417 ACTIVITY 2: Role of a Systems Analyst

WHY:

This activity will help you understand what a systems analyst is and does. You and your teammates will act as systems analysts for the clients in your project during the semester. Whether or not you take up systems analysis and design as your career, you will without a doubt be interacting with systems analysts and so understanding their roles will help you do your job better.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

  1. Discover what a systems analyst does and does not do.
  2. Discover the overall scope of the systems development life cycle.
  3. Gain practice with the different group roles.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA:

  1. Quality of the answers to the Critical Thinking Questions.
  2. Level of attention each member paid to performing her role.

RESOURCES:

  1. Chapter 1, Systems Analysis and Design Methods
  2. List of definitions in the Course Syllabus;
  3. 30 minutes

PLAN:

  1. Choose roles if you have not already done so.
  2. Read the minicase in the model.
  3. Answer the Critical Thinking Questions.

MODEL:

J. B. HOFFMAN AND COMPANY

J.B. Hoffman and Company is a manufacturer of medical and pharmaceutical products. it is headquartered in Minneapolis.

Scene:
Lobby of the hotel where Joe, a college recruit, spent the night. Cathy, an employee of Hoffman, approaches Joe, who appears to be waiting for someone.
Cathy:
Joe Elston?
Joe:
That's me. Are you Cathy?
Cathy:
Cathy Mennon. Hi, Joe. How was your trip?
Joe:
Not too bad. I assume you are my host for the recruiting visit?
Cathy:
That's right. Shall we have breakfast here at the hotel?

[while walking toward the cafe]

Let me explain what today is going to be like. As your host, I will not be evaluating you. I will not participate in any way in the employment decision. My job is to tell you what it is like and to answer your questions.

I guess I should begin by telling you a little about myself. I'm a department head in manufacturing information systems. That means I don't work at the central complex -- I work at the Meridian Avenue plant where you'll have your afternoon interviews. Seven systems analysts work in my department. We build and support the material requirements planning systems for our biochemical plants that are distributed throughout the world.

Joe:
Do you have any programmers working for you?
Cathy:
Yes and no. All of our information systems specialists are called systems analysts. You start as an analyst and work your way up to senior analyst. Some analysts, like my staff, work on applications. Others work on corporate and regional databases. Still others work on networking and telecommunications. There are many different technical specialties. But all of them are called systems analysts and most of them do at least some programming.

[A hostess escorts Cathy and Joe to their table]

Joe:
I thought systems analysts wrote specifications for programmers.
Cathy:
Perhaps in some companies, but I doubt that there are many. There is a big difference in the classical, academic definition of a systems analyst and the real world responsibilities. The academic definition is usually restricted to a person who does systems analysis and design. In reality, most systems analysts do at least some programming.
Joe:
I was taught that systems analysts do the analysis and design for new information systems. Does a Hoffman analyst get to analyze and design new systems?
Cathy:
Absolutely! We expect all of our analysts to work closely with our customers to analyze and design their systems. But they also do programming. Most of the programming you will do is in support for existing programs, but . . .
Joe:
Excuse me for interrupting. You mean maintenance programming?
Cathy:
Yes, but that term is so negative. Most of what the industry calls maintenance programming is not correcting mistakes and bugs. Most of it involves fine tuning and enhancing the software -- such as writing a program to generate a new report.
Joe:
Who writes the software for an entirely new system?
Cathy:
It varies. We use contract programmers for a lot of the new software.
Joe:
Contract Programmers?
Cathy:
Yes, contract programmers are non-Hoffman employees. They freelance their programming expertise to many companies. We often find them in colleges, professional societies, and through references. We sign them to a contract to write specific software based on specifications developed by our analysts. The use of contract programmers gives our systems analysts more time to do true systems analysis and design.
Joe:
You said "it varies." I assume then that you don't always use contract programmers for new systems development?
Cathy:
That's right. Sometimes it may be too expensive. Or perhaps the system is too secret to involve third parties. In those cases, our own systems analysts write the programs. Still, I'd guess that the average Hoffman analyst doesn't write too much code. We spend most of our time working with users and designing systems and making improvements. That's why we call all of our people systems analysts, not programmer/analysts.
Joe:
This is interesting. So after I go through the training program, I'd jump right into doing systems analysis, systems design or support programming?
Cathy:
Actually, there is no full time training. In fact, most new hires are doing productive work their first week. Based on your interviews, you would be assigned to a team of systems analysts. Someone in your team would be your mentor. That person would be responsible for showing you the ropes and helping you adjust to the corporate culture. You department head would plan your first three months to include on-the-job experiences and formal course work.

Your team would be responsible for specific systems. You would likely inherit one or more of those systems as part of your on-the-job training. Your mentor would help you learn your assigned systems and introduce you to your customers. Most of your early work would involve supporting your assigned systems -- that may, of course, involve some simple analysis and design. But you won't develop new systems until you go through our methodology and standards courses.

Joe:
I love it. I thought that I'd be in classes for six solid weeks. What else can I expect?
Cathy:
You can expect your days to consist of varied experiences. Look at my Day Timer. As you see, this week I am conducting user interviews, attending project meetings, attending classes to upgrade my own skills, and working on various committees.
Joe:
You know, there's a lot more to this systems analysis job than I ever imagined. I'm looking forward to meeting some of your people.

[Waiter arrives at their table.]

Waiter:
Are you ready to order?

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS:

These will be provided in class.

Math 417 Activity 2 -- Revised 8/21/98

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