I am preparing for a Programmer Analyst II interview and was wondering if any others would be able to provide insight as to what to expect.
If you have questions I should know/study, it would be great if you provided them! Answers to questions are also appreciated or how you would answer the question anyway!
Here is the Summary of Work:
IT Business Analysis and Project Management: Analyze business problems, develop technology solutions to these problems and manage the project through its life cycle. Measure the urgency of the stated problem and prepare a high-level cost estimate. Identify and describe the business problems to be addressed by the proposed system. Review, confirm and expand upon the business system objectives that were previously identified. Develop the detailed system design specifications. Make recommendations to management on projects. Apply standard/established project management and system development techniques and methodology's. Coordinate people and other resources to carry out project plans. Research and provide system alternatives and/or options to the stakeholders (users) and program staff to ensure that the system(s) will operate in the most efficient and productive manner. Coordinate system implementation and conduct follow-up studies. Provide organizational and planning assistance for IT resources for assigned divisions.
System Development & Support: Provide systems support and maintenance on various computer platforms for company users. Provide primary support for assigned systems and applications. Provide backup support for other company systems as needed. Insure efficiency and recommend changes where appropriate. Correct program errors and complete system maintenance and enhancements requested by the users. Answer questions regarding the operation of the systems. Insure that division records are compatible and accurate with other system interfaces. Develops and maintains computer programs utilizing company standard technologies and software packages. Develops and maintains system documentation as necessary. Provide input/research on development packages. Provide input/research on new technologies applicable to the company. Keep current with technology via training and reading trade journals. Oversee assigned divisions IT software, and IT support needs.
Operations Analysis: Evaluate and analyze existing division/district operations, both automated and manual, for efficiencies and recommend information technology application. Research and collect all available information on the manual or automated system to be studied. Analyze the objectives of the process being evaluated and determine the best way to automate the process, including file structure, communications, personnel involved and any constraints. Prepare a written report outlining the findings of the in depth analysis. The report must contain any problems with the existing process, as well as recommended solutions to these problems, estimated cost of the solution and possible conflicts caused by the solution. 4) Present report to the appropriate personnel and recommend approval or disapproval of the new process. If approval is given, proceed with system design, develop procedures and set up the work schedule.
Information Technology (IT) Training: Identify training needs for the divisions. Develop and provide training on IT topics. Coordinate the training needs and solutions with department IT training coordinator. Research and provide recommendations for training.
And here are the requirements:
Requires demonstrated knowledge of client server environments, programming languages (examples: Java, Javascript, C/C++, ASP, .NET, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), applications (examples: MS Office Suite, Dreamweaver/Visual Studios) and database management systems (examples: ORACLE and SQL). Position requires a demonstrated knowledge of business analysis, system development and project management techniques.
Thanks for your insight!!
Top comments (2)
I would suggest giving the comments to this article a read: dev.to/kristof0425/do-whiteboard-i...
That being said, reading through the job description it seems to read like a generic "swiss-army" knife of IT. IF I read this right, they want you to be project manger, analyst, developer, help desk, innovator, process improver and trainer.
On top of that, to be vague about what tools and technology you will be using in your day to day work... I'm guessing this is either a very small shop or if it's a large company they didn't take the time to write specific job descriptions.
I would suggest instead of thinking about what questions they might ask you, think about what questions you need to ask the company. Make sure it's an environment you really want to work in and that the department you're going to be working for actually has a clear and defined role and career path for you. Find out not only who your manager is, but also what mentors might be available to you within the company. Find out if they have specific standards for your development tools and coding or if it's a free-for-all use what you want how you want environment (warning: cowboy coders are the worst if you have to wear an application support hat)
I'll be honest, if I came across a generic job description like the one above, I'd think long and hard about if I really wanted to work for that company before going in for an interview.
Thank you for your input! I thought it was a rather generic job description as well, which is why I was hoping to hear from others. I'll definitely go into this initial interview with plenty of questions to clarify everything. Thanks again!