Business Analyst

Thao Lan NGUYEN THI organized 2 training sessions about the job of Business Analyst (also known as "BA") in IT Development in May 2016 and April 2017.

Session 1

What is Business Analysis?

Business Analysis is the practice of enabling change in an organizational context, by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders. (IIBA definition)

What is a Business Analyst?

Job titles for business analysis practitioners include not only business analyst, but also business systems analyst, systems analyst, requirements engineer, process analyst, product manager, product owner, enterprise analyst, business architect, management consultant, business intelligence analyst, data scientist, and more. Many other jobs, such as management, project management, product management, software development (dev), quality assurance (test/QC) and interaction design (UI/ UX design) rely heavily on business analysis skills for success.

To remember :

• BA as a skill
• BA is not only a single person.

Sources

• What is Business Analysis by iiba.org
• BABOKv2.0.pdf

Session 2

What’s my career path in BA?

Business Focused	IT focused
Business Requirements Analyst: help the business to meet its objectives and goals Business Process Analyst: bring change to organizations that keep organizations running and manage the changes of those processes. Decision Analyst – In Demand (often referred to as a Business Intelligence Analyst)	Business Systems Analyst Agile Analyst Functional Analyst Systems Analyst Service Request Analyst

Decision Analyst

Often referred to as a Business Intelligence Analyst

Input	Output
Data & Statistical Methods	The ability to gain insight and to drive business planning

Business analysis job profiles

	Project/ IT Executes projects	Transition/ Functional Guides projects	Enterprise/ Strategic Creates projects
Generalist	Business Analyst (Project) Management Consultant	Account Manager Business Consultant Customer Relationship Manager Management Consultant Portfolio Manager	Account Manager Business Architect Management Consultant Strategic Planner
Specialist	Agile Business Analyst Business Intelligence Analyst Business Rules Analyst Data Analyst Domain Expert (SME) Process Analyst Product Owner Requirements Engineer/Manager Systems Analyst	Business Intelligence Analyst Domain Expert (SME) Functional Business Analyst Process Owner Product Manager Service Owner Systems/Solution Architect	Domain Expert (SME) IT Strategist Process Architect
Hybrid	BA+PM QA, Development DBA Information Architect Product Manager Project Manager QA Analyst Systems Analyst Usability/UXP	Mid-to Senior Management Product Manager Solution Architect Systems Analyst	CXO Enterprise Architect

Sources

• Analyst career roadmap by iiba.org
• Business Analysis Careers by iiba.org

Session 3

Requirements Engineering

Definition of “Requirement”

(Based on IEEE 610.12-1990: IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology)

1. A condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to solve a problem or achieve an objective
2. A condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a solution or solution component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or other formally imposed documents.
3. A documented representation of a condition or capability as in (1) or (2).

Classification

• Business Requirements
• Stakeholder Requirements
• Solution Requirements (Functional / Non-functional)
• Transition Requirements

Requirements Engineering Good Practices

More than 50 practices, grouped into 7 categories.

Elicitation	Define vision and scope, Identify user classes, Select product champions, Conduct focus groups, Identify user requirements, Identify system events and responses, Hold elicitation interviews, Hold facilitated elicitation workshops, Observe users performing their jobs, Distribute questionnaires, Perform document analysis, Examine problem reports, Reuse existing
Analysis	Model the application environment, Create prototypes, Analyze feasibility, Prioritize requirements, Create a data dictionary, Model the requirements, Analyze interfaces, Allocate requirements to subsystems
Specification	Adopt requirement document templates, Identify requirement origins, Uniquely label each requirement, Record business rules, Specify non-functional requirements
Validation	Review the requirements, Test the requirements, Define acceptance criteria, Simulate the requirements

Requirements Development Process Framework

Requirement Management	Establish a change control process, Perform change impact analysis, Establish baselines and control versions of requirements sets, Maintain change history, Track requirements status, Track requirements issues, Maintain a requirements traceability matrix, Use a requirements management tool
Knowledge	Train business analysts, Educate stakeholders about requirements, Educate developers about application domain, Define a requirements engineering process, Create a glossary
Project Management	Select an appropriate life cycle, Plan requirements approach, Estimate requirements effort, Base plans on requirements, Identify requirements decision makers, Renegotiate commitments, Manage requirements risks, Track requirements effort, Review past lessons learned

Sources

• Traditional Methodology Resource Cost Chart
• BABOK v2.0
• Microsoft.Press.Software.Requirements.3.3rd.Edition.Aug.2013.pdf
• Quick understanding about Waterfall / Iterative / Agile