My first perception about SAAD

It was a morning class and i was excited to attend this class that i could not sleep all night. System Analysis & Design was my favourite topic in I.T from childhood and now i was getting an opportunity to study this subject in greater detail.

Then i entered the lecture theatre where the lecture was held and found myself surrounded with familiar faces that made my day even more better. The Lecturer began telling us about the importance of this unit to all I.T professionals and the heavy workload we may encounter during the course of this unit.

Now moving on to what i grasped from my 1st lecture on system analysis and design was firstly knowing what "System Analysis and System design" is all about.

Basically System Analysis is "Understanding in detail what an Information System should do to achieve something". Whereas System Design is "specifying in detail how the components of information system should be physically implemented." Another topic that caught my great attention from this lecture was the word: "System Analyst". Yes, this was the word that from my childhood my teachers have been telling me is the person who is good in doing system analysis and design and since this was my favourite topic.....i just could not wait to know all about the work that a System Analyst does.

According to the chapter 1 of SJB Book a System Analyst is defined as "An I.T professional who uses System Analysis and Design techniques to solve business problems using I.T". In other words, System Analyst is more considered a business problem solver than a technical programmer.

But to be a System Analyst requires a unique set of skills and from time to time has to play different roles to get his job done. Skills & knowledge of technical, business, people and integrity and ethics are all crucial to their success in an organization. The basic skills required by a System Anlayst is:

• having technical know how of computer technology and programming expertise
• Thorough understanding of business problems
• Have an inquiring mind and approach to things
• Must bring fresh attitude toward a problem
• Use logical methods for solving problems

When we say technical knowledge, we mean "being competent enough to handle computer/periperal devices (hardware), programming languages, operating systems & utilities, networks and Database management system". While business knowledge refers to "knowledge about business functions performed, organizational structure, functional work processes and organizational management techniques". And People knowledge and skills refers to "understanding the human psychology of people at your workplace". Because when you do system analysis you dig deep into a problem and you need lots of information. So by being able to understand how people think, learn, react to changes, communicate makes gathering information a whole lot easier.

At the same time, a System Analyst needs to "possess excellent interpersonal skills to be an effective communicator to inspire and motivate people, get co-operation, gain necessary support and get a thorough understanding of the complexities of the organization". Lastly, an Analyst must show full integrity and be very ethical because they gather lot of information that is considered confidential and should be kept private.

Apart from all these set of skills a System Analyst has link with all levels (top, middle & bottom) of the organization. Thus, the System Analyst can be involved in strategic planning and special projects that are for the long-term cause which means their experience and feedback is really valued by the top level management, mainly Executives.

So this sums up what i have learned from attending the lecture and reading all the material related related to this which is the study guide and the book. Now i will talk about the tutorial in my next blog which was also another good learning experience..... :)