A project manager is the person accountable for accomplishing the stated project objectives. Key project management responsibilities include creating clear and attainable project objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the triple constraint for projects, which are; cost, time, and quality (also known as scope). A project manager is often a client representative and has to determine and implement the exact needs of the client, based on knowledge of the firm they are representing. The ability to adapt to the various internal procedures of the contracting party, and to form close links with the nominated representatives, is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality and above all, client satisfaction, can be realized.
A Software Project Manager has many of the same skills as their counterparts in other industries. Beyond the skills normally associated with traditional project management in industries such as construction and manufacturing, a software project manager will typically have an extensive background in software development. Many software project managers hold a degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or another related field and will typically have worked in the industry as a software engineer.
In traditional project management a heavyweight, predictive methodology such as the waterfall model is often employed, but software project managers must also be skilled in more lightweight, adaptive methodologies such as DSDM, SCRUM and XP. These project management methodologies are based on the uncertainty of developing a new software system and advocate smaller, incremental development cycles. These incremental or iterative cycles are time-boxed (constrained to a known period of time, typically from one to four weeks) and produce a working subset of the entire system deliverable at the end of each iteration. The increasing adoption of lightweight approaches is due largely to the fact that software requirements are very susceptible to change, and it is extremely difficult to illuminate all the potential requirements in a single project phase before the software development commences.
The software project manager is also expected to be familiar with the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). This may require in depth knowledge of requirements solicitation, application development, logical and physical database design and networking. This knowledge is typically the result of the aforementioned education and experience. There is not a widely accepted certification for software project managers, but many will hold the PMP designation offered by the Project Management Institute or an advanced degree in project management, such as a MSPM or other graduate degree in technology management.
A Systems Analyst works directly with different departments in a company to make work sharing, and communication easier, as well as streamlining processes through optimizing systems. To do so, a Systems Analyst needs an intimate knowledge of computers, as well as the ability to work directly with a non-technical audience in their own language.
Systems Analysts are often seen overseeing large projects to make sure that all of the internal elements are running as smoothly and as effectively as possible, and to make them as close to the specification as possible. A Systems Analyst's work is seen anytime a job is completed ahead of schedule, and more effectively than it was previously possible to do so.
A good example of a Systems Analyst is in the evolution of high-tech factories. In many cases, factories started out smaller, with much of the work being done at a high cost to the company and to the consumer because of inefficient assembly lines or badly organized teams. A Systems Analyst will optimize the factories to save their company money and time so they can produce a better, cheaper product for the end user.
Davao Light and Power Company is the third largest privately-owned electric utility in the Philippines. It holds the franchise for distributing electric power to Davao City, the largest city in the world in terms of land area, as well as Panabo City and the municipalities of Carmen, Dujali, and Sto. Tomas in Davao del Norte.
Last December 11, 2009 together with my classmates we went to Davao Light and Power Company at Bajada Davao City to interview a system analyst.
During the interview he told us that a system analyst
Must have communication skills
* a system analyst must know how to deliver soothing to the user
* a system analyst must know how to deal with the people
* a system analyst must know how to deal with the clients
Must have technical skills
a system analyst must know all about the system of the company
it includes system application, administrative work, business functions, and lastly technical functions
He also told us the following:
The nature of relationship includes:
- the cost process of the system, the grow of business process that includes its electric utility, their IS plan, its framework, the business plan of IP management, the support of the business owners, the efficient on one way or another and lastly its technological advance.
We also ask about his frustrations about being a system analyst, he told us that it is a case to case basis, but the frustrations bond with hiring developers in the company to work with the system, another is the product deliverables should satisfy, and lastly in the users part – its slow productivity.
About the Success factors:
-project cost(budget constraints)
-resources
-people
-time
-support from the top management
-resistance of the users
A systems analyst performs the following tasks:
- Interact with the customers to know their requirements
- Interact with designers to convey the possible interface of the software
- Interact/guide the coders/developers to keep track of system development
- Perform system testing with sample/live data with the help of testers
- Implement the new system
- Prepare High quality Documentation
Systems analyst as a project manager
-It includes creating clear and attainable project objectives.
-Also building the project requirements
-And managing the constraint for project costs
-Managing the constraint for projects time
-Managing the constraint for projects quality
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_manager
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_manager#Software_Project_Manager
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