Perspective 5 – The System (Part 1)

Now that we have wrapped up Perspective 4 around Business rules and had our special bonus interview with Robert Thacker on Process Mining and Process Automation, it’s now time to talk about Perspective 5: The Systems. If you have missed the previous Perspectives you can find them on my blog.

What is a System?

First, we should start with defining what a system is for the purpose of this perspective. If you have ever studied the concept of systems thinking, you know a system is defined as more than just technology. A system in the context of systems thinking consists of interacting, interrelated and interdependent components to form a complete whole. So, a system is made up of many components, not just technology.

A system consists of the organization culture, framework, processes, resources, technology and more. However, for the context of this perspective we will be focusing on technology. We will focus on what a system is from the standpoint of technology, how systems work independently and with other systems, how to identify systems, why having this knowledge is important, and finally we will wrap up with the system context diagram technique as a way to visualize systems.

What technologies should you know to be a successful business analyst?

Before we get started there is one item I do want to address. Some of you reading this post are business analysts. I want to address a question I receive a lot from business analysts in regards to, what technologies do you have to know in order to be a successful business analyst?

My answer to that question is, it depends! There is no way you can learn every single technology/software language out there. You will lose your mind. It is just not a realistic goal, and you will swirl forever trying to keep up.

However, there is some reflection you can leverage to determine:

(1) do you need to know certain technologies to be successful in a certain industry?

(2) What technologies do you need to know to be successful in your role if that is required?

(3) Do I want to work in an environment as a business analyst where I have to be a technical business analyst?

Here are some reflections to consider:

1. Determine if the business analyst role you want for your career is focused on the business side, technical side, or you are open to both.
2. Based on the business analysis roles you are interested in pursuing, determine if you see patterns of technologies mentioned in the job descriptions consistently. If so, this may be a clue for you there is a need to know certain technologies/system languages (such as SQL as an example).
3. Determine if there is a certain industry of focus you desire, or if you want to work in different industries.
4. If you have determined there is a certain industry of focus, determine if that industry leverages certain technologies that would be beneficial for you to know, and at what level.
5. If you have determined you want to work in different industries, understand the main technologies that are used so you have an idea on what is required without having to know them inside or out, unless required.

As you can see, there is no black and white answer to this. Actually, there can be quite a bit of grey. It boils down to the needs of the organization, and the organizations expectation of certain roles. It can even depend on where you reside geographically, as some geographies have different requirements.

Now that I have addressed that question, let’s go a little deeper into Perspective 5.

Examples of a System

As stated earlier, when I reference systems for this perspective, I am specifically referencing the technology systems, or applications organizations use to deliver services to their customers. Examples, could be user interfaces, mainframes, databases, artificial intelligence, robotics, and more. Now, the complexity comes with understanding what the systems are, what the systems do, how the systems interact with other systems, or if they are a stand-alone system. Every organization has a system of some kind leveraged to deliver services. Sometimes finding out what those systems are, and how they are used is challenging, but it can be done.

How Does a System Work?

A system helps to deliver some type of a capability/service to an end user/consumer. Input(s) trigger the system to perform some sort of task. In some instances, other systems (sub systems) leveraged by the main system may complete the task. In most cases there are also controls in place to ensure the service functions as expected. Once complete, the output renders and delivers some sort of capability to the end user/customer. The diagram below depicts what this might look like visually.

Figure 1

To give an example to bring this to life. Most of us have some type of bank product.

Let us take your checking account as an example and say you want to deposit a check you received via your phone to your checking account. Here is what the system may look like to deliver this service outlining the components above in the diagram:

Input(s): Phone and check

System: Mobile Banking System

Sub System(s): Customer Management System, Deposit System, Phone Mobile App

• Customer Management System – Houses the customer information
• Deposit System: Processes the transaction to post to the checking account
• Phone Mobile App: Connects to the main mobile banking system to complete the transaction request

Controls: Authentication of customer prior to access to the mobile banking system

Output: Check the confirmation message, which should be electronically deposited into account

Capability: Allows customer to deposit checks through their mobile phone

This is just an example on how a system works and interacts with other systems. Knowing this type of information is great because it can help you understand capabilities that already exists, capabilities that may not exist that can deliver a better service to the customer, and much more.

Now that we understand what a system is and how it works, in my next post we will discuss how to identify systems and why knowing our systems is important to the overall organization.