Can any one tell me what are the resposibilties of IT Analyst and what are the skills required for this position
Answers (17)
Gary N
Information Technology and Services Professional
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Hi Nischal, there aren't any industry defined responsibilities for an "IT Analyst" position as they vary from company to company. It could mean a Business Analyst or a Systems Analyst or even a Database Analyst. In a few companies I know IT Analyst is another name for a Helpdesk administrator. Even in the UK, with the adoption by many businesses of the SFIA framework (www.sfia.org.uk), there's no clear definition of what an analyst does.
You should really check with an employer what their expectations of skills and responsibilities are.
James G
Project Manager at GlaxoSmithKline
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Adding to 1st answer: or Test Analyst, or Service Delivery Analyst.
Clarification added March 19, 2008:
Additional thoughts: Not common, but another possible use of the term is someone who studies IT as a mgt discipline. This is more in the realm of a consultant who analyzes the IT industry. Firms like Forrester or Gartner come to mind.
There was a time 20 years ago, where as Analyst you were distinct from someone who was "only" a junior programmer -- i.e. a Programmer/Analyst position trumped Programmer I. So a person might be hired to code, then either move into management of programming /Technical Lead, or "up front" toward the customer into System Analysis (or now Business Analysis).
This addendum is more for completeness, since I think the explanations given by others are more likely.
You can search O*NET Online or the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
"The O*NET system serves as the nation's primary source of occupational information, providing comprehensive information on key attributes and characteristics of workers and occupations."
"The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives. The Handbook is revised every two years."
Links:
David S
Providing Project Management, Supply Chain Consulting, and IT Support
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Certainly, what Gary says below is true. IT Analyst is truly a title that can mean almost anything. Basically what it hinges on is just how technical is that person supposed to be. It could be someone who is really a business analyst or someone who writes psuedo code.
In general, however, the best analysts have certain things in common.
First, they need to be the type of people who can ask questions. I know everyone can ask a question, but some people hvae a real knack for asking questions that get to the heart of the issue.
Second, they need to be persistent and honest about their understanding of a situation. That is, once you ask your question, you have to hang on and not let go until you understand the answer and how it fits into your understanding of the problem. Analysts don't hvae to be deep thinkers but they have to know when they know something and when they don't.
Third, I think the analyst must understand the business process. And if they don't understand it you must be sure that they are going to do the leg work to get that understanding. Good analysts are driven to understand at a very gut level.
Fourth, in today's world you must have some understanding of the technology that you are analyzing for. You don't need to be able to code necessarily, but you have to understand what is possible, what is easy, and what is not.
Education is not really important. Having specific skills may not be that important. But attitude and having a practical intelligence are. Hope this helps.
IT Janitor. Require an individual that can tell a different between a desktop and a laptop when he/she encounter one.
I think David Shirey gave a perfect answer. The title Analyst (in IT/IS) has lost its meaning. If, as some have said, it has a clarification, then it can be more meaningful but doesn't even then guarantee that it is a position to analyze.
Anyway, Davids points are very good describing who an Analyst is. And there used to be a very good description for IT/IS Analyst a long time ago but lost in time and business.
Most of the positions I have run across with this title usually implies a Level I Helpdesk Position. Definitely ask for clarification.
David P
Principal at DLP Consulting
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IT Analyst is what they call an entry level person when they can't really define the role specifically. You can make it a stepping stone into other IT realms. Just don't get pigeon-holed in being an IT Analyst, then a Sr. Assoc IT Analyst, then a Sr. Analyst, etc., etc.. Make sure that whatever area you are in, you absorb as much info as you can in preparation for the next step.
Good luck
David
there are 4 views
Business, Data, Application and Technology - so it is quite wide open for abuse
Anil C
Group Delivery Head, ASEAN & JAPAN at Wipro Technologies
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Hi Nischal,
To me "IT analyst" appears to be more a name given to a position (some organizations do have many such designation like analyst, sr analyst, etc). In actual business sense one will see needs for system analyst or business analyst or such roles which very specifically tells what is required from that person.
Normally an analyst needs to analyse available information and data and apply his or her own knowledge in the technology or functional areas and provides options or choices for the recipient to look at and chose one from them. A business analyst, for example, will look at business requirements and functional areas in which business is being carried and then provide business level options (basically listing many options and providing pros and cos of each) from which one could be chosen. A system analyst will normally go to next level where technology and atchitecture options needs to be analysed and selected.
You could also have test analyst who could analyse different requirements and functions and provide set of test cases and scenarios as well as what should be automated and what should not, which testing tool to be used, etc. A database analysts can provide comparision between different databases which could serve purpose of one's business and technical needs.
So I think, you should try to seek more input on exactly what someone means when they say "IT analyst" as it could have a very broad set of meaning.
Thanx,
Anil
Sorcha O
Applications Services Leader at Capgemini
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To add to David's answer, no matter what level of "Analyst" it actually is there are certain skills that I would expect.
1) The ability to communicate effectively. From asking the right questions, to writing the answers and presenting updates. Everything from taking phone calls to writing emails and producing formal and informal documents
2) Tied in with 1 - the ability to know your audience. During the day an Analyst could talk to Joe Bloggs on the street with no |T experience, followed by a hard core techie, followed by his senior management. He needs to be able to pitch the information he gives accordingly.
3) The ability to obtain, retain, and build on relevant knowledge, whether that's business. technology or process (or all 3). It makes the job more interesting, and the employee more useful and effective.
A system analyst should ideally study Computer Science. He should be more technical than business as he/ she will relate all the requirements and try to fit them technically in the system. He might not interact with the business process at all. For example, building a hospital system, the system analyst would be caring about how to store the data of an employee and creating a program who will book appointments for patients. However, the business analyst would try to analyze how to best use the system analyst's application to create efficient processes. For example, he would care more of creating a business scenario of booking an appointment (application, then approve, then choose a clinic, then choose the time slot, etc).
Hi Nischal,
It should be clear for you by now, who an IT Analyst is. But, from a technical standpoint, to be an IT Analyst, you would require to know how IT systems function.
From many experiences especially keeping in mind the kind of enterprise systems / applications which get built these days, companies cannot actually define a technology specific role in the initial stages of customer acquisition. Hence, what they do is to have professionals with a broad technology skill set to help them in the pre-sales activities. As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, devising or helping the customer devise a solution too fits the Analyst role.
An IT Analyst, would typically come from a core technology (computer science/ telecommunications) background armed with a business degree or with sufficient experience in designing or architecting business critical (domain specific) solutions. He would have an average industry experience ranging between 4 to 5 years.
An example of an "IT Analyst" role would be to create and devise Content Management solutions for a large financial brokerage firm. A "Business Analyst" here, would actually define the Content Management Strategy and work with the IT Analyst to design the Content Management Solution.
Again as mentioned elsewhere in this thread, it would serve you best to seek clarification from your employer or a prospective employer on his/her definition and need of an IT Analyst.
Hope this clarifies.
Regards,
Santosh Ramakrishnan
In my opinion the main skills of an IT Analyst are:
-process mapping.
Ability to find trouble analyzing the entire process also without information.
-re-engineering:
Capacity to improve the environment, monitoring the slow issue (hardware,software or people).
-Smart_Factor
Ability to understand the real businness'need and immediately resolve the trouble or better find a temporary and fast workaround or "band-aid" to guarantee the real service.
But mainly , used to use the experience/knowledge or "Linkedin" to suit for specific circumstances.
Best Regards, CM
Sander G
Transport Policy Specialist at Royal Dutch Association of Transport Companies
I agree with David Shirey.
With respect to responsibilities, one can argue that the IT Analyst is to have an overview of business processes, BP its informational needs, external and internal communication patterns and future developments in the organization. The analyst uses this knowledge to construct new IT solutions, aiding the organization in attaining its goals.
As Mostafa Amin says, the analyst should have basic technical knowledge of the IT structure. In a sense, he/she needs to give a clear picture of costs and benefits of IT investments, amortization, maintenance and the IT market.
The principals can, thus, be informed by the IT analyst of IT demand by the organization, IT supply by the market and the total costs incurred.
Thanks,
Sander
Andy E
Collaborative Leader, Community Evangelist, Compelling Writer, and Connector
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Download the Business Analysis Book Of Knowledge (babok) from the link provided below. This is version 1.6 of the babok for which a certification test exists. Version 2 of the babok should come out later this summer and has some significant logical changes in how the role is perceived with respect to the entire organization.
Go to pages 312-314. You will find the analyst skills *assumed* to exist in an analyst before you even address the technical and documentation skills necessary for an IT analyst role. This is a fairly significant list, and you'll notice that the list leans heavily towards interpersonal skills - a tough obstacle for IT analysts that generally focus on data and things rather than people.
Then look at page 13. Sections 1.5.4, 1.5.5, and 1.5.6 summarize what an IT analyst is. Sometimes this role covers responsibilities in 1.5.3, but this section deals more with the people than the things and data. Finally, section 1.6 attempts to describe the entire Business Analyst space in a diagram. I think the diagram from V2 describes this better, but this is all we have at the moment. In contrast, sections 1.5.1, 1.5.2, and 1.5.3 describe the role of the more social aspects of business analysis in the business architecture front-end space.
So here are 300+ pages of what it means to be a business analyst. If you comb the content for sections 1.5.3 - 1.5.6, you will have a good understanding of what an IT analyst is and does.
Links:
The U.S. Department of Labor seems to offer a useful set of classifications, see http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos287.htm for an example.
