Systems Analyst analyses, designs and implements the information gathered
previously to a system, the final product which is a report of yearly sales,
profits, etc. The first thing a Systems Analyst does is to interview the company
which wants the report, (called the user) to find out what kind of report they
want, format, etc. They must find whether the report is feasible or not, and to
find out, they do an analysis of the project. To analyze the project, they must
find out where are they going to get the information, how, when is the project
going to be done, etc. They then design the system, which is to make a
'skeleton' of the project. They write specifications, of what is to be in the
final report. They do flowcharting, specifications for the programmers of the
report, and development control. Development control is where the Systems
Analyst works with the programmers along a critical path. A critical path is
like a due date, if the report is to be done in thirty days, the Systems Analyst
makes sure the report is done in thirty days. The Systems Analyst also follows
the first analysis of when the project will be finished. The critical path also
calculates how many man hours it will take to finish, etc. A critical path
flowchart also helps the programmers along. After the development is finished
and a prototype of the report is finished, the Systems Analyst helps the
programmers in testing the program for bugs. This is similar to quality control.
The Systems Analyst helps to makes sure the work is done until the final report
is achieved. Once the final report is finished and free of bugs, it is sent to
the user. The Systems Analyst has a big job to do, he/she is responsible for the
design, the development, and implementation of the report, ie: what purpose will
it serve, presentation, etc. The Systems Analyst creates and helps finish the
final product, making all the specifications and charts for what is to be done.
A Systems Analyst requires a computer science degree to get the job. He/She must
have good analytical skills, (to be able to analyze for the report) good
communication skills, and experience in programming is a help also. Basically a
Systems Analyst is responsible for systems projects, from beginning to the end
of a project, and they must implement the system to good use. The Systems
Analyst then must follow up to make sure the program is running smoothly.