Skills and Courses for Becoming a System Analyst

This article discusses the skills and courses required to become a system analyst. It covers subjects like database management, IT audit and controls, enterprise architecture, networking and cyber security, and IT project management. It also compares the syllabus between colleges to help students make an informed decision. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of developing interpersonal and team working skills for a successful career.

Running head: ACADEMIC COMMUNICATION
Academic Communication Business and Economics
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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A system analyst is one who is responsible for finding out the solutions to the different
problems that might often arise in the organization. It is the duty of the system analyst to find out
some of the solutions that will be needed by the organization in order to meet with their entire
present and future problem. The system analysts are an incorrigible part of any organization as
they help in finding out the issues related to the business and also to the technology that is used
in the organization. I have chosen the career of a system analyst as this will help me to develop a
thorough understanding of both the business process and the business system. Thus the system
analysts make an extensive study of the issues that the organization is facing and then provide
some information based solutions to the organization. I have always been passionate about
stung technology and also the business process. Thus I want to enroll myself in one of the very
well known and renowned colleges that till offer me a good course in the field of Bachelors of
Information System (Karanja et al. 2016).
However while undertaking the enrollment in the Bachelor of Information System course I
will be able to take a look over all the subjects that are being offered in the course. I have to be
very alert regarding selecting the college or the university where I will be undertaking the course.
This is because every college does not include the same kinds of subjects in their semester
course. I have to make a proper choice between the subjects that are being offered in the course
and the ones that are actually needed for completion of the course and the ones that are actually
being offered in the college semester.In order to do this the initial things that need to be done is
to undertake a discussion of the subjects that are actually required for undertaking this
course that is bachelors of Information Systems. The different kinds of subjects that are to be
undertaken in order to study the bachelors of Information Systems course are
 Database management and security

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This subject is of the utmost importance for managing and accessing the data within the
company. The database management in the modern business setup mainly works on the principle
of a programming language called the called structured query language (Yoon, Hoogduin and
Zhang 2015). The other programs that the database contains are the Microsoft SQL and the
MySQL. They help in making the data easily available to the users by updating them very
quickly. For an instance any webpage showing the product information, the detailed description,
price and other such details attracts the attention of customers very easily.
 IT Audit and Controls
This is one of the most important subjects for any system analyst course as it will help them
to prevent the company from entering into unethical activities or frauds like that of Enron or the
WorldCom. They have to undertake extensive auditing of the IT systems in order to see that the
managers do not involve themselves in any unethical activities. They have to ensure that the
network system and the softwares being used in the company are efficient, updated and ethical in
nature.
 Enterprise Architecture
As the very name suggest the EA or the Enterprise Architecture have to link the principles,
goals, objectives mission of the organization to the IT strategies that are being used in the
organization. They help in creating the architectural models that help in understanding the
current and the future needs of the organization.
 Networking and cyber security

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This is an Information System course that encourages and teaches students to identify the
different security issues that might often appear in the networking systems of the organization.
They security expertise is highly needed in today’s era so that the breach of important data does
not take place in the organizations (Paul 2018).
 IT project management
This is one of the most crucial subjects that are required for this course because projects are
always very chaotic and complex in nature. There are many employees involved in any project.
Thus, the need for a manager is unavoidable as they help in maintaining and organizing the
project in a proper way. A Project manager has to take regular updates on the progress of the
project. The Project manager has to make sure that all the employees are getting the necessary
support if they come across regarding anything in the ongoing project.
The semester course that has been given has been compared with the syllabus of some other
college semester syllabus. Undertaking this compare and contrasting is essential as it helps in
understanding the gap or the errors that exist between this college and the other colleges in
Australia that provides the bachelor in the information system field. The comparison has been
done between the given syllabus and the syllabus for the same field in another famous college of
Austria called the UNSW Business School
As per the given semester it is seen that the very beginning of the course is on with the
course called Professional Development and Business Communication. This can be
considered as one of the good features as it will help the students in starting their course by
learning the basics of developing themselves to meet the probable professions and also the
communication styles that must be needed in case of carrying on with the business. This is really

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very important as it helps in understanding the skills that must be present if they want to become
an ideal system analyst in future. The students must know that they need to have an active
listening and questioning skill. This is because they need to understand the kinds of issues that
are actually going on in the organization and then find out some relevant solutions. However on
the other hand it is seen that the syllabus for the bachelor of Information System in the UNSW
Business School starts with an introductory chapter over the digital transformation in business.
This is one of the important courses for the aspiring system analysts as they will be able to
understand the importance of the digital, platforms in the modern 21st century. Students will be
able to understand the role of technology in modern business and society. They will also be able
to develop a thorough understanding of the technologies that will be needed for refining the
business in a better way. However as per my perception I think that starting off the syllabus with
the understanding of the professional habits and business communication is one of the essential
lessons to start with (Ivanov 2016).
Database management is also one of the important subjects that need to be studied in the
path of becoming a System Analyst. It has been seen that this course is included in the semester
syllabus that has been shared and also the syllabus of the UNSW Business School. This is a
course that will be taught in both the college semesters. Database management is one of the most
crucial subjects that are to be studied in order to become a system analyst. This course is
included on the syllabus of both the colleges. This shows that both these universities have been
able to fill the gap between the subject that needs to be studied and the subject that has been
already included in the course of the education.
Sustainability and ethics are one of the important courses that have been included in the syllabus
of the semester that has been shared by the student. Sustainability and ethics is a broad topic that

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must be taught to the aspiring system analysts so that they can learn about the rules and the
principles that must be followed while working in this profession (Safa, Von Solms and Furnell
2016). The principles of ethics and sustainability will help the system analysts to understand if
the employee like the system engineers, data scientists and others are abiding by the rules and
regulations that must be followed (Leonard, Jones and Lang 2018). Using the proper IT practices
in the organization also comes under the sustainability and the ethics that must be followed in the
organization.
IT Audit and control are also one of the important courses that are included in the
syllabus that has been shared by the student but the same is missing in the curriculum of the
other college that is the UNSW Business School (UNSW Business School. 2019). Thus a gap
can be identified in this aspect. In order to become a successful System analyst it is essential to
know the skills of IT audit. However it is seen that there are some gaps existing in the syllabus of
some college whereas some college has been able to address them as well. One of the important
features that I have noticed is the inclusion of the compulsory courses in the UNSW Business
School. The two courses included under the compulsory courses are managing organization and
people and accounting and financial management. Students taking the course of bachelors in the
information system in this college will be opting for these two courses (Jiang et al. 2018). Thus
they will be able to get a good training of surviving a turbulent business environment by taking
care of the ethical and social responsibility. However this compulsory course is not available in
the given syllabus.
I think that I will also need some interpersonal skills for becoming an ideal system
analyst.I will require a proper interpersonal skill in order to interact with the employees. A
positive and motivating behavior are needed so that they can talk with the IT employees and get

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to know about the issues that they are facing. Good communication skill is of utmost importance
as System Analysts have to understand and write the user requirements into technical
specifications. The syllabus shared has the course of professional development and business
communication right at the initial level (Carvalho and Rabechini Junior 2015). This is indeed a
very good aspect for training the aspiring system analysts. There was a gap identified in the
UNSW Business School. There is no such separate or compulsory course on professional
skill development or business communication.
The team working skill is also one of the important qualities that must be present in the
candidate who wishes to become a system analyst. This is because a system analyst has to work
in a team or interact with a team in order to understand the complicated issues or the problems
that are being faced by the team members. Apart from the technical skills, System Analysts have
to bear proper social skill. They must be good at the questioning and the answering sessions
while they are in any workshops, seminars or any other kinds of interviews. Oral communication
skill is of utmost importance for them as they have to speak with the teams in order to understand
the issues that they are facing in the ongoing system (De Los Ríos et al. 2015). They must be
open-minded and show respect for the viewpoint of the other staffs (Van Den Berg and Van
Vliet 2016). Courses like business communication and leadership governance will be very
helpful for developing these skills. However there is a gap identified in some of the colleges.
They do not offer any such skills that would separately provide the training on the non-technical
aspects like communication and interpersonal skills (Ahmed et al. 2015). UNSW Business
School does not offer any such separate course that would help these students to develop non-
technical skills (Branchet and Sanseau 2017). The human resource management system must be

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included in the syllabus in order to train the aspiring candidates with the qualities of developing
the training and the people skill (Noe et al. 2017).
Thus before taking enrollment in any of the universities the students have to make sure
that they are getting proper information about the skills needed and the skills that are offered in
the colleges. Developing a sound and clear knowledge will be helpful in identifying the fact that
exists between the two. This will be helping students to select a particular kind of university
where the majority of the courses or the more or less similar courses are being offered. Making
this selection will enable the students to choose the right educational institute that will shape
their career goals and guide them to become an ideal System Analyst.

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