Business Analysis for IT Professionals
Without business analysis, there would be no software or computer solutions. That’s because the most important aspect of developing information technology is understanding what the problem is before you start to solve it.
To effectively do this, the business analyst needs to accurately determine exactly what the customer wants. Then they need to employ structured techniques for:
- gathering business requirements
- converting them into functional specifications
- working with technical resources to develop the technical specifications
- developing and implementing test plans
This helps to create a blueprint for the work that will be performed to create an effective technical solution to whatever the problem is. Let’s break out the day-to-day tasks that might be performed by an IT business analyst.
Gathering Requirements
Determining what the customer thinks they want, what they really want and what they actually need are three completely different things. It’s the business analyst’s job to use different techniques to effectively gather user requirements.
Some examples of requirement gathering methods are customer interviews, questionnaires, prototyping, use cases and collaborative workshops, just to name a few. It is the analyst’s job to be the bridge between the non-technical business assets and the technical solution providers.
Business Process Analysis
While gathering requirements, it’s always helpful to have the customer go through their processes and how they work from day to day. By analyzing how they are currently handling the problem, sometimes inefficiencies and bottlenecks can be discovered. Good business process analysis might help them streamline their current processes and make their new automated processes more efficient because these issues will have already been eliminated.
Data Modelling
After the requirements have been gathered and current processes have been documented, the analyst can begin to determine what data needs to be gathered as well as how all of the data is related. Entity relationship diagrams are then drawn to show how the data in the system is connected and how it will flow through the system. This helps technical solution providers to have a better understanding of the underlying data structures when they begin coding the solution. A good piece of software is just like a house. It is only as strong as its foundation, so it is critical that the data is understood and stored correctly to make it easier to save and retrieve.
Testing Plans
Software needs to be tested – extensively. A concise and thorough test plan will need to be developed and implemented to make sure that the software effectively solves the original problem and is acceptable to the customer. Different scenarios will need to be documented and scripted so that testers will have a recipe to follow when testing the solution. This ensures the quality of the project and the product while streamlining any issues that arise before the solution gets into the hands of the customer.
Business Analysis Training
Business analysis is involved at all stages of the solution development lifecycle. The job market for talented business analysts is wide open, and the salary ranges are varied depending on the type of work and the company. Trained candidates can work in any number of jobs including subject matter specialist, project managers, technical team leaders and many others.
Why not start your path to one of the most rewarding and highly sought after jobs today by getting the valuable training that will be highly prized by successful employers? One of the best ways to obtain this training is through innovative technical training companies like ONLC.
We have online and remotely hosted classroom training available for business analysis right now. It’s easy to sign up and jump start your career. Contact ONLC today and let us help you make the first move in a better direction.
