Have you been hearing about business analysis and you’re not quite sure what that is? And what does a business analyst do? In this article I’ll share with you what business analysis really is.
Business Analysis Definition
Here’s what business analysis is adapted from the Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) from the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA):
Business analysis is the practice of enabling change in an organization by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders. Business analysis enables an organization to articulate needs and the rationale for change and to design and describe solutions that deliver value.
Nice definition but what does that actually mean -exactly? Well let me break it down for you.
Here’s the real world grass roots version of the definition above:
Business analysis is the use of tools and techniques to deliver value to stakeholders.
Business analysts are sometimes called by different titles like Business Process Analysts, IT Business Analyst, Functional Business Analyst and sometimes not even business analysts at all! That’s a topic for another article though. For now, we will focus on the IT Business Analyst role.
What does a Business Analyst Do?
Basically in this job you will be presented with a number of business problems and you will follow the steps to perform business analysis. Your job is to systematically:
- Uncover the underlying problems
- Facilitate the discovery of the solution
- Document the solution
- Test that the solution solves the problem.
- Create awareness of the solution developed
As my not-so-eloquent BA co-worker Matt once told me: “Everything that lands on my desk is a mess and my job is to make sense of it!” and he was not wrong. Your work life will be to take messy or undefined processes or systems and make them better.
In this role as a Business Analyst, you are always be given problems and you have to figure out the best way to solve it on order to satisfy all the stakeholders involved. But don’t worry you will not be solving all these problems by yourself. You will work in a team and facilitate the discussions so the team can come up with the solutions.
If you are wondering is business analysis right for me? then I suggest you do the free business analysis fit test and evaluate your innate behaviors to figure out if you would be right for this role.
If you don’t like solving problems then you are probably not going to be a good business analyst.
Nothing comes to you right or in good order in this job. Everything has issues and the more advanced you become as a Business Analyst, the greater the issues are that get assigned to you.
Business Analysis Tool and Techniques
Since business analysis is the use of tools and techniques to deliver value to stakeholders, then you might ask how exactly do you acquire these techniques? and what tools are you talking about? and who are these stakeholders?
All valid questions. Lets address them.
Lets start with techniques. There are a variety of techniques to choose from in this role. Here are the top 10 elicitation techniques, including stakeholder interviews, brainstorming, document analysis, observation among others.
Elicitation techniques are the various ways to uncover the underlying problems. The article Business analysis techniques gives more details on this.
Business Analysis tools
Some techniques require the right tools.
The tools needed to do the business analyst job can be as fancy as complicated software or as simple as a notebook. (See the refinement notebook built for Business Analysts)
What matters most is the ability to use the tools to achieve the objective in the most efficient way. Most business analysts use the Microsoft suite of products including Word, Excel and Powerpoint. For a list of other tools see this article.
You can also watch this video on Top Software Tools for Business Analysts.
Who are Stakeholders?
Stakeholders are anyone who has a vested interest in the outcome of the project. This could be a manager, a CEO, a customer, another system, a regulatory body etc… The stakeholders are impacted by the outcome of your project. They are the beneficiaries of the results of your project.
Was this helpful? Do you now know more about the Business Analyst role than you did before? I hope so!
Watch this video for more on Business Analyst Documentation Skills
Also check out Should the Business Analyst Write System Requirements?
How do i train to be a business analyst. would you advise I get IIBA certifications. May I choose you as a mentor in this path? How can i easily reach you in case i have questions to grow in this path. Thanks for what you do.
Hello, You can start your career with the IIBA certifications but know that employers are not asking for it, so its just for your own knowledge but doesn’t really give you an edge in the job market. You can continue to watch my videos, study the BABOK and also look for IIBA chapters in your area so you can network with other BAs. My email is karaleiseblog@gmail.com if you need to contact me directly!!!