.
Many other fields in the production, design and service industries also have project managers.
A project manager is the person accountable for accomplishing the stated project objectives. Key project management responsibilities include creating clear and attainable project objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the triple constraint for projects, which are; cost, time, and quality (also known as scope).
A project manager is often a client representative and has to determine and implement the exact needs of the client, based on knowledge of the firm they are representing. The ability to adapt to the various internal procedures of the contracting party, and to form close links with the nominated representatives, is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality and above all, client satisfaction, can be realized.
Project management
Project Management is quite often the province and responsibility of an individual project manager. This individual seldom participates directly in the activities that produce the end result, but rather strives to maintain the progress and mutual interaction and tasks of various parties in such a way that reduces the risk of overall failure, maximizes benefits, and restricts costs.
Products and services
Any type of product or service — pharmaceuticals, building construction, vehicles, electronics, computer software, financial services, etc. — may have its implementation overseen by a project manager and its operations by a product manager.
Project tools
The tools, knowledge and techniques for managing projects are often unique to Project Management. For example: work breakdown structures, critical path analysis and earned value management. Understanding and applying the tools and techniques which are generally recognized as good practices are not sufficient alone for effective project management. Effective project management requires that the project manager understands and uses the knowledge and skills from at least four areas of expertise. Examples are PMBOK, Application Area Knowledge: standards and regulations set forth by ISO for project management, General Management Skills and Project Environment Management
Project teams
When recruiting and building an effective team, the manager must consider not only the technical skills of each person, but also the critical roles and chemistry between workers. A project team has mainly three separate components: Project Manager, Core Team and Contracted Team.
Risk
Most of the project management issues that influence a project arise from risk, which in turn arises from uncertainty. The successful project manager focuses on this as his/her main concern and attempts to reduce risk significantly, often by adhering to a policy of open communication, ensuring that project participants can voice their opinions and concerns.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_manager)
Now that we have a better understanding of each terms, we will now discuss the role of Systems Analyst as the Project Manager of a team.
Role of Systems Analyst
The system analyst is the person (or persons) who guides through the development of an information system. In performing these tasks the analyst must always match the information system objectives with the goals of the organization.
Role of System Analyst differs from organization to organization. Most common responsibilities of System Analyst are following
1) System analysis
It includes system's study in order to get facts about business activity. It is about getting information and determining requirements. Here the responsibility includes only requirement determination, not the design of the system.
2) System analysis and design:
Here apart from the analysis work, Analyst is also responsible for the designing of the new system/application.
3) Systems analysis, design, and programming:
Here Analyst is also required to perform as a programmer, where he actually writes the code to implement the design of the proposed application.
Due to the various responsibilities that a system analyst requires to handle, he has to be multifaceted person with varied skills required at various stages of the life cycle. In addition to the technical know-how of the information system development a system analyst should also have the following knowledge.
*
Business knowledge: As the analyst might have to develop any kind of a business system, he should be familiar with the general functioning of all kind of businesses.
*
Interpersonal skills: Such skills are required at various stages of development process for interacting with the users and extracting the requirements out of them
*
Problem solving skills: A system analyst should have enough problem solving skills for defining the alternate solutions to the system and also for the problems occurring at the various stages of the development process.
(http://www.freetutes.com/systemanalysis/role-of-system-analyst.html)
But, before going to what we have learned from the interview, let us first define system analysis, system analyst and project manager.
System Analysis
system Analysis has many different meanings. In the sense adopted for the Handbook, systems analysis is an explicit formal inquiry carried out to help someone (referred to as the decision maker) identify a better course of action and make a better decision than he might otherwise have made. The characteristic attributes of a problem situation where systems analysis is called upon are complexity of the issue and uncertainty of the outcome of any course of action that might reasonably be taken. Systems analysis usually has some combination of the following: identification and re-identification) of objectives, constraints, and alternative courses of action; examination of the probable consequences of the alternatives in terms of costs, benefits, and risks; presentation of the results in a comparative framework so that the decision maker can make an informed choice from among the alternatives. The typical use of systems analysis is to guide decisions on issues such as national or corporate plans and programs, resource use and protection policies, research and development in technology, regional and urban development, educational systems, and other social services. Clearly, the nature of these problems requires an interdisciplinary approach. There are several specific kinds or focuses of systems analysis for which different terms are used: A systems analysis related to public decisions is often referred to as a policy analysis (in the United States the terms are used interchangeably). A systems analysis that concentrates on comparison and ranking of alternatives on basis of their known characteristics is referred to as decision analysis.
Systems analysis is the interdisciplinary part of science, dealing with analysis of sets of interacting entities, the systems, often prior to their automation as computer systems, and the interactions within those systems. This field is closely related to operations research. It is also "an explicit formal inquiry carried out to help someone, referred to as the decision maker, identify a better course of action and make a better decision than he might have otherwise made."
The terms analysis and synthesis come from classical Greek where they mean respectively "to take apart" and "to put together". According to Tom Ritchey (1991) "these terms are used within most modern scientific disciplines -- from mathematics and logic to economy and psychology -- to denote similar investigative procedures. In general, analysis is defined as the procedure by which we break down an intellectual or substantial whole into parts or components. Synthesis is defined as the opposite procedure: to combine separate elements or components in order to form a coherent whole".
The systems discussed within systems analysis can be within any field such as: industrial processes, management, decision making processes, environmental protection processes, etc. The brothers Howard T. Odum and Eugene Odum began applying a systems view to ecology in 1953, building on the work of Raymond Lindeman (1942) and Arthur Tansley (1935).
Systems analysis researchers apply mathematical methodology to the analysis of the systems involved trying to form a detailed overall picture.
The development of a computer-based information system often comprises the use of a systems analyst. When a computer-based information system is developed, systems analysis (according to the Waterfall model) would constitute the following steps:
* The development of a feasibility study, involving determining whether a project is economically, socially, technologically and organisationally feasible.
* Conducting fact-finding measures, designed to ascertain the requirements of the system's end-users. These typically span interviews, questionnaires, or visual observations of work on the existing system.
* Gauging how the end-users would operate the system (in terms of general experience in using computer hardware/software), what the system would be used for etc.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_analysis)
System 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
Many systems analysts have morphed into business analysts. And, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that "Increasingly, employers are seeking individuals who have a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) with a concentration in information systems."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_analyst)
A system analyst is the person who selects and configures computer systems for an organization or business. His or her job typically begins with determining the intended purpose of the computers. This means the analyst must understand the general objectives of the business, as well as what each individual user's job requires. Once the system analyst has determined the general and specific needs of the business, he can choose appropriate systems that will help accomplish the goals of the business.
When configuring computer systems for a business, the analyst must select both hardware and software. The hardware aspect includes customizing each computer's configuration, such as the processor speed, amount of RAM, hard drive space, video card, and monitor size. It may also involve choosing networking equipment that will link the computers together. The software side includes the operating system and applications that are installed on each system. The software programs each person requires may differ greatly between users, which is why it is important that the system analyst knows the specific needs of each user.
To summarize, the system analyst's job is to choose the most efficient computer solutions for a business, while making sure the systems meet all the company's needs. Therefore, the system analyst must have a solid understanding of computer hardware and software and should keep up-to-date on all the latest technologies. He must also be willing to listen to the constant needs and complaints of the users he builds systems for.(http://www.techterms.com/definition/systemanalyst)
Project Manager
A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically relating to construction industry, architecture, computer networking, telecommunications or software development.
Many other fields in the production, design and service industries also have project managers.
A project manager is the person accountable for accomplishing the stated project objectives. Key project management responsibilities include creating clear and attainable project objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the triple constraint for projects, which are; cost, time, and quality (also known as scope).
A project manager is often a client representative and has to determine and implement the exact needs of the client, based on knowledge of the firm they are representing. The ability to adapt to the various internal procedures of the contracting party, and to form close links with the nominated representatives, is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality and above all, client satisfaction, can be realized.
Project management
Project Management is quite often the province and responsibility of an individual project manager. This individual seldom participates directly in the activities that produce the end result, but rather strives to maintain the progress and mutual interaction and tasks of various parties in such a way that reduces the risk of overall failure, maximizes benefits, and restricts costs.
Products and services
Any type of product or service — pharmaceuticals, building construction, vehicles, electronics, computer software, financial services, etc. — may have its implementation overseen by a project manager and its operations by a product manager.
Project tools
The tools, knowledge and techniques for managing projects are often unique to Project Management. For example: work breakdown structures, critical path analysis and earned value management. Understanding and applying the tools and techniques which are generally recognized as good practices are not sufficient alone for effective project management. Effective project management requires that the project manager understands and uses the knowledge and skills from at least four areas of expertise. Examples are PMBOK, Application Area Knowledge: standards and regulations set forth by ISO for project management, General Management Skills and Project Environment Management
Project teams
When recruiting and building an effective team, the manager must consider not only the technical skills of each person, but also the critical roles and chemistry between workers. A project team has mainly three separate components: Project Manager, Core Team and Contracted Team.
Risk
Most of the project management issues that influence a project arise from risk, which in turn arises from uncertainty. The successful project manager focuses on this as his/her main concern and attempts to reduce risk significantly, often by adhering to a policy of open communication, ensuring that project participants can voice their opinions and concerns.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_manager)
Now that we have a better understanding of each terms, we will now discuss the role of Systems Analyst as the Project Manager of a team.
Role of Systems Analyst
The system analyst is the person (or persons) who guides through the development of an information system. In performing these tasks the analyst must always match the information system objectives with the goals of the organization.
Role of System Analyst differs from organization to organization. Most common responsibilities of System Analyst are following
1) System analysis
It includes system's study in order to get facts about business activity. It is about getting information and determining requirements. Here the responsibility includes only requirement determination, not the design of the system.
2) System analysis and design:
Here apart from the analysis work, Analyst is also responsible for the designing of the new system/application.
3) Systems analysis, design, and programming:
Here Analyst is also required to perform as a programmer, where he actually writes the code to implement the design of the proposed application.
Due to the various responsibilities that a system analyst requires to handle, he has to be multifaceted person with varied skills required at various stages of the life cycle. In addition to the technical know-how of the information system development a system analyst should also have the following knowledge.
*
Business knowledge: As the analyst might have to develop any kind of a business system, he should be familiar with the general functioning of all kind of businesses.
*
Interpersonal skills: Such skills are required at various stages of development process for interacting with the users and extracting the requirements out of them
*
Problem solving skills: A system analyst should have enough problem solving skills for defining the alternate solutions to the system and also for the problems occurring at the various stages of the development process.
(http://www.freetutes.com/systemanalysis/role-of-system-analyst.html)
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