The 116th Installment
The Situation Concerning System Engineers from the View of Services
by Takaaki Hosoda,
Associate Professor, Master Program ofI Information Systems Architecture
"Who are you building systems for?" When I was a newbie systems, my boss asked me this many times when work wasn't going well and we'd go get drinks at the end of the day. I don't know whether the fact that I still remember that is because of the impact it had on me or because I heard it so many times that I can't forget. Obedient soul that I was, I took his point to heart, making it over hurdles at work by recalling his words over and over. I used to think this way of thinking would never change in the workplace, but it seems that lately it has.
Before coming to AIIT, I did information systems related work for about 15 years as a systems engineer. I worked for a banking system company where I was in charge of practical operations—planning, development, and implementation—with a focus on IT infrastructure that supported the bank's business systems. In the government sector, I made use of my practical experience up to that point and engaged in a wide range of activities that included practical planning and operations development, in addition to information systems related work. The thing I kept in mind no matter what work I was doing was, "how can I make others' work be seamless and stress free?" This mindset owes to remembering "who am I building systems for?" as I worked. Furthermore, I had thought this way of thinking natural for someone who provides systems.
Yet, after talking recently with a coworker from a previous job and a systems engineer I once worked with, it seems I am out of touch. The coworker from the old job made it sound like he works with systems for the sake of the company, because his boss or an executive told him to. The systems engineer said he worked with people who would say things like "I built it that way because it said to on the spec sheet" and "I only know what I'm told," which made him feel like he was working with a robot. It’s unfortunate, but listening to them made me feel like they wouldn't have the grit to make anything good. Unsurprisingly, the systems they built didn't match the needs of those who would use them, which caused trouble. In my mind, by doing their jobs that way, they should have expected things to go badly.
Why can't they build the systems their clients want and prevent trouble? The reasons are complex, of course. No doubt systems engineers sometimes don't have the capacity to think about the client because the client is asking for things outside the project scope without providing adequate compensation, or they lack motivation because their efforts are not being sufficiently recognized by their bosses. However, I think it's a problem with system engineers' mindset. They are not focused on providing what their clients want in the form of a service.
Providing what clients want in the form of a service means seeing things from the standpoint of the customer, not a systems engineer, and satisfying customers' needs using IT. To do this, systems engineers must fully understand clients' needs and be continually inventive and hard-working in going above and beyond to satisfy customers' needs, to the extent possible. This is easier said than done, however. Sometimes the labor involved to be so inventive and hard-working is not worth it. Systems engineer work is varied, as is engineers' approach to their work, so some simply won't have the necessary motivation.
Yet what I would like to say is this. In my mind, the ideal systems engineer makes clients happy by more than satisfying their needs, no matter how difficult the situation. After all, what drives systems engineers is gratitude from the customer — getting that feeling of thanks. There are not many things that systems engineers get thanked for directly by users. But I have no doubt that the people actually using a system are thankful when using the system helps them get their work done smoothly. This is something I want us to remember.
Given how rapid the pace of technological change has been in recent years, the nature and methods of our interaction with clients will likely change dynamically and significantly. Of course, systems engineers will need to acquire further IT skills. But skills alone will not be enough; systems engineers will only be able to do work that benefits their clients when they adopt a client-oriented mindset and see themselves as service providers. In so doing, they will be able to proudly say that they are not just working — they are doing "business."
I imagine that many reading this will feel that I have only stated the obvious. Yet, in listening to the views of actual systems engineers, I have learned that such a viewpoint is not obvious. One reason for this might be that systems engineers generally see themselves as belonging to the telecommunications industry rather than the service industry. That is a further reason why I have written this essay. Through my lectures and PBL (Project-based Learning) approach, I hope to impart this mindset to as many as possible, to share the experience I have gained, and to benefit my students' futures in any small way I can.