Understanding What Business Analysis Is: Business Analysis Definition
/ Stephanie FamuyideBusiness analysis has developed into a core business practice in a bid to link a firm’s capabilities with its objectives.
The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) has significantly helped in providing a clear definition of business analysis as a combination of tasks and techniques that aids stakeholders in understanding the structure, operations and policies of their organization. IIBA offers a series of recommendations on how BAs can support organisations in meeting their business needs.
Conducting effective business analysis involves carrying out the following key steps:
- Classifying the problems and opportunities affecting the organisation
- Eliciting constraints, assumption and business needs from stakeholders
- Analysing the needs of stakeholders in order to outline business requirements
- Assessing and substantiating probable and realistic solutions
- Managing the scope of requirements
Some comment that in today’s intricate business environment, the business analysis discipline has evolved from work that was previously cut out for project managers. Indeed, the argument also holds that in many organisations, it is difficult to establish a clear-cut difference between project management and business analysis. Others have likened the techniques used in business analysis with those used in systems analysis. Business analysis techniques however, focus more on business goals than technology design. The business analysis discipline is designed to deliver an understanding of user groups and the general business environment.
The importance of the business analysis discipline is also recognised when solving business problems. Business Analysts seek opportunities to help stakeholders strategize the implementation of effective processes, structures, and technology to complement and improve their work.
Business analysis is considered to be very closely linked to software development in the sense that most software development approaches are designed by developers of software to facilitate building effective applications—Business Analysts often have to adopt the software development approaches of the projects they embark on. Examples include Agile/Waterfall approaches, to mention a few.
Many professionals who are considering a move into the world of business analysis are however, unsure of the steps that need to be taken, or the business analysis training that is required. In this blog post, we explore this journey in greater detail and explain how you can become a certified business analyst, with the right skills for the job. Guest Post by Nadine Rochester
To be a good business analyst, one must have a clear-cut idea of what is required of them regarding their roles and responsibilities. A business analyst is an intermediary between customers and the company’s technical team. Below are 3 basic responsibilities of a business analyst.
Lean & Six Sigma methods are preferred by most organizations for process improvement efforts and ensuring the successful completion of projects focusing on a single metric. Applied first to manufacturing industry processes, Lean & Six Sigma can now be used in almost every domain of an organization for continuous process improvement.
If you want to choose a career that offers ample earning potential, interesting work and growing demand from employers, operations research analysis is one of the best fields to consider. Sponsored Post Submission
When an analyst leaves their fingerprints on the performance of a business, the legacy they create can be powerful and memorable. What does it take for a Business Analyst to achieve the legendary status of a legacy-maker? Guest Post By Negotiation Experts
Companies over time, have become increasingly reliant on the insights drawn from data analysis by data scientists. There is also a corresponding increase in the use of systems to crunch data and predict trends.
What’s the difference between between the Business Analyst and Data Scientist role, one wonders?
Consultancy.uk recently reported on the loss of popularity for business analysts in the consulting sector using information from Adzuna and Joblift. The Adzuna study made an analysis of over 79 million UK job adverts, showing the number of new consulting jobs has decreased and continues to do so. That could apply to many different hats business analysts are wearing right now — some of the roles business analysts are accustomed to filling are being taken by those of other professions — accountants, for instance, often work in the role of business counsellors. Guest Post by Devin
Are you looking for a change in career? Exploring the trends below will help you understand which business analysis specializations are in demand. Sponsored Post By Samantha Collins
As part of executing software development projects, the business analyst participates in the following project-related activities: Sponsored post by Samantha Collins
When interviewing stakeholders, it’s important to take time to listen actively to what is being said to avoid missing key requirements. Being an active listener requires concentration and effort. Follow these tips, and you’ll be able to listen more actively during your engagements with stakeholders:
Gaining work experience is extremely essential to breaking into the Canadian Job Market. If you’re a business analyst in Canada looking to retrain, get some work experience under your belt and launch your business analysis career, here are some college degrees in Canada that are relatively quick to get (require an investment of only a year of your time), have flexible study schedules and come with opportunities for work experience.
We all make mistakes. In fact, that’s how we learn. It’s however extremely important to understand what mistakes are, the different types of mistakes and how they happen so that we can learn from them and prevent them from happening again in the future.
Introverts are a special group of people who need sufficient time to make sense of a situation, reflect and analyze information. They need to process information before taking a position on issues. Business meetings can seem chaotic to them with different people going off in different directions and throwing up suggestions that don’t seem well thought out.
The Say:Do ratio is a concept that seeks to rate a person’s reliability by comparing what they say they’ll do to what they actually do: The ‘Say:Do' ratio. It’s all about keeping your promises and doing what you say you’ll do.
One of the core competencies business analysts should have is the ability to facilitate business meetings. From elicitation to analysis, meetings are a true test of a business analyst’s facilitation skills. As a business analyst, you may love meetings, or you may hate them, but they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, so it’s best to learn how to organize and run meetings effectively.
Listening is one of the most powerful skills that any business analyst can have in his or her toolbox, and the technique of active listening has been helping business professionals become better listeners since Carl Rogers and Richard Farson coined the term “active listening” in 1987.
An average US company spends $4,000 to fill an open position. This means that they follow rigorous recruiting procedures and nothing but the best resume can help you to get your foot in the interview door. Here are 6 resume writing secrets that can help you land an interview and get a job as a business analysts.
To remain significant as a business, you need to make existing processes efficient and lean. Of course, processes are inherent in every organization, but they can be cumbersome and not achieve their set goals if not executed the right way or you don't have the required resources to spearhead process change efforts. Guest Post By Owen McGab Enaohwo
There are few things in life more daunting than hunting for a new job. Heart palpitations while in front of a panel of interviewers and trying to present yourself in the best possible light is difficult enough as it is, even without knowing that you’re just one of dozens—if not hundreds—of candidates.
One possible reason workplace conflicts are so common is the inability of people who are responsible for handling them to deal with conflicts as well as they should. What are some of the most important conflict-resolution strategies and techniques that managers and non-managers alike can use to avoid conflicts at the workplace? Here's a list that every BA can learn from.
A blog visitor contacted me last week and wanted answers to some questions relating to business analysis. Here's an excerpt of my response. If there's any question you would like answered, please leave a comment below and I'll try to get your response out as soon as I can!
Here we go...
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that American employers will need about 876,000 business analysis-related professionals by 2020. The demand for business analysts is clearly here, but the question is, who will take the best jobs?
Dale Turner, an American songwriter and rock musician, once said that some of the most memorable lessons we will ever learn are from past mistakes. As a new BA, there’s a world of possible mistakes though not all mistakes need to be made if they can be anticipated and prevented. Here are some examples of common mistakes every BA should be aware of and avoid:
Words are a lens to focus one’s mind – Ayn Rand
Business Writing is extremely important for almost all professions. Effective communication involves deciding when it is appropriate to send an email, organize a meeting or prepare a presentation. Whatever the case, business writing is extremely important to becoming a successful professional. Here are some free course materials online you can use to improve your writing skills:
“90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform.” – Somers White
Explore this list of free courses to prepare for your next presentation.
I’ve received several enquiries from Software Developers who want to move into the business analyst field. What are the challenges in accomplishing this and how can they be overcome? How can a software developer successfully become a business analyst without being drawn back to their former role whenever the company nears some big deadline and needs developers quickly? This article addresses key career transition questions that developers should have answers to.
Businesses that make decisions without proper rules in place to guide their decision-making are much more likely to miss achieving their goals. To avoid this, companies hire dedicated business rules analysts.
Let’s take a closer look at the role of a business rules analyst and what exactly business rules are.
Leadership is about motivating people to act in ways that help to achieve shared goals and objectives. In eliciting and managing requirements, business analysts encounter numerous opportunities to display their leadership skills and influence the decisions that are made throughout the course of the project.
If you are interested in building or improving on your leadership skills, the following courses provide an avenue for achieving this.
There are some free courses that BAs can take advantage of to improve their negotiation skills and fulfil their roles effectively.
Picture Attribution: “Group Of Business People At Work” by photostock
If you want to get your dream business analyst job, you should create the perfect resume.
Sometimes, it’s pretty difficult to understand what you should include in your resume and what you should remove from it. To ensure that your resume contains only valuable information, check out the following recommendations. Guest Post By Sylvia Giltner