COMPETENCY OF SYSTEM ANALYSTS

Competency of System Analysts



Competency of System Analysts

Introduction

This paper assesses the two articles written by Schenk, Vitalari, and Davis, and Gamlin, Yourd, and Patrick respectively. The objective is to determine the competencies required for the person working as a systems analyst. Depending on these articles, the paper makes suggestions that whether or not active idea management can serve as an effective way to improve the development and application of the skill sets for both novice and expert systems analysts.

Discussion

Competencies of Expert and Novice System Analyst

Schenk, Vitalari, and Davis essentially described the differences in competency level of expert and novice system analyst that makes the two significantly different. The most important competency of the system analyst is his cognitive abilities or the technical competency. The cognitive abilities of the system analyst cannot be compromised, or altered with the help of technological advancements (Schenk, et.al, 1998). This is mandatory because the technical expertise or the cognitive abilities of the system analyst provides him with the clear and in depth understanding of the problems, in absence of which goals can never be achieved.

The first difference between the novice and the expert systems analyst lies in the difference between their levels of cognitive abilities, and problem solving skills. As compared to experts, the novice system analysts utilize lesser cognitive abilities in order to conduct the requirements analysis, which is initial and most critical phase of the system development life cycle. As a result, the probability of errors becomes much higher for novices as compared to the expert system analysts (Chi, 1982).

The article (Schenk, et.al, 1998) suggests ways for minimizing the gaps between the novice and expert system analyst, so that the cost of errors made by novices can be minimized. The steps include first to understand the working and behaviors of novice and expert system analysts, and then bringing them closer.

In addition to the technical expertise, other competencies discussed in the paper are the interpersonal communication styles and the world views of the expert system analysts (Glen, P., 1965). The experience of the systems analysts helps them to extract the technical knowledge, manage the teams, and also manage the client relationships. The learning process of expert system analysts is quick and effective as compared to the novices. The novice system analysts do not learn quickly through rehearsals.

The expert system analysts have the significant ability to describe the business context of technical work based on the past working experience, analytical reasoning skills, and critical thinking skills. However, the novice system analysts lack this competency mainly due to less experience. In addition, the experts have ability to deal and work in the ambiguous situations. Since they have working experience in various situations, they become able to predict and analyze the situations, while novice system analyst lack this ability of forecasting because he has come just with the class room teaching and theoretical knowledge. Due to less practical knowledge and experience, the novice system analysts do not have skills to handle the ...