BUSINESS ANALYSIS SKILLS

DEDICATED TO ALL BUSINESS ANALYSTS PREPARED & COMPILED BY: IMRAN HUSSAIN

WHAT IS BUSINESS ANALYST…?

“Business Analysts are responsible for identifying the business needs of their clients and stakeholders to help determine solutions to business problems”

OR

“The Business Analyst is responsible for requirements development and requirements management. Specifically, the Business Analyst elicits, analyzes, validates and documents business, organizational and/or operational requirements. Solutions are not predetermined by the Business Analyst, but are driven solely by the requirements of the business. Solutions often include a systems development component, but may also consist of process improvement or organizational change”

BUSINESS ANALYST SKILLS

Business analysis is distinct from financial analysis, project management,

quality assurance, organizational development, testing, training and

documentation development. However, depending on an organization, an

individual Business Analyst may perform some or all of these related

functions.. Analyst Facilitator Negotiator Artist / Architect Planner Communicator Diplomat Expert / Consultant Strategist Revolutionary

THE ANALYST….

Analytical & Systems Thinking

Understand & make judgments about a situation by breaking it apart into smaller pieces or by tracing the implications of a situation in a step-by-step way

Organize the problem, opportunity or situation in a systematic way

Set priorities

Identify causal or If-Then relationships

Synthesize the component parts in the context of a whole system

Provide participants with the skills and tools they need to determine root issues and plan for success

Identify and find solutions to problems

Apply creative thinking skills, resulting in improved solutions

Apply decision-making methodology

Anticipate & plan for problems before they occur

Use a process tool to analyze situations, separate concerns,

Establish priorities & initiate appropriate action

PROBLEM SOLVING & DECISION MAKING

THE FACILITATOR

Facilitation / Requirements Elicitation

Facilitation “Key facilitator within an Organization”

“Elicits…requirements”

Ensures positive, Continuous discussion & progress

Create a positive and constructive group environment

Maintain the group focus

Lead the discussion toward stated goals

Elicitation Use questioning techniques and other tools to discover process and data from a

group of users or stakeholders

THE NEGOTIATOR

Consensus & Agreement Building

Act as a bridge between the client, stakeholders & solution team”

Maintain balance between potentially conflicting needs of various stakeholders

Help others reach agreement around a project or a set of ideas

Take on contentious issues or entrenched interests to bring about a beneficial resolution

Negotiation: Ensuring ‘win-win’ solutions when two parties start from different positions

Consensus and Agreement Building : Working together, assisting others, to reach a common understanding and commitment

Conflict Management : Bringing disagreements into the open to help diffuse them

THE ARTIST / ARCHITECT

“Solutions often include a systems development component but may also consist of process improvement or organizational change” The BA contributes to the successful solution of the problem

Project Management Fundamentals

Define requirements scope & objectives

Describe tasks & activities required to meet the objectives

Estimate resources required to complete tasks

Schedule tasks & activities

Monitor & modify plan as required

THE COMMUNICATOR

“Translator” Or

The BA draws out the needs of the various stakeholders, captures them in the form of a document & feeds it back for validation & agreement

A few courses contribute to the development of this role

Writing Effective Use Cases

Describe the process, methods, steps & questions to use when employing a Use-Case driven approach to gathering and defining requirements

Writing Detail Requirements Specifications

Describe how to decompose the features & functions from the High Level Requirements Document into a Detailed Requirements Specification

THE DIPLOMAT

Combination of other roles

Facilitator

Negotiator

Planner

Artist / Architect

Client Relationship Management

The BA ensures the client is satisfied with the solution

Consider or anticipate the needs of the client throughout the requirements process

Have insight and appreciation of client needs, priorities, goals & competitive advantage

THE EXPERT / CONSULTANT

Help & Determine Solutions to Business Problems

The BA needs to understand the:

Business

Industry

Competition

Professional Knowledge Understand key business fundamentals, industry levers

& the drivers of the financial health and viability

Demonstrate working knowledge of the business/organization & of software and application development best practices

THE STRATEGIST

Think outside of the “box” See both the “forest”& the “trees”

Strategic Business Planning

Develop, link and communicate long-range visions, goals or plans to support achievement of business goals. Translate visions & strategies into tactical plans

Align Current Actions with organization’s strategic goals

Think in future-oriented terms

Understand external impact on internal strategy

Plan actions to fit strategy & handle external events

REVOLUTIONARY

By contributing to a solution, the BA introduces change

The BA helps manage the impact of the change

Organizational Change Management

Discover & define areas for change

Conduct impact analyses

Actively champion the cause for change

SO REMEMBER WHAT YOUR MOTHER SAID…

Analyst

Facilitator

Negotiator

Artist / Architect

Planner

Communicator

Diplomat

Expert / Consultant

Strategist

Revolutionary

…………………………………………………………….

Prepared & Compiled By: Imran Hussain