2 | Business Analysts Bridge the Business Gap
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assurance professionals, and IT project managers
are among those who often make ideal business
analysts.
Is business analyst training right for you? A more
in-depth look at what's involved can help you
decide.
Define Project Scope
The starting point for any business analyst is
to define a project's purpose and goals. The
business analyst must first document a project's
scope, identifying all people or departments
involved and any external and system resources
needed.
Define Requirements
The analyst typically uses many different
techniques for gathering information, including
a review of existing documentation, interviews,
online research, surveys, questionnaires, and
personal observations. The business analyst must
have advanced interviewing skills, including the
ability to dig deep with follow-up questions,
interview people with different points of view,
and draw conclusions. Vague business objectives
result in vague requirements, which can doom a
project.
Document Requirements
How requirements are documented and
formatted is as important as how they are
defined. The business analyst must be able to
communicate fluently in two languages — business
language and technical language. The analyst
typically uses Unified Modeling Language (UML)
— the current industry object-orientation standard
— to prepare requirements and diagrams.
Identify Solutions
The business analyst must thoroughly understand
business objectives and software functionality to
ensure that the identified solution is fully aligned
with the needs of the business. The analyst should
work directly with the internal team if it has the
capabilities to develop the right solution or play
a key role in identifying and choosing the right
vendor. The business process analyst should also
be able to weigh solution costs against expected
benefits and build support for implementation.
Assess the Solution
Even after the solution is developed, the
business process analyst remains involved,
reviewing designs to ensure that they will satisfy
requirements. The analyst typically uses structured
verification and validation techniques and use-
case scenario testing to ensure results.
Because they bridge the gap between IT
managers and business executives, business
analysts should remain in constant demand, even
when the high-tech job market is soft and jobs are
being outsourced.
