WELCOME TO THE COMMENTS, STORIES, AND THOUGHTS
of a
Systems Analyst
by Richard Riker
This web site is in 13 parts. Click on the blue characters and they will send you there. This web site does not have to be read in order, but my early experiences influenced later thoughts. Please read About me.
A01
About Me
A02 Thoughts of
a Systems Analyst Describes the Systems Approach
A03
Military
My experiences
A04
Total
My experiences
A05
Memories
Of my experiences
A06
Coalescence My
experiences and reading began Coalesce
A07
Global Heating All the rest are continued
coalescence except Stories
A08
Comments
A09 Sex
A10
Oil
A11 Religion
A12
Stories
All fiction
A13 Economics
My bachelor degree is in chemistry,
from Michigan State, 1956, with a background in math and physics.
After two years in the army, artillery, Total Petroleum North America
was my employer for twenty six years plus five years as a consultant.
During that time, I worked as a product control, process control, and
customer service chemist, director of a control lab, refinery
programmer, assistant to the president, manager of information
systems, and director of the Alma data center.
I wrote my first
program in 1967 in Fortran on a 32k IBM 360-30. Later I learned PL/I,
Cobol, and basic assembler. I have used statistical techniques,
regression analysis, and linear programming to evaluate products,
additives, refinery production, product distribution, and
acquisitions. I have analyzed, written, and maintained programs and
systems for more than fifty applications from accounts payable,
credit cards, general ledger, to payroll, property, and warehouse.
I
have worked with the equipment in chemistry labs, computer
operations, and telecommunications and have been exposed to service
stations, pipelines, terminals, refineries, and oil wells. I have
worked with a staff of five to sixty four, budgets to three million,
and traveled from coast to coast. I stopped logging installation
visits at fifty.
During my employment, the position of assistant
to the president was a turning point for many careers and I was not
surprised when the president asked me to take another position, but I
was surprised at the position, controller. I declined saying, "I
don't think I'm qualified and it would be wiser for the company to
hire a qualified person."
"What position would you like?
You know we will bring a new person into the company as the assistant
to the president to test them before we offer the controller position
to them."
"I would just as soon return to programming, I
like the work and the people and I could use my newly acquired
knowledge in that position."
That's not what the president
had in mind and after several discussions, I accepted the position of
manager of information systems, a position I held for more than ten
years. Until then, my longest tenure in any position had been three
and a half years. My first assignment was to write a job
description.
I didn't like my title and asked for it to be
changed, my request was denied. Those three words bothered me and
lead me to research the literature. The computer industry is a sea of
buzz words, many are meaningless. The word system is an old word, but
the systems approach was refined at an accelerated pace in parallel
with the increase in computer use.
The more I read and learned,
the less I was satisfied with the current definitions. The Thoughts
of a System Analyst is a consolidation of many books and articles and
obviously slanted toward my background. The original consolidation in
'72 was for my own use and I didn't, regretfully, keep all of my
notes and references. A bibliography at the end contains the
references I did keep or could remember.
'Thoughts' is the consolidated thoughts of many authors explaining in simple terms systems, system analysis, management, data processing, data, information, etc. and some of their ramifications. Thoughts does not have to be read in order; however the tools and definitions of the systems approach are seldom repeated.
If you have difficulty with the technical parts just keep reading.
Thoughts is dedicated to Steve Falk and
all those like him, those who have the courage to examine another's
idea at the risk of disturbing their own status quo.
We were
standing in the hall waiting for the adult discussion group to begin
when Steve approached and said, "I had a decision to make the
first thing this morning, what away to start the week. I could stay
home and read the Sunday paper in peace or I could come to church and
get shook up by Riker."
The full importance of Steve's
statement did not come to me until many years later. I think very
slowly, and I never thanked Steve for his comment. It became very
important to me over the years because it meant at least one person
was listening and understood what I was trying to say. Frequently my
thoughts challenge the status quo and when I express my thoughts I'm
never sure I presented them so someone else could understand. Thank
you Steve.
Many times people would ask me, 'Don't
you believe in God?' and I would reply, 'No, I don't believe in God
because the word believe implies doubt. I have no doubt about God I
have faith in God.' But I have no use for religion and it shows in my
writing. Also, I have very little respect for economists. As you read
the sections Economics and Religion you will understand why.
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