AI exposure: Computer Systems Analysts
Analyze science, engineering, business, and other data processing problems to develop and implement solutions to complex applications problems, system administration issues, or network concerns. Perform systems management and integration functions, improve existing computer systems, and review computer system capabilities, workflow, and schedule limitations. May analyze or recommend commercially available software.
Reading this score
computed56.6% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Computer Systems Analysts at the 93th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 3.2 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 22 tasks it averages 1.89 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Read manuals, periodicals, and technical reports to learn how to develop programs that meet..., at 86.7%. The least is Supervise computer programmers or other systems analysts or serve as project leaders for..., at 20.0%. A gap of 66.7% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within computer and mathematical occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 57.8% across the group's 36 roles, with 19 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 22 tasks, 21 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 1 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take systems being given deeper access to the organisation's own records and history, which is already happening. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Task by task
22 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Read manuals, periodicals, and technical reports to learn how to develop programs that meet staff and user requirements. | 86.7% | 13.3% | 0.0% | 3.21 | exposed |
| Recommend new equipment or software packages. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 3.11 | exposed |
| Review and analyze computer printouts and performance indicators to locate code problems, and correct errors by correcting codes. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 3.60 | exposed |
| Provide staff and users with assistance solving computer-related problems, such as malfunctions and program problems. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.05 | exposed |
| Use object-oriented programming languages, as well as client and server applications development processes and multimedia and Internet technology. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.71 | exposed |
| Define the goals of the system and devise flow charts and diagrams describing logical operational steps of programs. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.08 | exposed |
| Assess the usefulness of pre-developed application packages and adapt them to a user environment. | 61.3% | 26.2% | 12.5% | 3.34 | exposed |
| Analyze information processing or computation needs and plan and design computer systems, using techniques such as structured analysis, data modeling, and information engineering. | 58.3% | 29.2% | 12.5% | 3.60 | exposed |
| Develop, document, and revise system design procedures, test procedures, and quality standards. | 58.3% | 29.2% | 12.5% | 3.21 | exposed |
| Train staff and users to work with computer systems and programs. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 3.43 | exposed |
| Determine computer software or hardware needed to set up or alter systems. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 3.33 | exposed |
| Interview or survey workers, observe job performance, or perform the job to determine what information is processed and how it is processed. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 3.44 | exposed |
| Test, maintain, and monitor computer programs and systems, including coordinating the installation of computer programs and systems. | 53.3% | 21.7% | 25.0% | 4.00 | exposed |
| Troubleshoot program and system malfunctions to restore normal functioning. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 4.24 | exposed |
| Use the computer in the analysis and solution of business problems, such as development of integrated production and inventory control and cost analysis systems. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.97 | exposed |
| Specify inputs accessed by the system and plan the distribution and use of the results. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.48 | exposed |
| Expand or modify system to serve new purposes or improve work flow. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.47 | exposed |
| Prepare cost-benefit and return-on-investment analyses to aid in decisions on system implementation. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 2.78 | exposed |
| Consult with management to ensure agreement on system principles. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.57 | exposed |
| Confer with clients regarding the nature of the information processing or computation needs a computer program is to address. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.08 | exposed |
| Coordinate and link the computer systems within an organization to increase compatibility so that information can be shared. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.78 | exposed |
| Supervise computer programmers or other systems analysts or serve as project leaders for particular systems projects. | 20.0% | 17.5% | 62.5% | 3.39 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 3.23 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.20 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.40 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.77 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.89 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.45 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.