I have seen that in smaller projects, the role of a project manager gets diffused with that of a business analyst. Though a business analyst is not expected to do all that a project manager does, some of the work does get overlap. Here, I will discuss what the role of a business analyst is and what are the different expectations from a BA.
A business analyst is someone who assists in gathering the requirements from the users and present it to the technical team. The BA owns up most of the requirements management process. Since the users are many times, not very clear of their requirements themselves, and many times requirements evolve gradually, the BA is the person who facilitates the elicitation and documentation of the requirements. Sometimes, the BA is expected to put the requirements in the UML format and present it to the technical team. The BA is expected to have the knowledge of domain in which the application is to be deployed. The BA is expected to help the project team understand the functionality of the required application, test the functionality and also to assist the users conduct the UAT. The BA is expected to come up with status reports, coordinate among various stake holders and pitch in various other adhoc jobs.
BA roles are found mostly in those software companies which do product/ package implementation. In these cases, the BA is expected to understand the functionality of the product/package. The BA studies the current system which is called the AS IS state of the system and find the gap between the current state and the GO TO state. The requirements are communicated to the product/package implementation team which does the customization required to bridge the gap.
In some organizations, the BA role is confused with that of an application expert. My view of an application expert is one who understands the application in and out. This means that the person knows not only how the application can be used or is supposed to be used, but also knows how the application is structured internally, i.e, the technical details. In some places, the BA is expected to do market analysis, come up with ROI, do consultation work, etc. The skill mostly required for a BA is a deep understanding of the domain, a good knowledge of the product (in case of package/product implementation), good communicating, listening and negotiating capabilities.
I have worked as a BA in one of my previous avatars, and it was very satisfying. I could meet a lot of users, did lot of traveling, and explaining the users the product features, giving them solutions on how the product could be customized for their need, all the while feeling great as they thought that I knew the product in and out! Till about 4-5 years back, the BA term was rarely used. The profession had not gained recognition. Now, there are organizations like The International Institute of Business Analysis which support the BA profession. They are developing a BABoK, a book of knowledge for a BA. Please visit the site to know more about this beautiful profession!
A business analyst is someone who assists in gathering the requirements from the users and present it to the technical team. The BA owns up most of the requirements management process. Since the users are many times, not very clear of their requirements themselves, and many times requirements evolve gradually, the BA is the person who facilitates the elicitation and documentation of the requirements. Sometimes, the BA is expected to put the requirements in the UML format and present it to the technical team. The BA is expected to have the knowledge of domain in which the application is to be deployed. The BA is expected to help the project team understand the functionality of the required application, test the functionality and also to assist the users conduct the UAT. The BA is expected to come up with status reports, coordinate among various stake holders and pitch in various other adhoc jobs.
BA roles are found mostly in those software companies which do product/ package implementation. In these cases, the BA is expected to understand the functionality of the product/package. The BA studies the current system which is called the AS IS state of the system and find the gap between the current state and the GO TO state. The requirements are communicated to the product/package implementation team which does the customization required to bridge the gap.
In some organizations, the BA role is confused with that of an application expert. My view of an application expert is one who understands the application in and out. This means that the person knows not only how the application can be used or is supposed to be used, but also knows how the application is structured internally, i.e, the technical details. In some places, the BA is expected to do market analysis, come up with ROI, do consultation work, etc. The skill mostly required for a BA is a deep understanding of the domain, a good knowledge of the product (in case of package/product implementation), good communicating, listening and negotiating capabilities.
I have worked as a BA in one of my previous avatars, and it was very satisfying. I could meet a lot of users, did lot of traveling, and explaining the users the product features, giving them solutions on how the product could be customized for their need, all the while feeling great as they thought that I knew the product in and out! Till about 4-5 years back, the BA term was rarely used. The profession had not gained recognition. Now, there are organizations like The International Institute of Business Analysis which support the BA profession. They are developing a BABoK, a book of knowledge for a BA. Please visit the site to know more about this beautiful profession!
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