The Business Analyst can be found in most enterprises and their job roles can be classified under the heads of
- Â Requirements analysts
- Systems analysts
- Business analysts
- Business system analysts
Good BAs are people-persons with excellent business domain understanding and include proficiency in interviewing, (JAD), modeling sessions, and model reviews.
The Need for Business analyst
The three oft heard justifications in traditional organizations for hiring a Business Analyst are not justifiable.
- Developers fail in eliciting requirements because of poor modelling and communication skills required for this. This is remediable through training.
- Stakeholders cannot document and model their requirements. Again training stakeholders using the right techniques and tools can help them do most of the work with a little help and guidance.
- One need’s expert analysis. This is right and does not imply you need a BA to do just that. Agile BAs may not be good at all aspects of the job and analysis may be one of them.
Role of the Business Analyst
Business analyst on a traditional software development project will perform one or more of the following activities:
- System scoping
- Translates needs of the business
- Technical issues translation
- Document and model
- Be the broker for communications
- Be a political mentor
- Validation and testing
- Â Stakeholder representation
Common Issues For Business Analyst
Some of the common Business Analyst problems that occur are mentioned below.
- Lack of the right skills.
- BAs may influence the project.
- Outdated BAs.
- BAs may become communication hurdles.
- BAs may reduce the influence of stakeholders.
- BAs over analyze.
- BAs reduce feedback.
- BAs reduce developer opportunity for communication skills.
Rethinking for Agile Analysts
Agility is to ensure that the processes and development are done in iterative items on a product backlog where the sprint and responsibilities of delivery of products devolve on the team. That means trouble as there is conflict in the BAs role and team activity.
Hence the following methodologies based on Agile practices were evolved to help to scale Agile in the organization.
- One room methodology - Developers and Stakeholders are Co-Located
- Over the wall methodology- Not Co-Located but Single Location
- Across the network methodology- Dispersed/Distributed Development
Business analyst as Product Owner and the role of the Business analyst in scaling Agile cannot be discounted and are Agile measures to empower the new BAs rather than stick with traditional roles. This should be encouraged just because Agile in order to scale needs the removal of all hurdles and the spread of Agile thinking across every employee in the organization. This, of course, involves the Business analyst and gives them a chance to transform into Agile roles of being stakeholders in the process.
Though it would be impossible to discuss the topic in great detail, suffice to say that rethinking the Agile BAs role is a necessity in large organizations and cross-functional teams. So how would one understand better the benefits of Agility? The answer lies in Agile training and implementation from the grassroots levels. Doing an Agile course with a reputed and accredited training partner like Imarticus would bring in more than one benefit.
Benefits of Doing Business Analyst Course
- You get trained in a very short time period.
- Practical skills in the latest technology are enhanced through project work, assignments etc keeping your sports vertical in mind.
- They have sufficient assignments, tests, hands-on practice and boot-camps to help you revise and learn the tough subjects.
- They have a variety of subjects like ML, AI, finance, fintech etc in which they offer certification.
- They use certified instructors and mentors drawn from the industry.
- They integrate resume writing, personality development, mock interviews and soft-skill development modules in the course.
- They have convenient modes and timings to learn at your own pace and online for professionals and in the classroom mode for sports analytics career aspirants.
- They offer assured placements too!
Concluding thoughts:
An experienced Business Analyst will find it hard to settle into Agile teams because they have issues with over-modelling and over-specifying. To be effective members in Agile, they need to rethink, be collaborative, flexible and disciplined. This takes effort and time.
The easiest way is to do an Agile specialist course at Imarticus Learning where one can get acclimatized through industry-relevant assignments and project work.
Become a specialized BA today!
