Online College Course Forum

This is probably the last IT role that I will write about, and in fact it is on the borderline between the business planning and strategy roles, and those of information systems. That is as it should be, as information technology is not a function by itself, businesses regard it as a service that allows them to achieve their business objectives - something that is easily forgotten in the excitement of new technologies.

A business analyst takes the business functions and maps them on to information systems. You could regard the information systems that we use in computing as a model of what happens in the real world, recording actions that have happened or are going to happen, and also recording the results of these actions. It is the role of the business analyst to make sure that this model is as accurate as possible, and that it contributes to the business process, rather than being a brake on it.

Most business analysts have a background in management and business studies. They need knowledge of the computer systems, but no real in-depth understanding. They are interested in the data that is input and the information that is output.

If you are interested in being a business analyst, you will need a good business or management degree, and experience in business planning. You may need a graduate qualification, and many business analysts study MBAs online so that they can combine this with their full-time jobs.

A systems designer is the person who designs applications for the end user. In fact this is a two part job, the designer first of all has to analyze what the user wants and needs, and the needs of the systems in terms of input, processing and output, and then they have to design a system that meets all of the needs, and as many of the wants as possible.

This is a complex job, requiring quite as many business analysis and personnel and communications skills as technical work, and it can be a minefield for the unwary. For many years this job was known as systems analysis, but as systems have become more "immediate" in terms of being delivered to the desktop, and applications can be built on database and spreadsheet packages, so the systems designer's emphasis has changed.

If you are interested in being a systems designer, you will need a mix of technical, business and people skills. Many systems designers start off in some programming funtion, and work alongside business analysts. You will need a degree in an appropriate subject, such as information systems, and you will need to be prepared to spend some time working alongside skilled and experienced systems designers.

The term programmer is usually given to an applications programmer, although to be strictly accurate it can be applied to anyone who programs computers for any reason. However, for the sake of this blog, we will consider it to refer to applications programmers.

Applications programmers write programs that are used for specific purposes by the end users of computers. Typical applications programs are accounting, invoicing, sales and stock packages, and budgeting and forecasting packages for companies and other organizations. There are as many different applications as there are business functions.

Applications programmers can use many different kinds of languages and packages to create their applications, and today most applications in the business environment are based on some kind of proprietry software such as a database or a spreadsheet, giving the programmer the advantage of having a readymade basis for the data storage and retrieval.

In order to become an applications programmer, you will need at least an associate's degree; more often a bachelor's degree to get that important first job. You will need to be up to date with new software and techniques, and most programmers find that they need to train on a regular basis using online and in house training programs as well as classroom based instruction.

The difference between a programmer and a software engineer is definitely a blurred line. A software engineer will usually be involved in creating or maintaining systems software, that is software that is involved in the computing infrastructure. This can include writing and maintaining operating systems, networking systems, compilers, generic applications such as databases and spreadsheets, and packages such as graphics packages or web creation packages.

Generally speaking you will need at least a bachelor's degree in a subject such as computer science or software engineering, or possibly mathematics. You will need to spend quite a long "apprenticeship" maintaining existing software, and will frequently be involved in producing new generations of existing software.

Software engineering applications are frequently written in machine level or similar languages, and require an intimate knowledge of the hardware of computers as well as familiarity with software and software tools. This is the enginnering side of software, and demands very high abilities.

Training is constant, and gaining your qualifications is only the start of the process. Online courses are used to be sure that you are up to date with both new developments and with manufacturer specific training.