The Duties of A Systems Analyst

A 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 wether 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 flow charting, 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.