(Note: This is a reply to Mr. G.'s thread in USeP-IC Web Forum - Assignment 3: Discuss the role of a systems analyst as a project manager.)
This is somewhat a continuation of my previous post in Assignment 2 which is the skills and characteristics that must be developed by a systems analyst in order to be more effective in any design modeling process.
A systems analyst, as described by Freetutes.com, “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.” By this definition, it is apparent that a system analyst has the function of a director or a manager who guides and leads the development of a system or software project.
In the illustration above (taken from an online article, Information System Design and Analysis: The Differences of Being a System Analyst and Programmer), one could understand that a system analyst does not have an exclusive tasks to perform rather an integration of these functions from various fields of expertise. A system analyst deals with people involved in the project – the manager of the organization, the external companies and other extension offices or agencies of the firm, the system stakeholders, the end – users which will benefit the system, the vendors and suppliers which will provide the necessary resources for the development of the project, the technical specialists which will aid the procedural process, and of course, the software programmers who will develop the software program. By this alone, one can have the concept of how a system analyst needs to have better communication skills in dealing with people and the mastery of how to manage his / her tasks well.
In our previous meeting and discussion with Module 3 of Systems Analysis and Design 1 class, we have tackled about the analyst as a project manager. Here we have learned several reasons behind the success and failure of projects which accounts to the project manager him/herself. If a certain project is being accomplished, this is because “it has clear system definitions, thorough and detailed project plans, and realistic work schedules and milestones.” On the other hand, a number of grounds why some projects fail are “incomplete or changing requirements, poor project planning, and unclear objectives,” to name a few. But these failures can all be handled if there is proper project management plan.
But how can all these relate to a system analyst anyway? Sir James, our interviewee in our industry analysis for the previous assignment (we just had the same interview for this assignment), first described the project manager. We were actually asked for opinion or our idea of what a project manager really is. A project manager manages the entire team or project. So how does that connect to the system analyst? Wait a sec. Most of the time the project manager talks to the client, the team, the system analyst, and the developers. “You really have to identify the people involved in your system,” Sir James stressed. He related a sample scenario (This is because when he asked us we were quite confused with who is the client and who is the customer of the project. We thought they are just the same.) where in a grocery which sells diapers, who is the client and who is the customer – the mother or the baby? “Now do you get the sense?”
So much for that, he added that a project manager gets the overall specifications of the project. He / she grasps the idea of the project and the details of it, talks to the system analyst (who will analyze and develop the modeling process), and the developers (consult how many hours, days, or months this project might be done, the problems that may arise, and the requirements of the system), then have a discussion with the client again, present the tasks, the breakdown of activities, the timeline (since this is a very important thing in dealing with your clients – they should have the idea about the start and end date of the project development given that this will also determine the ‘price’ of your project and the salary of your team too), the bills (or payment), and talk to the rest of the team.
Sir James added that being a project manager is an easy work. “It is not hard,” he said, “given that you have the confidence of your team.” If a project manager thinks in a way that he analyzes the skills and capabilities of his /her team, he can compute just how long the project will take or how complex the said project would be, and might be able to say to his/her client that “This can be done in x days…” The hard thing is the miscommunication with the client.
Expanding more the idea of ‘setting the timeline’, which is a main task of a project manager, it is a very notable function especially to the client side. Sir James related to us his experience in dealing with clients in his previous freelance jobs before where he is offering services even outside the country. He then said that it is VERY essential point to bear in mind that it is not good if the client will ask for updates. “You should be the one giving the updates,” Sir James remarked as he differentiated the cases of a US client and a Philippine customer. The Pinoy client is a kind-of laidback, does not care much, and will only ask at the end of the project how was everything going. While on the other hand, clients outside Philippines consider everyday as ‘update day’. You should inform them what you have done, what you have completed, and what you will be working on the following day. You will have to keep posted for three points of the day – the accomplished, today’s doings, and the next day’s planned task. Another essential thing in dealing with US client is the deadline. The role of the project manager is to inform beforehand the client if the project can not be done by the set date. If developers would inform their clients that the project can not be turned over by the 30th day, Pinoy customers woul normally say, ‘it’s ok.’ But US clients would prefer that you will make the announcement at least four to five days before that you can’t make it. As you see, “happy client equals money.”
A project manager delegates tasks to the team. Aside from setting the timeline with the client, the project manager also lays down the time table for the team. In a strategy called padding, if the deadline given is on the 30th day of the month, the team shall accomplish the project on the 26th, providing allowance and flexibility to the system. This is part of the contingency plan that if there are cases where during system testing, some components do not function very well, at least there is allowable time to check and improve imperfections and bug errors. As Murphy’s Law states, “If something can go wrong, it will. And it will hit you on the most convenient time.”
“How do you describe yourself as a project manager in your information system department or organization in general?”
Smiling, Sir James replied, “In general, I am the lax project manager, dealing with people under me.” He added that once they set a certain goal, there is always completion. He then told us his experience regarding his job as a system analyst and the project manager as well. As the project manager, you have to oversee all things, see to it that all has been set for the day, that all functions well, because it involves money. Although he is undergoing the same annual happenings for three years, he accounts his experience as a continuing learning process, with each year improving.
Asked what are some strengths and weaknesses as a project manager, Sir James replied with “I know what I want, I get what I want, given a certain project I see the solution running in my head,” as his strength. “Most of the time, as a project manager, I think like a programmer,” citing the previous scenario of the global thinker and the systematic thinker (described in assignment 2). There might be another better solution that what the programmer thinks of at a certain moment or angle.
A project manager is different from a systems analyst, but they are being treated as one in most cases. This is because in systems development where an analyst plans, analyses, designs, and implement solutions, project planning also takes place. In most cases, the system analyst performs several tasks, mastering many skills and not just one facet of a capability just like programming skills.
I would like to acknowledge the following resources as my references:
A systems analyst, as described by Freetutes.com, “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.” By this definition, it is apparent that a system analyst has the function of a director or a manager who guides and leads the development of a system or software project.
In the illustration above (taken from an online article, Information System Design and Analysis: The Differences of Being a System Analyst and Programmer), one could understand that a system analyst does not have an exclusive tasks to perform rather an integration of these functions from various fields of expertise. A system analyst deals with people involved in the project – the manager of the organization, the external companies and other extension offices or agencies of the firm, the system stakeholders, the end – users which will benefit the system, the vendors and suppliers which will provide the necessary resources for the development of the project, the technical specialists which will aid the procedural process, and of course, the software programmers who will develop the software program. By this alone, one can have the concept of how a system analyst needs to have better communication skills in dealing with people and the mastery of how to manage his / her tasks well.
In our previous meeting and discussion with Module 3 of Systems Analysis and Design 1 class, we have tackled about the analyst as a project manager. Here we have learned several reasons behind the success and failure of projects which accounts to the project manager him/herself. If a certain project is being accomplished, this is because “it has clear system definitions, thorough and detailed project plans, and realistic work schedules and milestones.” On the other hand, a number of grounds why some projects fail are “incomplete or changing requirements, poor project planning, and unclear objectives,” to name a few. But these failures can all be handled if there is proper project management plan.
But how can all these relate to a system analyst anyway? Sir James, our interviewee in our industry analysis for the previous assignment (we just had the same interview for this assignment), first described the project manager. We were actually asked for opinion or our idea of what a project manager really is. A project manager manages the entire team or project. So how does that connect to the system analyst? Wait a sec. Most of the time the project manager talks to the client, the team, the system analyst, and the developers. “You really have to identify the people involved in your system,” Sir James stressed. He related a sample scenario (This is because when he asked us we were quite confused with who is the client and who is the customer of the project. We thought they are just the same.) where in a grocery which sells diapers, who is the client and who is the customer – the mother or the baby? “Now do you get the sense?”
So much for that, he added that a project manager gets the overall specifications of the project. He / she grasps the idea of the project and the details of it, talks to the system analyst (who will analyze and develop the modeling process), and the developers (consult how many hours, days, or months this project might be done, the problems that may arise, and the requirements of the system), then have a discussion with the client again, present the tasks, the breakdown of activities, the timeline (since this is a very important thing in dealing with your clients – they should have the idea about the start and end date of the project development given that this will also determine the ‘price’ of your project and the salary of your team too), the bills (or payment), and talk to the rest of the team.
Sir James added that being a project manager is an easy work. “It is not hard,” he said, “given that you have the confidence of your team.” If a project manager thinks in a way that he analyzes the skills and capabilities of his /her team, he can compute just how long the project will take or how complex the said project would be, and might be able to say to his/her client that “This can be done in x days…” The hard thing is the miscommunication with the client.
Expanding more the idea of ‘setting the timeline’, which is a main task of a project manager, it is a very notable function especially to the client side. Sir James related to us his experience in dealing with clients in his previous freelance jobs before where he is offering services even outside the country. He then said that it is VERY essential point to bear in mind that it is not good if the client will ask for updates. “You should be the one giving the updates,” Sir James remarked as he differentiated the cases of a US client and a Philippine customer. The Pinoy client is a kind-of laidback, does not care much, and will only ask at the end of the project how was everything going. While on the other hand, clients outside Philippines consider everyday as ‘update day’. You should inform them what you have done, what you have completed, and what you will be working on the following day. You will have to keep posted for three points of the day – the accomplished, today’s doings, and the next day’s planned task. Another essential thing in dealing with US client is the deadline. The role of the project manager is to inform beforehand the client if the project can not be done by the set date. If developers would inform their clients that the project can not be turned over by the 30th day, Pinoy customers woul normally say, ‘it’s ok.’ But US clients would prefer that you will make the announcement at least four to five days before that you can’t make it. As you see, “happy client equals money.”
A project manager delegates tasks to the team. Aside from setting the timeline with the client, the project manager also lays down the time table for the team. In a strategy called padding, if the deadline given is on the 30th day of the month, the team shall accomplish the project on the 26th, providing allowance and flexibility to the system. This is part of the contingency plan that if there are cases where during system testing, some components do not function very well, at least there is allowable time to check and improve imperfections and bug errors. As Murphy’s Law states, “If something can go wrong, it will. And it will hit you on the most convenient time.”
“How do you describe yourself as a project manager in your information system department or organization in general?”
Smiling, Sir James replied, “In general, I am the lax project manager, dealing with people under me.” He added that once they set a certain goal, there is always completion. He then told us his experience regarding his job as a system analyst and the project manager as well. As the project manager, you have to oversee all things, see to it that all has been set for the day, that all functions well, because it involves money. Although he is undergoing the same annual happenings for three years, he accounts his experience as a continuing learning process, with each year improving.
Asked what are some strengths and weaknesses as a project manager, Sir James replied with “I know what I want, I get what I want, given a certain project I see the solution running in my head,” as his strength. “Most of the time, as a project manager, I think like a programmer,” citing the previous scenario of the global thinker and the systematic thinker (described in assignment 2). There might be another better solution that what the programmer thinks of at a certain moment or angle.
A project manager is different from a systems analyst, but they are being treated as one in most cases. This is because in systems development where an analyst plans, analyses, designs, and implement solutions, project planning also takes place. In most cases, the system analyst performs several tasks, mastering many skills and not just one facet of a capability just like programming skills.
I would like to acknowledge the following resources as my references:
Information System Design and Analysis: The Differences of Being a System Analyst and a Programmer
http://ignaga.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/the-differences-of-being-a-system-analyst-and-a-programmer/
http://ignaga.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/the-differences-of-being-a-system-analyst-and-a-programmer/
Chapter 3 System Analyst as a Project Manager. Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World 3rd and 4th edition
Microsoft Encarta Dictionaries
Mr. James Bautista of Sta. Ana Multipurpose Cooperative (please see evidences from previous post which is Skills and Characteristics of System Analyst)
1 comment:
i just wanted to take this opportunity to say that i really envy the way your class is being handled by our instructors now. indeed their demands and expectations escalated a hundredfold but that doesn't mean that they wanted to torture you. :-) it's just a form of a more rigorous training for you.
in fact, i miss writing these LOOONNNGGG assignments because they not only develop my writing skills but they also expand my knowledge on the subject while relying on my own abilities to come up with the answers.
i hope you will take up the challenges thrown your way by our instructors (especially this particular someone :-)) and face them head on. if you can't meet them, exceed them!
anyway, that was only an introduction. haha. regarding your post on a system analyst's job, i wholeheartedly agree that a system's analyst job extends beyond the scope of what his job title implies. i know you're starting to get the feel of it now that you're enrolled in SAD1 and, mind you, there's so much more to learn ahead.
that's why, if i were you, don't make the same mistakes that we did. start early, don't procrastinate, learn to work well with others because you will be working with A LOT of people and a harmonious relationship is VITAL to successfully completing your project. most importantly, SET your GOAL and NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF IT.
with this, i rest my case.... XD
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