The Role of The System analyst, System architect and Business analyst

System Analyst

Business Analyst

Architect Analyst

Role Of

System

Analyst

Definition of a System Analyst

A systems analyst is an IT professional who specializes in analyzing, designing and

implementing information systems that optimize organizational efficiency.

What a System Analyst Does

A system analyst study an organization's current computer systems and procedures

and design information systems solutions to help the organization operate more

efficiently and effectively. They bring business and information technology (IT)

together by understanding the needs and limitations of both.

A systems analyst is typically confined to an assigned or given system and will often

work in conjunction with a business analyst.

Role of a System Analyst

– Identify, understand and plan for organisational and human impacts of planned

systems, and ensure that new technical requirements are properly integrated

with existing processes and skill sets.

– Plan a system flow from the scratch.

– Interact with internal users and customers to learn and document requirements

that are then used to produce business requirements documents.

– Write technical requirements from a critical phase.

Role of a System Analyst

– Interact with software architect to understand software limitations

– Help programmers during system development, e.g. provide use cases,

flowcharts, UML

– Document requirements or contribute to user manuals.

– Whenever a development process is conducted, the system analyst is

responsible for designing components and providing that information to the

developer.

Responsibilities of a System

Analyst

– liaising extensively with external or internal clients;

– analysing clients' existing systems and business models;

– mapping and documenting interfaces between legacy and new systems;

– understanding software development lifecycle;

– translating client requirements into highly specified project briefs;

– identifying options for potential solutions and assessing them for both technical

and business suitability;


Analyst

– conducting requirements analysis and preparing specific proposals for modified

or replacement systems;

– developing solutions and related products;

– producing project feasibility and costings reports;

– presenting proposals to clients;

– working closely with colleagues, developers, testers and a variety of end users

to ensure technical compatibility and user satisfaction;

– ensuring that budgets are adhered to and deadlines are met;


Analyst

– drawing up, supervising and documenting testing schedules for complete

systems;

– overseeing implementation of a new system including data migration;

– planning and working flexibly to deadlines;

– supporting users on change control and system updates;

– providing training and user manuals to users of a new system;

– keeping up to date with technical and industry developments.

SDLC

The development of a computer-based information system includes a system

analysis phase. There are a number of different approaches to system analysis. The

system development life cycle (SDLC) is the traditional system development

method that organizations use for large-scale IT Projects.

SDLC

The SDLC is a structured framework that consists of sequential processes by which

an information system is developed.

• System Analysis

• System Design

• Programming

• Testing

• Implementation

• Operation and Maintenance

Role Of

Business

Analyst

Definition of a Business Analyst

A business analyst is someone who analyzes an organization or business domain

and documents its business or processes or systems, assessing the business model

or its integration with technology.

What a Business Analyst Does

Business analysts analyse the systems and procedures an organisation uses, and

recommend technology or processes to improve business efficiency and

productivity.

Role of a Business Analyst

– consult with management, staff and customers on how work is done in an organisation

– design computer solutions to improve organisational efficiency and productivity

– write functional requirements for computer systems using models and diagrams

– work out the new system's requirements and specifications

– decide if computers or new software applications are required

– make cost estimates and business cases for different software options

– oversee the system's development, including design, choice of computers (hardware) and computer programs (software).

Responsibilities of a Business

Analyst

– communicate with internal colleagues to understand the needs of departments

and the organisation as a whole;

– work with external stakeholders to understand and investigate feedback into

the service/function/product provided;

– use data modelling practices to analyse your findings and create suggestions for

strategic and operational improvements and changes;

– consider the opportunities and potential risks attached to the suggestions you

have made;


Analyst

– identify the processes and information technology required to introduce your

recommendations;

– gain agreement, usually from senior management, of the best method of

introducing your recommendations to the business;

– communicate the benefits of your recommendations across departments and

help to address any uncertainty and concern;


Analyst

– produce written documentation to support your work, report on your findings

and to present to stakeholders when necessary;

– support the staff and teams in making the recommended changes, including

helping to resolve any issues;

– ensure plans are made and processes are created to evaluate the impact of the

changes made, including taking responsibility for overseeing and reporting on

this evaluation.

Skills of a Business Analyst

– computer hardware and software, and methods of programming

– methods of analyzing needs, costs and benefits

– Knowledge of the business they are working in and the staff's work methods.

Areas Of Business Analysis

– Strategic planning – to identify the organization's business needs

– Business model analysis – to define the organization's policies and market

approaches

– Process design – to standardize the organization’s workflows

– Systems analysis – the interpretation of business rules and requirements for

technical systems

– Business requirements, i.e. business plan, key performance indicator, project plan...

– Functional requirements, i.e. case scenarios, work instructions, reports...

– Non-functional requirements, i.e. effectiveness, disaster recovery, Environmental

Protection…

– As-is processes, e.g. dataflow diagrams, flowcharts

– To-be processes, e.g. dataflow diagrams, flowcharts

– Data models, i.e. data requirements expressed as a documented data model of

some sort

– Business case, a strategic plan containing shareholders' risk and return

Role Of

System

Architect

Definition of a System Architect

A Systems Architect define the architecture of a computerized system (i.e., a

system composed of software and hardware) in order to fulfill certain

requirements.

What a System Architect Does

A System Architect interface with multiple stakeholders in an organization in order

to understand the various levels of requirements, the domain, the viable

technologies, and anticipated development. Their work includes determining

multiple design alternatives, assessing such alternatives based on all identified

constraints (such as cost, schedule, space, power, safety, usability, reliability,

maintainability, availability, and so on), and selecting the most suitable options for

further design. The output of such work sets the core properties of the system, and

those that are hardest to change later.


Architect

– Interfacing with the user(s) and sponsor(s) and all other stakeholders in order to

determine their (evolving) needs.

– Generating the highest level of system requirements, based on the user's needs

and other constraints.

– Ensuring that this set of high level requirements is consistent, complete,

correct, and operationally defined.


Architect

– Performing cost–benefit analyses to determine whether requirements are best met by manual, software, or hardware functions; making maximum use of commercial off-the-shelf or already developed components.

– Developing partitioning algorithms (and other processes) to allocate all present and foreseeable requirements into discrete partitions such that a minimum of communications is needed among partitions, and between the user and the system.

– Partitioning large systems into (successive layers of) subsystems and components each of which can be handled by a single engineer or team of engineers or subordinate architect.


Architect

– Interfacing with the design and implementation engineers and architects, so

that any problems arising during design or implementation can be resolved in

accordance with the fundamental design concepts, and user needs and

constraints.

– Ensuring that a maximally robust design is developed.

– Generating a set of acceptance test requirements, together with the designers,

test engineers, and the user, which determine that all of the high level

requirements have been met, especially for the computer-human-interface.


Architect

– Generating products such as sketches, models, an early user guide, and

prototypes to keep the user and the engineers constantly up to date and in

agreement on the system to be provided as it is evolving.

– Ensuring that all architectural products and products with architectural input

are maintained in the most current state and never allowed to become

obsolete.

Skills of a System Architect

– Understand the business requirements

– Keep up with the technology

– The data

– Architectural Alternatives

– Performance

– The Operational Environment

– Human factor

– The Development Process

– What does the business need

– What business processes will be

supported

– What system components are

needed to do this

– Where are the business rules

– Who are the key users

– Are there any key dates




– The data


– Performance


– Human factor


– Disk (local, shared,...)

– Server

– Intrusion Detection

– XML, Webservices

– LANs, WANs, Routers, Firewalls

– Open Source Options




– The data


– Performance


– Human factor


– Referential Integrity

– MIS requirements

(Management Information System)




– The data


– Performance


– Human factor


– Client/Server model

– Web model

– Flexibility vs Performance

– COTS vs Custom made




– The data


– Performance


– Human factor


– Design

- Think scalability

– Tune

- Focus on key components




– The data


– Performance


– Human factor


– 24/7 requirement

– Overnight schedules

– Disaster recovery




– The data


– Performance


– Human factor


– Number of screens

– Layout of screens

– Drag and Drop

– Use of help

– Consistent




– The data


– Performance


– Human factor


– Overall Development approach

– Tools

-Debuggers

– Standards and Guidelines

– Work activities

Education

The Role of The System analyst, System architect and Business analyst