Information Technology, Essay Example

Introduction

It is considered that most computer professionals will need a basic understanding of the four computer programming paradigms i.e. Object Orientation, Imperative, Functional and Logical programming.  Most B.Sc and M.Sc computer science degrees will cover the basics here.  The foundations of understanding provide the basis for computation.  Many computer professionals undertake some form of specialism within the broader remit of Information Technology. Managers may only need a conceptual overview of understanding, whereas software engineers will require both a more detailed and comprehensive knowledge of the paradigms.

Managers, Analysts and System Designers will be more focused in on their specific area of knowledge and specialisation.  In order to fulfil their remit they may only need a broad understanding of the computer paradigms in order to determine functionality and usage within their own remit.  IT Managers will be more focused on goals and objectives in terms of how the technology will be used and deployed in order to solve specific business problems. They do not need to get involved with the ‘nut and bolts’ of the mechanics as they will rely upon the software engineering team to deal with that level of detail.  (Kedar, S. 2008)

Analysis

Equally a Systems Design professional will be more concerned with the logical and physical design attributes of the programme meeting specific criteria.  They are closer to the software engineering team so they may require a more precise understanding of how the computer paradigms are used relative to the design of the system.  The closer you get to the software engineering team the more important the knowledge becomes.  See Fig above.  The diagram illustrates that the closer you get to the sharp end of computer coding as a Programmer, Software Engineer; being development or maintenance of code, then the more detailed understanding of computer paradigms is required.  In large Corporations this model holds true as the Managers are more expected to focus upon the IT goals and objectives and the delivery of projects on time, within scope and meeting financial budget constraints.  They are not expected to understand the full mechanics of systems engineering.  (Zelkowitz, M.2005)

Where Companies are involved in the delivery of software in a specific coding language i.e. a single developmental environment as opposed to that of a mixed environment that will include bespoke programs, custom off the shelf software (COTS) applications, systems integration of different software and applications etc., then the requirement may change.  Here the Manager may to know more of a specific computer paradigm as he has moved closer to the technical development side of IT in that business.

This shift lowers the technical complexity of system diversity and as such the Manager may be required to have a greater understanding in the functional and developmental architecture of the business.  Examples of this are where Relational Databases (RDBM’s) are deployed e.g. An Oracle Environment and the code is all based around this single developmental concept.  Business Reports may be generated in Crystal or similar and as such the Manager may need to be more interested in data integration and the avoidance of duplicity of information in the system. You do need to be careful however when navigating this path as you do not want to reinvent your Managers as “techies” and in doing so lose their management objectivity.  This becomes a question of finding the right balance. (Aybüke A. 2005)

References

Aybüke Aurum, C. W. (2005). Engineering and Managing Software Requirements. Sydney, NSW: Springer.

Kedar, S. (2008). Programming Paradigms And Methodology. Pune, India: Technical Publications.

Zelkowitz, M. (2005). Advances in Computers: New Programming Paradigms. San Diego: Elsevier.