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Brayn,

It sound like you have moved from a developer position into a systems analyst role?  Is this right?

Either way, yes, developers can make great systems analyst.  Some find the transition easier than others. As a developer, you already know a lot about the available technology and how it's used.  That can be very helpful.

However, the most difficult thing for a developer to do is learn how to stop looking at the world in terms of a physical implementation and begin to analyse and document things from a logical perspective.  That is, whenever possible your analysis and documentation should not assume a specific solution in terms of the physical design of the system.

Becoming a systems analyst does not need to cost you anything. However, depending on the type of transferrable skills you already have or don't have you may decide that you want to take a few courses.  UML and more specifically use case modeling and writing is usually where most people start.

Hope this helps!

Brayn,

There is no one document or book that I am aware of that you should read to "learn" to become a systems analyst.  That is one of the resons why ModernAnalyst.com is so needed.  You should take the time look into some key systems analysis topics such as business  process modeling and the requirements engineering process. 

The IIBA's Business Analysis Body of Knowledge is quickly becoming the standard for business anlaysts world wide.  You should read it, although I'll warn you, it is a very dry read so don't plan to read it in one sitting.  I would also take the time to learn how to read, understand, and be able to create some basic UML diagrams.  They are used often by systems analysts.  If you aleardy have experience with UML then you are a step ahead of others trying to become systems analyst.  For business process modeling, BPMN is a valuable notation to learn.

Chris