Donald Alforque: The System Analyst

When I first saw the uploaded second assignment that was about finding and interviewing a system analyst which include asking the systems analyst about the different skills and characteristics must a systems analyst acquire and develop in order to be more effective in any designing and modeling process, I was in hesitation if I could really find one, and if I do, could I really ask the questions that could satisfy the given requirement in the assignment.

Basically, I am working with my colleagues, Alvin Cabeliño and Nelly Ancajas, in finding a system analyst and making an interview after. Luckily, after few days of searching, we finally found a systems analyst.

On the previous assignment, I discussed about the system, analyst, systems analyst and system analysis. Also, I included the skills and characteristics the systems analyst must acquire in order to be an effective one in terms of designing and modeling a system or software, depending on what the client wants.

We all know that a system analyst plays a very important role in the success of a company. Essentially, a systems analyst is the person responsible for the development of an information system. Systems analysts design and modify systems by turning user requirements into a set of functional specifications, which are the blueprint of the system. They design the database unless done by a data administrator. Analysts develop the manual and machine procedures and the specifications for each data entry, update, and query and report program in the system.
Systems analysts are the architects, as well as the project leaders, of an information system. It is their job to develop solutions to users' problems, determine the technical and operational feasibility of their solutions, as well as estimate the costs to develop and implement them.

They develop prototypes of the system along with the users, so that the final specifications are examples of screens and reports that have been carefully reviewed. Experienced analysts leave no doubt in users' minds as to what is being developed, and they insist that all responsible users review and sign off on every detail.

Background Of The Systems Analyst

The systems analyst we found was named Donald Alforque. He was born on June 11 and came from Cotabato City. But currently, he is in Davao City to work. 

He took up his high school in Notre Dame Village National High School and graduated in the year 2005. He spent his college years and studied Systems Analysis and Design in STI (Systems Technology Institute) College in Cotabato and graduated as a Com Laude in the year 2009.

As of now, he is a Global Ambassador at Alliance in Motion Global, Incorporated. 

Global Ambassador at Alliance in Motion Global, Incorporated: Company Overview

ALLIANCE IN MOTION GLOBAL, INC. is a marketing company established in March 2006. It is located at Units 301, 319 and 320 AIC Burgundy Empire Tower, cor. Garnet & Sapphire Sts., Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Philippines. In almost 4 years of operation, Alliance In Motion Global, Inc. has established its presence strategically in different regions in the country. At present, it has 87 Business Centers and 94 Satellite Offices nationwide.

Alliance In Motion Global Inc. is conceptualized to provide unmatched quality distribution of exceptional products and services through a combination of advanced technology, distinctive marketing strategies, excellent product lines and exemplary leadership that secures the success of the company. A pro-distributor concept that sets trend on distributors' extravagant packages such as transferable scholarships, free or discounted medical services, insurance package and world class quality products.

Alliance in Motion Global Incorporated has a branch here in Davao City which is Located at Pryce Tower Building, Bajada, Davao City.

This was the questionnaire we prepared as a guide as we conduct our interview on the systems analyst. But primarily, we did not just depend on the questions on our prepared questionnaire and we did not allow the systems analyst that we interviewed just to write the answers we needed to satisfy our needed information. We decided to make our interview verbally to build rapport and I believe it would make the systems analyst more comfortable and he will enjoy talking and answering our question s because he would see that we were interested on everything that he said regarding the questions that we asked.

Questionnaire: As a Tool in Gathering Information

A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case. 

Questionnaires have advantages over some other types of surveys in that they are cheap, do not require as much effort from the questioner as verbal or telephone surveys, and often have standardized answers that make it simple to compile data. However, such standardized answers may frustrate users. Questionnaires are also sharply limited by the fact that respondents must be able to read the questions and respond to them. Thus, for some demographic groups conducting a survey by questionnaire may not be practical.

As a type of survey, questionnaires also have many of the same problems relating to question construction and wording that exist in other types of opinion polls.

In general, questions should flow logically from one to the next. To achieve the best response rates, questions should flow from the least sensitive to the most sensitive, from the factual and behavioral to the attitudinal, and from the more general to the more specific.

The first question we asked for Sir Donald Alforque was about his perception or what he believes a systems analyst does. He has many answers but he said to just focus on the most important. For his own opinion, and I believe also that a systems analyst must do, a systems analyst is the one who design and analyze computer systems to match to the business logic of the client. Fundamentally, a systems analyst will always depends on what the client wants and needs. He must know first the scope and limitations of the business and to do that one, he must gather the necessary information and conduct appropriate surveys before he propose a system appropriate to the client's business. In addition, a systems analyst is the one who configure the systems, determine individual job requirements to secure and deploy an effective information system.

The next thing we asked Sir Donald was about the technical and non technical skills he has as a systems analyst. The first thing he said was for the technical side and the most important thing a systems analyst must acquire was that a systems analyst must have a broad knowledge about programming. A systems analyst must know about how to program and debug a program in order to make an effective information system.

Computer Programming: A Very Important Factor in Being an Effective Systems Analyst

Computer programming is about creating a sequence of instructions to enable the computer to do something.  Computer Program installed in our computers allow us to do what we want such as typing in a MS Word, if a Microsoft Word is installed. In writing a computer program, we need to know a computer programming language. A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely. A programming language's surface form is known as its syntax. Most programming languages are purely textual; they use sequences of text including words, numbers, and punctuation, much like written natural languages. The syntax of a language describes the possible combination of symbols that form a syntactically correct program. On the other hand, the term semantics refers to the meaning of languages, as opposed to their form (syntax).

On the other hand, for the non technical side, a systems analyst will make just depend on the blunt truth, but basically on the mere facts basis. A systems analyst will not jump into conclusion unless he has evidences and make some experiments and surveys to prove it for himself


For Sir Donald, a systems analyst must have a connection with the client as well as with other member of a group (if there is any) in order to perform specific and required task for making an effective information system as well as to consolidate different ideas for better output. Also, a systems analyst must always consider the business logic and computer logic of the company. A systems analyst will always make the business logic of the company a basis in making a system. If in case the system made by the systems analyst is not compatible with the business logic of the company, it will lead to miserable functionality of the business. Company's clients or costumers may shift to other company because of dissatisfaction.

Good Qualities of a Systems Analyst (Sir Donald Alforque)

• A systems analyst must be professional in addressing the problem of the organization
• A systems analyst must not be contented on the things that he only and already know. He must still willing to learn and discover new things in order to cope up with new ideas. For that, he could think of new ideas that could be applied in making, designing, and modeling an information system.
• A systems analyst should always make way on listening opinion of others.
• A systems analyst should be flexible in any changes that the client wants.

The Skills and Characteristics A Systems Analyst must Develop in Order to be More Effective in Designing and Modeling a System

• A systems Analyst must acquire good leadership skills.
• A systems Analyst must always upgrade his knowledge.
• A systems Analyst must always base from "results and facts" in terms of operation.
• A systems Analyst must have professionalism.
• A systems Analyst must be a good team builder.

Also, Sir Donald told us that a we can make more profit if we engage on:

• The Web

A web or website is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet address known as a Uniform Resource Locator. All publicly accessible websites collectively constitute the World Wide Web.

A web page is a document, typically written in plain text interspersed with formatting instructions of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML, XHTML). A web page may incorporate elements from other websites with suitable markup anchors.

Basically, as we are connected in a network, we can access the web. The web offers different opportunities that can be done without even seeing the client. That is somehow called as out sourcing. You will be paid by the time you finish what your client told you to do.

• Applets

An applet is a program designed to be executed from within another application. Unlike an application, applets cannot be executed directly from the operating system. With the growing popularity of OLE (object linking and embedding), applets are becoming more prevalent. A well-designed applet can be invoked from many different applications.
Web browsers, which are often equipped with Java virtual machines, can interpret applets from Web servers. Because applets are small in files size, cross-platform compatible, and highly secure (can't be used to access users' hard drives), they are ideal for small Internet applications accessible from a browser.

• Database

A collection of information organized in such a way that a computer program can quickly select desired pieces of data. You can think of a database as an electronic filing system.

Traditional databases are organized by fields, records, and files. A field is a single piece of information; a record is one complete set of fields; and a file is a collection of records. For example, a telephone book is analogous to a file. It contains a list of records, each of which consists of three fields: name, address, and telephone number. 

An alternative concept in database design is known as Hypertext. In a Hypertext database, any object, whether it be a piece of text, a picture, or a film, can be linked to any other object. Hypertext databases are particularly useful for organizing large amounts of disparate information, but they are not designed for numerical analysis.

To access information from a database, you need a database management system (DBMS). This is a collection of programs that enables you to enter, organize, and select data in a database.

As a summary, every thing that I posted on the first assignment about a systems analyst is necessary to be an effective one, based on the interview we conducted. There are many things to consider but still, every thing will be done as long as you have the passion on becoming an effective and in demand systems analyst. As what Sir Donald said, in making a software or a system, we must consider and convert "something we want to something we need..."

Reference:

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=systems+analyst&i=52445,00.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questionnaire

The Following pictures was taken as we interviewed Sir Donald Alforque. In the picture: Alvin Cabeliño, Nelly Ancajas, and yours truly.