Mike,

>Isn't that the definition of what the differnce between a programmer and a developer actually is? :-)

In the big-company IT world, you'd have Programmer/Analyst and also more detailed analysis positions like Modeler, DBA, etc.

In the small-company world, you find many people with weak analysis skills calling themselves consultant, programmer and developer pretty much without regard to the analysis side of it.

At least the MCSD requires the Analyzing course, so I guess that's a point in favor of your argument, and another reason that small businesses should weigh MCSD as an important factor in selecting a consultant.