Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYST
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Excellent problem-solving skills
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Understanding of business processes and functions
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Strong technical background
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Able to facilitate and communicate technical issues to a variety of
audiences
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Understands the system development life cycle
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Good writing skills
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Quick learner
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Persistence to work through complex issues and design challenges
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Enthusiastic, motivated, and curious about learning the business
NOTE
The most important characteristic to look for in candidates for the posi-
tion of business systems analyst for a data warehouse project is curiosity. If a
person is sincerely interested in what the business does and how things work, then
this will feed their ability to gather requirements and then translate them into a
solution.
Source System Analyst
The source system analyst is not a full-time member of the data warehouse
project team but plays a critical role. The data warehouse team must have
one source system analyst designated for each source system that will feed
the data warehouse. This person needs to have experience and knowledge
of the underlying systems that will be used to populate the data warehouse.
The source system analyst will also be expected to do the following:
Support the development of the dimensional model
Provide file layouts, data models, and data element definitions that exist
for the source systems
Research data-related issues
Serve as the subject matter expert for the source system
When there is limited documentation for source systems, the source system
analyst is often the only person who knows what each data element actually
means. The names and how the source systems use each field may be a mystery
without the active participation of this highly valuable resource.
