The scope of Business Analyst Role

The scope of the business analysis is infinite as it deals with a broad term ‘improving business with or without technology’. Any work within that spectrum is business analysis, for example, it could apply in improving a small process within a department or implementing a relugaltory framework across the industry or building a product (Apple had an app for music but couldn’t use it independently. On other hand, Hitachi developed a mini storage that could hold 1 GB data and they didn’t know what to do with it. Steve Jobs integrated both invention to create iPod that was one of the most successful products during its time).

The scope of business analysis work can broadly categorized into three areas:

1. Strategy Analysis
2. Business Analysis
3. IT System Analysis

(Reference: Debra Paul, Donald Yeats and James Cadle in Business Analysis, Second edition, published by BCS)

Following is the partial list of scope within the lifecycle that covers all the areas mentioned above.

• Business Strategy Analysis - Part I: These Business Analyst come from business/domain background who define the business need, high level solution scope and present the business case to the sponsors. 
• Business Technology optimization and management
• Process management
• Define the business need (problem or an opportunity)
• Define solution scope that would to cater to the business need
• Define and present business case (cost vs benefits analysis)
• Secure funding
• Business Analysis: These Business Analyst come from either business or technical background who start the core business analysis once the business need is defined or project is funded. These Business Analysts, primarily involved in eliciting the requirements and defining the solution. In addition, they are also involved in identifying the IT team (internal or external) and managing them during the solution development and implementation.
• Elicit Requirements, document them, confirm them, scope them, present them and get them approved / signed them off.
• Define solution or BRD or Product roadmap
• Further requirement analysis (FRD, Requirement models and so on…)
• Identify or recommend IT team (internal or external)
• Finalize solution and its scope
• Strategy Analysis - Part II
• Verify and validate the solution against the enterprise need, current ability and new business case analysis (cost vs benefit) to accept the solution
• IT Business system or System Analysis: These Business Analyst come from technical background having software developing (coding) or testing testing skills who primarily collaborate with technical team members to communicate the requirements. They ensure that software solution meets the business requirements solution. They also act as a bridge in translating and transferring  business requirements into solution requirements (functional, non-functional and technical constraints) to help the technical team understand the business requirements. In addition, IT business analysts also collaborate with implementation SME (subject matter experts) to elicit the transition requirements that are needed for transitioning the software solution into user community. 
• Support technical team in requirement and change management
• Oversee the development and testing activities
• Ensure high quality solution is implemented
• Close out documentations
• End user training
• Enrich and enhance the solution during its lifecycle
• Orderly terminate the solution when it reaches to end of its lifecycle
• Strategy Analysis - Part III
• ROI to review the business case (cost vs benefits)
• Lesson learned
• Data Business Analyst - The business Analyst working in decision support systems are working closely with business stakeholders to understand their role and their needs in terms of reports needed for making effective decision. They also work with market research team in projecting market trends - past, present and future. In addition to business analysis skills, they are required to be well versed with SQL, dataware-hosuing or other tools, and advance excel and access to analysis the data. 
  These are BAs who deal with big data and statistics. They tend to crunch numbers using algorithms and data models. Similar to a data scientist, in a sense. They tend to determine market trends and present to business stakeholders on what direction they should take.
  Apart from above, there may be specialized designation assigned to a Business Analyst, such as Business Process Analyst (who focused on process engineering) or Product Business Analyst (who is involved in software product development) depending on the role.

Why professional training and certification is important to a Business Analyst?

In early 2000s, it was easy to get a BA job without professional training.  However, the situation has changed due to increased competition and plenty of availability of trained, certified and experienced Business Analysis professionals in job market. Therefore, without professional training and certification Business Analysts may lose out to competitors.

Formal ‘Training’ and ‘Certification’ will definitely help BAs getting focused, structured and systematic knowledge, and skill in business analysis field form an experienced professional that is required to build the solid foundation in the BA domain, to get a job, earn respect after joining the job.

Some may underestimate the professional training, but the hiring manager will not. If he/she has to hire a Business Analyst, they will prefer someone who is already equipped with knowledge and skill acquired through professional course over someone who isn’t, because their company can save time and money in training the new joiner. It also helps to reduce the leaning curve after joining the job.

Most of my students had MBA degrees, and additional BA certificate helped them to compete others easily.

Followings are some of the benefits of professional certificates:

1. Better Recognition: It provides recognition of your skills and competence for doing a job, which will allow you to justify your experience and improve the employability.
2. Better Career Plan: It helps to build a systematic career plan and advancement strategy.
3. Better Alternate option: Professional certifications provides an affordable and focused alternate to the university education that many can’t afford due to their high cost and longer time schedule.
4. Better Knowledge and Skill: Professional certifications focus on the fundamentals and ensure that the certificate holder has the minimum knowledge and skill in the related area.
5. Better investment for organization: The hiring manager would find it more beneficial as the company can save time and money in training the prospective employee.
6. Better skilled employees/ quality for organization: The professional certification of employees will validate the company’s ability to assign knowledgeable and skilled professionals on the project. Sometime, the clients insist that the consultants or employees on their project must have the professional certification to ensure high quality delivery.
7. Which is better?: Reputation of certification awarding body is important. Currently IIBA, and BCS are both highly recognized organization in the field of business analysis. Although PMI more recognized and offering PMI-PBA, it has limited focus in terms of business analysis.
8. Better productivity: It adds to increased engagement, employment satisfaction and productivity that are the top ways of measuring the value of professional certification, as they contribute in reductions in staff churn, training, and recruitment costs.
9. Staying updated: Re-certification ensures that the professionals stay updated in their field.

How to select the right training program?

A profesional training - classroom or virtual doesn’t matter. 

What matters is:

• Content of the training,
• The technology used for delivering the online training,
• The style of teaching to keep audience engaged, and
• Specialization of the institute (some institute offer generalized mass training in every field and those courses usually don’t add value). So, select institutes who offer specialized training that is focused and intense in their specialized field.
• The reputation of the institute.

Check our website for business analysis, project management, quality assurance and data management training. Domain training and certification in Investment banking, retail banking, insurance, supply chain and more are also offered.

I have been teaching business analysis, digital marketing and other interesting topics in both classroom and virtual mode since 2005(over ten years). I find virtual trainings are as good as classroom training if proper training tool is used and the same view is echoed by my students as well.

In classroom session, you are looking at the white board or large screen for the presentation and practical session. Sometimes, it becomes difficult for the students seating at the end of the class. So, if you are learning to create a model, you may or may not see the the instructor’s actions on the screen or how he/she is creating a model. However, in the virtual class, it is easier to see how instructor is creating diagram/models or focusing topic on the slide on your screen. You may have an option to enlarge if you wish to see it better.

The training tool is very important as it allows you to interact with the instructor, share the presentation, deliver the notes automatically, and view the screen during practical session.

At the end, it also depends on the instructor’s style of delivering the training to ensure to keep the audience engaged and interested. :)

Please visit my blog to know the comparative analysis of certifications available in Business Analysis field at entry-level and mid-level.

If you need details, please write to - priti.verma@anisans.com

Disadvantage of being business analyst

As we have seen, there are many benefits to being a professional business analyst. However, no one ever talks about dark side. Here are few points that you need to watch out for if you wish to build a successful career in business analysis.

Getting it done without Authority: Being positioned in a central role, the business analyst has to be a Jack of all trades and juggle numerous duties and responsibilities. These duties can range from managing stakeholders (from the CEO to the end user who is generating a report in some corner) and maintaining an IT department along with balancing a unique set of requirements specific to the task.

It sounds difficult, but that’s the fun. Not everyone is a people person.

Value Creator: Sometimes you need to elicit requirements, confirmation and enter into communication with stakeholders when they each have their own BAU and other priorities. Beware that at times, stakeholders do not always see value in business analysis efforts and respond accordingly.

Know it all: While joining a new role, the hiring person/line manager mentioned that they knew I was new to the domain and they were fine with it. However, after 3 months, the same person suggested I obtain more knowledge than the SMEs and senior director who had been working there for over 10 years.

It is an unrealistic expectation to require business analysts to have a deeper and wider knowledge of the domain than the stakeholder. To elicit the requirements in the correct way, boil down the question to its simplest and purist form, and manage the scope at the right place.

If the BA changes the domain, then it is like starting all over again.

Super Dynamic: The business analysis is very dynamic profession as they are the first to react to new changes in business/industry such as new regulations, laws, codes of practice, business processes and methods.

The business analyst often has to walk on a challenging path through both the academic and practitioners' world, acquiring new knowledge and skills and implementing them effectively in real life situations.

If you are not quick to adapt to new circumstances and conditions, it will invariably lead to frustration.

Superman(woman)’s Confidence: A good BA must have the confidence to stand up for their points to present, negotiate, and manage conflict (if it arises) using logic and every weapon in their arsenal. Remember, the audience could be anyone in the organization.

Unsung Hero: Think of the person who provides ideas to integrate business with technology to create a million (or billion) dollar enterprise. For example, the iPod that changed the music industry or airbnb who revolutionized the hotel industry. The identity of these individuals remains largely unknown, unless he/she happens to be ‘Steve Jobs!’

Most modern inventions that applied technology and innovation to industry are a direct result of business analysis that created billions of dollars of revenue, but many are yet to get their dues.

However, the situation is changing. Being a professional BA is now considered a proper career and many organizations, both profit and non-profit, are working towards making it even better.

Apart from these pitfalls, being a BA is fun!