Lesson 12: Role of System Analyst

Objective
The objective of this lesson is to give you an insight in to: Definition to System Analyst Academic and Personal Qualifications Multifaceted Role of the Analyst Interface between User and the Analyst.

Introduction
Till now we have analyzed and studied various phases of system analysis and design, now we are going to study about that important person who plays an important role in analysis, design and development of the system-System Analyst. What do you think who is System Analyst? Designing and implementing systems to suit organization needs are the functions of system analyst. He/she plays a major role in seeing business benefits from computer technology. Here the job is not confined to data processing as such, because it deals heavily with people, procedures and technology. Many individuals in business can benefit by learning the functions of and techniques used by the analyst. Users, managers, accountants and auditors must understand how analysts relate to them. Definition The role of the analyst has been emerging with changing technology. The literature suggests several definition of analyst, but there seems to be common thread. A representative definition is the Random House Dictionary: a person who conducts a methodical study and evaluation of an activity such as business to identify its desired objectives in order to determine procedures by which these objectives can be gained. A similar definition by Nicholas: The task of the analyst is to elicit needs and resource constraints and to translate these into viable operation. System Analysts bridges the gap that always exists between those who need computerbased business solutions. They understand both business and computing. They study business problems and opportunities and then transform business and information requirements into specifications for information systems that will be implemented by various technical specialists including computer programmers. System Analysts initiate change within an organization. Every new system changes the business. System Analyst is basically a problem solver. The system analysts job presents a fascinating and exciting

challenge to many individuals. It offers high management visibility and opportunities for important decision-making and creativity that may affect an entire organization.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO DO SYSTEM ANALYSIS? An analyst must possess various skills to effectively carry out the job. Specifically, they may be divided, into two categories: Interpersonal and technical skills. Both are required for system development. Interpersonal skills deal with, relationships and the interface .of the analyst with people in business. They are useful in establishing trusts resolving conflict, and communicating information. Technical skills, on the other hand, focus an procedures and techniques far operations analysis, systems analysis, and computer science The interpersonal skills relevant to systems work include the following: Communication- having the ability to articulate and speak the language of the user a "flare" for mediation, and a knack for working with virtually all managerially is in the organization. Communication is not just reports, telephone conversations, and interviews. It is people talking, listening, feeling, and reacting to one another, their experience and reactions. Some indicators of a climate of closed communication are defensive memos, excessive correspondence, and a failure to speak up for fear .of being identified. Therefore, opening communication channels are a must for system development. Understanding- identifying problems and assessing their ramifications, having a grasp of company goals and objectives, and showing sensitivity to the impact of the system and people at work. Foresightedness and vision- the system analyst must have farsightedness and vision for a studying problem, suggesting an alternative optimal solution and their implications. This has to be considered not in the short term but in the long span of time (i.e. how any action) will be having impact in any specified time on business activities, volume of business, psychology and motivation of the employees and management etc.) This skill is a thought based and a consequence of experience; hence, it is a cumulative process of gathering and cultivating this skill. His long-term vision for business, substitutes and technology can bring the confidence and acceptable solution and the design for the problem. Adaptability and Flexibility Skills- The system analyst might be a new to the organization or new to the problem; hence he must have a quality of adopting the different facets of environment, terminology, working culture. The quick adaptability of the situation will bring a versatile

capability of thinking different alternative designs and solutions of a problem/application. In the process of design the flexibility of accepting valuable ideas from the users, technocrats, and others, will provide a good payoff, better and acceptable design and solutions. Teaching- educating people in use .of computer systems, selling the system to the user; and giving support when needed. Selling- selling ideas and promoting innovations in problem solving using computers Patience and Rationality- the analyst has to have 'lot of patience in listening and encountering personalities which is one of the import quality to be inherited the systems analyst. This is consequently brings a quality of rational thanking and rational in decision making m his Job assignment. He can only succeed in all types situation through his rational thinking process. Sound Temperament- The hectic schedule of systems analyst, varied personalities interaction and meeting, working with different work cultures and different motives of the concerned personnel might lead a lotof disturbances and challenges to the systems analyst. In absence of temperamentally sound in' approach, the Analyst will not be successful in achieving the ends, he has to remain calm and having a very sound healthy temperament to encounter such situation. The sound temperament of the person will also lead to national and accurate decisions for suggesting proper' solutions to the management. Management Skills-The, system analyst must possess project management skill to complete the job in time bound manner by evaluating critical activities and events. The project management it self requires the management of various resources like human resource, finance and logistics. He needs to be; good in the management of these are also. He should posses a very strong quality of stress management that is also an important part of project management. Leadership Quality- The system analyst should have all qualities of the leader right from planning of strategy until the implementation of his workable solution in order to successfully handing over of the developed system. Training and Documentation Capability- As has been mentioned above selling is a continuous process of the activity of system Analysis and Design; System Analyst has to be a very good trainer. This quality will help him in deciding the type of training courses, seminars, workshops and the participants in them. The training might be general in nature, technical

in nature, and specific user oriented in nature, all these require a good backup through well-designed documents. He must have good quality of presenting relevant document with illustrations of use and utility of the document. Technical skills include: Creativity- helping users model ideas into concrete plans and developing candidate system to match user requirements. Problem solving-reducing problems to their elemental levels for analysis, developing alternative solutions to a given problem, and delineating the pros and cons of candidate systems. Project management-scheduling, performing well under: time constraints, coordinating- team efforts, and managing costs and expenditures. Dynamic interface-blending technical and nontechnical considerations in functional specifications and general design. Questioning attitude and inquiring mind- knowing the what, when, why, where, who, and how a system works. Knowledge- The system analyst getting exposed to variety of problems and variety of business/commercial/institutions/industries and work culture, he is supposed to have in depth knowledge of the system, before proceeding to his job assignment. Besides he must also have sound knowledge of technology that will enable him to utilize high technology tools, hardware and software facilities, and access to various external resources through internal and web technology for giving long lasting solutions. That is the reason that system analyst is supposed to be master of all trades. The System Analyst has to keep himself updating as a continuous process of upgrading the knowledge Systems analysts require interpersonal as well as technical skills, although the necessity for both skills depends on the stages of system development. During analysis, there is greater need for interpersonal skills- working with the user to determine requirements and translate them into design criteria. During design, the major thrust is to develop a detailed design of, the candidate system-highly technical procedures and methodologies/Even then, there is some emphasis on the interpersonal factor-the analyst/user interface and user participation as a step toward training and implementation. During program construction, coding and testing are carried out with some user participation. During system implementation, technical and interpersonal skills Converge. The technical aspects focus on proving" the software and preparing for the final conversion of files and documentation. The interpersonal aspects deal with user training and selling the user on the benefits and potential of the candidate system. During the maintenance stage the role of the analyst drops off, except when unanticipated problems develop.

Academic and Personal Qualifications

How does the analyst acquire these skills? The answer is in education experience, and personality. Most of today's analysts are college graduates with majors in accounting, management, or information systems. The latter major is becoming so popular that more and more universities have programs that include courses in systems analysis, project management, and data base design. The background and experience of analysts include: A background in systems theory and organization behavior. Familiarity with the makeup and inner workings of major application areas such as financial accounting, personnel administration, marketing and sales, operations management, model building and production control. Competence in system tools and methodologies and a practical knowledge of one or more programming and data base languages. Experience in hardware and software specifications, which is important for selection. Awad conducted a study to determine the personal attributes of analysts and what attracts them to systems analysis to. The attributes are: Authority- the confidence to tell people what to do. Much of this quality shows in project management and teamwork to meet deadlines. Communication skills- ability to articulate and focus on a problem area for logical solution Creativity -trying one's own ideas, developing candidate systems using unique tools or methods. Responsibility- making decisions on one's own and accepting the consequences of these decisions. Varied skills-doing different projects and handling change. These academic, personal and technical qualifications highlight the role of the analyst and distinguish between analysis and traditional programming.

Multifaceted Role of the Analyst

Among the various roles an analyst performs are change agent, monitor, architect, psychologist salesperson, motivator, and politician. Let's briefly describe each role. Change Agent

The analyst may be viewed as an agent of change. A candidate system is designed to introduce change and reorientation in how the user organization handles information or makes decisions. It is important, then, that the user accept change. The way to secure user acceptance is through user participation during design and implementation. The knowledge that people inherently resist change and can become ineffective because of excessive change should alert us to carefully plan, monitor, and implement change into the user domain. In the role of a change agent, the Systems analyst may select various styles to introduce change to the user organization. The styles range from that of persuader (the mildest form of intervention) to imposer (the most severe intervention). In between, there are the catalyst and the confronter roles. When the user appears to have a tolerance for change, the persuader or catalyst (helper) style is appropriate. On the other hand, when drastic changes are required, it may be necessary to adopt the confronter or even the imposer style. No matter what style is used, however, the goal is the same: to achieve acceptance of the candidate system with a minimum of resistance. Investigator and Monitor In defining a problem, the analyst pieces together the information gathered to determine why the present system does not work well and what changes will correct the problem. In one respect, this work is similar to that of an investigator extracting the real problems from existing systems and creating information structures that uncover previously unknown brands that may have a direct-impact on the organization. Related to the role of investigator is that of monitor. To undertake and successfully complete a project, the analyst must monitor programs in relation to time, cost, and quality. Of these resources, time is the most important. If time gets away, the project suffers from increased costs and wasted human resources. Implementation delays also mean the system will not be ready on time, which frustrates users and customers alike. Architect The architects primary function as liaison between the clients abstract design requirements and the contractor's detailed building plan may be compared to the analyst's role as liaison between the user's logical design requirements and the detailed physical system design. As architect, the analyst also creates a detailed physical design of candidate systems. He/she aids users in formalizing abstract ideas and provides details to build the end product- the candidate system. Psychologist In systems development, systems are built around people. This is perhaps a bit exaggerated, but the analyst plays the role of a psychologist in the way he/she reaches people, interprets their thoughts, assesses their behavior, and draws conclusions from

these interactions. In other words, understanding interfunctional relationships is important. Salesperson Selling change can be as crucial as initiating change. In the next chapters, we shall learn that the oral presentation of the system proposal has one objective- selling the user on the system. Selling the system actually types place at each step in the system life cycle, however, Sales skills and persuasiveness, then, are crucial to the-success of the system. Motivator A candidate system must be well designees and acceptable to the user. System acceptance is achieved through user participation in its development, effective user training, and proper motivation to use the system. The analyst's role as a motivator because obvious during the fist few weeks after implementation and during time when turnover results in new people being trained to work with the candidate system. The amount of dedication it takes to motivate users often taxes the analysts abilities to maintain the pace. Politician Related to the role of motivator is that of politician. In implementing a candidate system, the analyst tries to appease all, parties involved. Diplomacy and finesse in dealing with people can improve acceptance of the system. Inasmuch as a politician must have the support of his/her constituency, so is the analyst's goal to have the support of the users' staff. He/she represents their thinking and tries to achieve their goals through computerization.

The Analyst /User Interface

An important aspect of system development is a viable interface between the analyst and the user. Analysts must devote as much skill and effort to achieve a productive relationship with the user as they devote to the technical requirements of the system. Most research indicates that as the number of users increases, the probability of system failure increases without close analyst/user interlace. The interlace problem emerged in the 1960s when there was an adversary relationship between the analyst and the user. The analyst represented management and essentially imposed change on the user. Analysis was a defensive business with the overriding concern to avoid failure rather than achieve success. User involvement was limited. Later, growth in user-friendly technology, improved knowledge of the user in information systems, and maturity of the analyst paved the way for greater user participation in system development. It also narrowed the cultural gap between the user and the analyst. Behavioral Issues

Much research has been done to study users and their relationships with systems analysts. Increasing reports of system failures that were not caused be technical problems made it necessary to seek a better understanding of the analyst/user interlace. Let's examine user motivation, analyst/user difference and the political factor: User Motivation The motivational approach in system development states that the candidate system should satisfy the users' needs if they are going to use it. Several models of user behavior attempted to look at the motivation behind system acceptance. The expectancy theory of user motivation stresses two important relationships that have a bearing on user acceptance. The first relationship is between effort and performance. The user determines the probability that a certain level of motivation or effort will improve job performance. The second important relationship is between performance and rewards. To the extent that rewards are contingent upon performance, motivation may be enhanced. Analyst/User Differences On the surface, differences in education, experience, and language are quite obvious. The analyst's impatience with the user's ignorance about demonology like chip and-CRT and the user's impatience with the analyst's limited understanding of the business, however, often lead to conflict during system development. The user also tends to take for granted the analyst's knowledge and expects the computer to solve virtually all problems. These unrealistic expectations are barriers to the interface. Much of it is defensive behavior: The user does, not want to seem dumb about the technology. On the other hand, most systems analysts feel limited responsibility for the effects of new systems they implement. A study by Bostrom and Heiner showed that analysts are preoccupied with low costs and technical sophistication. They tend to ignore the tradeoffs that are essential to a design that makes the user comfortable. They also seem to view themselves as creators rather than participants in the development process. The result is ignoring user suggestions and producing analyst-oriented rather than useroriented. The Political Factor Since information is a source of organizational power, the process of system development may be viewed as a contest for power where analysts have the initial advantage. System development is often viewed as a bargaining process, where analysts and users attempt to enhance their power positions; and self-interests. To achieve political rationality; the analyst should not brag about the technical aspects of the candidate system. A system that is simple to explain and easy to understand is more readily accepted than a technical presentation; it also makes the user feel less vulnerable. In essence, the political factor prompts the analyst to honestly assess the motives of allergies involved and attempt to remove barriers that lead to system failure.

Activity 1:Elaborate on the technical and interpersonal skills required of systems analysts. When is one skill favored over another? Why?

Activity 2:What academic qualifications are important for systems work? What about the personal attributes? Explain.

Activity 3: The political factor has been brought up in the literature on several occasions. In what respect should the analyst is a politician? What would be an example where political considerations are used in systems work?

Activity 4:When we discuss the analyst/user interface, does it imply differences? If so, how pronounced are the differences? How are they resolved? Discuss.

STUDENT NOTES