Interviewing a Systems Analyst

From the previous assignment we had, the skills and characteristics of a good systems analyst has already been defined and discussed thoroughly. As a Computer Science student, my primary goal while I am still studying is to learn more on the field that I belong so that at the end of my schooling, there can be a great possibility that I will have a job that is fit from my attained degree. There are lots of job a Computer Science graduate can work into and one of the in demand job nowadays in the world of information technology is the systems analyst. Business organizations would tend to hire systems analyst for them to be more competitive in the industry because the main job of the systems analyst is to solve the problem of the current system of the company and design for a better system that would be feasible enough to make the company competitive. 

In order to justify the information of a systems analyst according to their characteristics and skills, we were tasked to interview a systems analyst and ask what skills and characteristics must a systems analyst develop in order to be more effective in any design modeling process. First thing that came out in my mind was to interview right away the systems analyst in USEP, most probably one of the faculties in IC handled the system. Some of my classmates concluded that Maam Teng Dumdumaya holds a system in USEP and some says that it is Sir Ariel Pabilona. After doubting on who manages the system, it has been clarified that Sir Ariel Pabilona holds a system in USEP but our group hesitated to conduct an interview on him because others have already conducted their interview. I was a bit problematic that time when our group knew that Sir Ariel was already interviewed, I was thinking on conducting an interview to other systems analyst in other schools but it could be difficult if you have no connections inside the school. Good thing I remembered my cousin’s girlfriend who is currently working at DMMA College of Southern Philippines (DCSP) and asked her about conducting an interview of a systems analyst. Luckily, she knows their systems analyst and told me to just come to their school and meet their systems analyst.

It was last Friday, December 9, when we interviewed Mr. Cornelio Dagot, MIS in DCSP and is handling several systems in their school. He graduated in STI and worked as a systems analyst in DCSP since 1995 before he became a MIS. He is also the Job Enabling English Proficiency (JEEP) Start Laboratory manager in DCSP. Some of the systems he handled inside the school are Enrolment System, Student Account System, Faculty Loading System, and they also adopted a telecommunication system under Globe which was theTextConnect. The system should have been a convenient way of letting the students get their grades through text but Sir Dagot said that the implemented system was not that effective enough to push through because most of the students are Smart users and seldom uses Globe as their main communication service provider. He works not only inside DCSP but he also handles systems in other big companies.

Our interview started with a question, “what are the skills needed in order for one to become a systems analyst?” According to Sir Dagot, basically if one wants to be a systems analyst he needs to have skills on programming and research. Why research? It is because the work of a systems analyst is to determine the problem on a particular department that needs to be computerized that is why there is a need to analyze the problem before designing the system. The systems analyst must also identify what would be the basic solution to the problem and where would he deploy the system. Most probably the solution would be the use of technology to solve the problem but there are instances that other departments don’t need computerization and just adopt the manual system probably because there would be no dealing of heavy transactions.

Second formulated question was, “what is the nature of a systems analyst?” According to Sir Dagot, as a systems analyst, his job is to conduct research on a particular problem in the organization. He cited a sample problem in their Finance Department, their problem is issuing of receipts. The work of the systems analyst is to just pin point what problems he observed. Coding and software development are not the works of a systems analyst because as a systems analyst, his work is limited until analyzing the problem and it is others’ job to handle the coding and software development. In Sir Dagot’s case, since DCSP has only few departments to handle, the work of the systems analyst is to analyze the problem, design the solution to the problem, and work on the coding and software development. But in big companies where there are MIS teams handling a certain system, the systems analyst has specific things to do, his focus is more on investigation, research the problem, the systems analyst is limited also on the system design, he just have to give idea on the design but not on coding.

Third question was about the systems that were implemented in their school, “here in DCSP, what are the current systems you handle as of this moment?” According to him, DCSP has two classes of system which are the customized systems and the proprietary systems like the Microsoft. In customized systems, they are the ones who create the system with the help of the resident programmer. They created existing systems like the Enrollment system, Student Account system, Faculty Loading System, and they also developed a system that links to Globe Telecommunications which is an easy way of inquiring a student’s grade through texting. It was called TextConnect but it was not implemented too long because as what they have observed, most of the students are using other networks rather than Globe. Applying the skill of a systems analyst, Sir Dagot in cooperation with Smart planned to have their TextConnect version but he said that it needs to have a new system because the recent system was based on Globe and they have different systems. Before implementing the said systems they must create new system that would fit to the system of Smart.

Another question being formulated by one of my classmates, “as a systems analyst, what are the characteristics needed to be developed?” He directly answered analysis and design. The subject Systems Analysis and Design is the foundation of becoming a systems analyst; it tackles a little about programming but the main topic of the subject is about investigating the problem and finding out the solution to the problem. Sir Dagot graduated at STI on Analysis and Design and he said that it is the core or the foundation of every systems analyst. 

Next question formulated by me was, “what part of being a systems analyst is difficult to handle?” I was expecting that his answer would belong to the different phases in making a system like the planning phase, development phase, etc., but mostly for an experienced systems analyst like Sir Dagot, he has more difficulty on the clients of the system being developed. According to him, “The employees are not susceptible to change,” and it is true for some of the employees who are inclined to manual systems and prefer to work manually than to upgrade to an automated workspace. Systems analysts help the company to become progressive but how can the company be progressive if the employees would not adopt and embrace change in the company. Sir Dagot cited a situation in the Accounting department wherein the students would create long line just to have their receipts, in the part of the client there is no quality service on falling in line. To minimize the line that forms in the Accounting department, a queuing system has been deployed in the department and still another problem was raised. The queuing system may eliminate the long line of students but it would create misunderstanding on the students being called already but they were not present that time and when they came back they would claim that they were called earlier and this would end up in a quarrel. Some of the staff in the Accounting department would prefer not to use the system to minimize arguments. Even the outside systems that he handle are difficult to implement because it is within the employees if they are able to adopt change then good for the systems analyst because there would be no difficulty on observing the system after deployment but for employees that are not susceptible to change, it would be very hassle in the part of the systems analyst.

In connection with the previous question we had, we derived this question, “on the side of the students, what is most likely their reaction after a system has been deployed?” According to Sir Dagot, “of course, on the part of the students they actually appreciated the said system.” He cited again the queuing system in the Accounting department, after the system has been deployed there was a minimal line of students. It is advantageous on the part of a student because they would not take a long line before reaching the tellers and hassle-free for them because they would just wait for their number to be called in order for them to be catered. The only problem was in the Accounting department because they don’t want any fights from the students. Sir Dagot also applied the system to the Registrar department and he received positive reactions regarding the performance of the system because the employees accepted change in their way of working.

“Have you experienced working in group? Did you experience working as a Project Manager?” Sir Dagot told us that he has never worked on a group nor became the Project Manager because he is working individually.

“How long does it take for a systems analyst to analyze a problem?” According to Sir Dagot, it depends on the project that you are about to make. We took Enrollment system as an example of the system the we are about to create, he said that when he was developing the Enrollment system it took him one month to work on analyzing the problem and investigating it. It includes visitation of the different departments to know exactly the main problem. Then six months preparation for the coding and test runs but that duration doesn’t mean that the role of the systems analyst end there. After six months of observation, it must be polished for revisions, upgrade, and maintenance of the system for it to function properly.

Lastly, “as a systems analyst, do you follow SDLC method?” According to him, as a systems analyst, there is really a need of following steps in order to make the project right and as for him he uses SDLC method in developing the system. The data gathering, planning, designing, developing, implementing, and monitoring are very useful steps in creating a system because it is one way of disciplining yourself for it is a step by step procedure and one cannot proceed to the next phase until the previous phase has not been finished.

Being a systems analyst isn’t an easy job at all. In order for you to become a systems analyst, you must have at least the skills needed for a systems analyst. You need to know how to analyze the problem and you need to know what solutions are needed to solve the problem that you analyzed. Few systems analysts work with their specific tasks and that is if they are under a group project but for most of the systems analyst who develops system inside the school, they make the system as a whole, from analysis of certain problem to designing and implementing the system. A skilled systems analyst would probably have no difficulties in terms of developing the system but the challenge for them is the ability of the clients to adopt change. Not all clients are open to change especially if they are settled on the manual system, the work of the systems analyst now is to make the system catchy to the clients and if possible easy to handle so that there would be less problems in deploying the system. An individual should have the proper foundation of skills, knowledge and characteristics in order for him to become a good systems analyst.

I personally thank Mr. Cornelio Dagot for allowing us to spare some of his time in sharing his knowledge and experiences as a systems analyst not only inside the school but also dealing outside the big companies.


Evidences: 

A photo inside their conference room together with Mr. Cornelio Dagot, MIS of the DMMA College of Southern Philippines.

A photo of serious students while listening to Sir Cornelio Dagot.