The role of business analysts is broad. As an agent of change, there is so much that the BA is involved within the course of his/her daily life that directly contributes to the business realizing its growth strategies. Today’s business environment is all about projects. Projects to beat and stay ahead of the competition. Projects for growth. Projects for new products or services. Projects for process improvement. The list is endless. For the business analyst projects, and working with teams to get these projects executed as expected is part of the daily routine. As a result, BA professionals tend to learn more from what they do daily. This explains why experience is highly valued over formal educational qualifications in the business analysis field. If you wish to pursue a career as a business analyst, you can enroll in a Post Graduate Business Analysis Program.
The lifecycle of business analysis projects
Business
analysis projects pass through more or less the same lifecycle. Because a
business analyst has a role to play in each phase of the project, a clear
understanding of the project lifecycle will go a long way to add value to any
project he will handle. Project lifecycle phases do not have to follow each
other in succession. Many times they will overlap and it is expected that the
BA will have the ability to handle these overlaps efficiently.
The
fundamental phases of a business analysis project lifecycle are:
- Discovery/initiative phase
In
this phase, a need is identified and the project objective for a new project is
defined. A need can be an opportunity or a problem. Next, an authorization to
start the project is sought.
Role of business
analyst in the discovery/initiative phase
-
Document
requirements/ business case
- Planning
Here,
further finer details of the project are established including the scope,
goals, objectives, action plan for each objective, timeline for each activity,
as well as resource requirements in what is known as scope management.
Role of business analyst in the
planning stage
-
Business analysis plan - includes
detailed BA roles like stakeholder identification and engagement, communication
plan development, requirements management, information management, and quality
assurance.
-
Document analysis
-
Gap analysis
-
Elicitation
- Implementation/execution
Implementation/execution is the
critical phase of a project where the activities outlined in the project plan
are carried out as per the guidelines. During this phase key factors like
control, information flow, communication, and project progress should be kept
in check.
Role of
business analyst in the implementation/execution phase
-
Checks the progress of the project
and measures its output value at each stage
-
Coordinates the designing of the
user experience of the solution
-
Managing stakeholder expectations
-
Managing communication
- Monitor and control
Monitoring and control activities
are carried out concurrently with the implementation/execution activities. This
is because they track, regulate, and review project performance while also
identifying variances and documenting changes to the original plan.
Role of the business analyst in monitoring and control
-
Document change request, communicate
and track the implementation of requirement changes
- Close
The closing phase marks the
completion and handing over of the project. During this phase, the deliverables
of the project are handed over to the end-user, and the documentation to the
business owners. In winding up, the project resources like staff and equipment
are released and communication about the closure done to all stakeholders.
-
Hand over the complete project to the end-user
and gain acceptance
-
Develop user-training manuals and
product guides
Also Read: How to Write a
Business Plan — A Comprehensive Guide
Popular Business Analyst projects
A
business project is generally defined as a project whose purpose is to achieve
a business objective. Business analysts work on several projects that can be
divided into three main categories.
1. Strategic
projects
Strategic
projects are geared towards improving business efficiency and are typically
laid out at the strategy or planning level by business management. Right from
the onset, the business analyst, as an agent of change, is charged with the
responsibility of identifying business needs or the need for change and
steering project management teams to implement appropriate solutions. This may
include upgrading an outdated or inefficient system, introducing a new feature
in an existing system.
-
Data warehousing projects.
Data warehousing projects support businesses in implementing data-driven
strategies and make informed decisions. Such projects facilitate market and
customer trend analysis, behavior analysis, target market research, product mix
strategy, competitive analysis, and others.
The
roles of a business analyst in data warehousing projects include:
●
Developing
data mapping specifications
2. Operational
projects
Operational
projects are intended to improve the day-to-day running activities and
processes of the business. These projects are more focused on the people and
processes aspect of business operations. Projects may include updating
standards and procedures or process flow improvement projects.
-
Process improvement projects.
Process improvement is critical to any enterprise that intends to enhance its
operations and stay ahead of its competition. Such projects, for instance, the
introduction of a responsive call center support system, inventory turnover
improvement, centralized
digital marketing to increase conversions may be aimed at introducing software
changes (we shall see this under IT projects), human resource changes,
organizational structure adjustment, or changes in procedures. Projects are
usually implemented either iteratively or at once.
The role of the business analysis in
operational projects include:
● Business
process analysis
● Creating
business activity diagrams and process flow charts
● Update
and document business procedures and process
3. IT
projects
IT
projects, although ultimately improve processes and procedures, are primarily
focused on improving the tools or systems that power these processes. A business analyst is thus expected to have
technical knowledge of various technologies within his/her domain to be in a
good position to diagnose needs or problems and make appropriate
recommendations.
-
Infrastructure projects.
These are projects that are aimed at enhancing the performance of systems, platforms,
servers, hardware, and other technology tools, for instance, introducing a BI
platform to improve sales and delivery operations.
The
role of a business analyst may include
●
Evaluating
software performance
●
Determining
requirements for change of work process and performing cost-benefit analysis.
●
System
documentation
-
Web
development projects. These projects are targeted at improving the customer
experience. Customer expectation on website features and functioning keeps
changing with technological advancements thus businesses are faced with the
challenge of often having to upgrade their sites to meet customer expectations.
Teams often employ the agile approach in implementing such projects so that
high-value features are given top priority.
The role of a business analyst, in
this case, would be:
● Eliciting
functional and non-functional requirements
● Creating
use cases and stories
● Creating
high-fidelity prototypes
● Coming
up with user-interface specifications
● Create
a test plan and user acceptance test plan for software
Conclusion
As
they plan their projects, business analysts should also come up with the right
mix of tools and technologies for executing these projects. In deciding the
tools, a BA should consider the project’s characteristics and operating
standards, documentation, the project tasks, the cost implications of the
tools, and most importantly available support.
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