by Robin from thebusinessanalystjobdescription.com
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A business analyst actively participates in all the phases of software development life cycle (SDLC) plus project management life cycle (PMLC) and the business analyst’s responsibilities varies depending upon the project requirements. In a nutshell, a business analyst has to efficiently juggle between multiple activities and refine his analysis skills simultaneously.
To help you comprehend the verticals in which the job a business analyst expands, we have created an interactive info-graphic which clearly explains the typical responsibility set of a business analyst:
- Business
First an analyst has to understand the viability of the project’s business case and analyze the initial requirements. Then, he has to methodically gather the requirements by organizing JAD sessions, workshops or employ other requirement elicitation techniques to get detail client requirements. Post that, comes the creation of business requirement documents (BRDs) and functional specifications.
- Technical
The business analyst has to perform technical analysis by scrutinizing the technical dependencies and uncovering any technical challenges. This is followed by developing data models, Data Flow Diagrams, Data Mapping Specifications or Data Matrix. Analysts are also expected to create product’s prototype and model the requirements in form of a user interface.
- Managerial
An integral part of a business analyst’s profile is to facilitate implementation of the product by liaising with the complete project team, conducting knowledge transfer session and bridging understanding gaps. This usually involves developing effective plans spread across multiple areas like Business Analysis plan, Requirement gathering plans, testing plans and other ad-hoc plans.
Additionally, they assist testing efforts by performing functional testing of the software/product and support change management by comprehending changes and controlling un-necessary changes.
- Functional
An analysts performs cost benefit analysis of a project proposal by assessing the cost to be spent on the project versus the benefit expected to be attained by it. Furthermore, they suggest process improvement methods for efficient and effective organization-wide policies. Communication is a vital component of an analyst’s life and they constantly liaise with stakeholders by presentations, meetings and verbal/written communication. Besides, they also help estimate project’s cost and time by assisting in function point estimation, critical path analysis and earned value techniques.
To summarize, a Business Analyst is heavily involved in all phases of a project and is a major contributor in a project’s success. Being a business analyst requires the right mix of business analysis acumen, functional aptitude and the ability to liaise with all the involved stakeholders in a project.
Author Bio:
Robin, a PMP certified Project Manager having a profound inclination towards Business Analysis. In his spare time you can find him sharing his knowledge on his Business analysis blog. You can reach out to him at robin@thebusinessanalystjobdescription.com.
