“Business Analyst” is one of the most popular designations from the past two decades. Now, we can see business analysts have established themselves in every department of every organization. They act as a moderator, communicator, contributor, analyst, and many more. The role of a BA is such that it makes other departments function smoothly. In this article, I will be briefing about the business analyst’s roles and responsibilities. Now, let’s start the article by knowing who a business analyst is.
Who is a Business Analyst?
The Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge®(BABOK® Guide) defines a business analyst as “any person who performs business analysis tasks, no matter their job title or organizational role.”
A ”Business analyst” is an all-in-one who acts as a “data analyst, ” “enterprise analyst,” “process analyst,” and a “system analyst”. On the other hand, this designation has a formal definition in the industry.
A BA’s primary responsibility is to drive the client’s business processes by analyzing its present state and suggesting specific solutions for improving organizational needs. Business analysts are required to analyze and communicate information. They are responsible for the organization’s development. He/she is required to indulge himself in bridging the gap between stakeholders and IT professionals.
Now that you know who a business analyst is, we shall look into a business analyst’s roles.
Business Analyst Role
A business analyst acts as an interface between several departments in an organization. He is a multi-tasker responsible for performing many tasks. The primary function includes generating ideas, developing them, and then implementing them to reach their goals.
A business analyst is required to communicate among stakeholders. Communication with the uppermost position or top management of the company is an essential role. On the other hand, he needs to interact with the company’s marketing department, finance & accounting department, salesforce, production department, and human resource department as a part of this job. The job of a business analyst is dynamic. The position of a business analyst differs from company to company according to the organizational goals. Some of the tasks assigned for a BA are listed below:
- Understanding the business norms
- Determining a suitable way to improve the existing business processes
- Implementing the new features
- Analyzing whether the implementation benefits the company
- Identifying the ways to make the analysis easier
What is a BA Expected To Deliver?
As already mentioned, a business analyst is a bridge between the business users and the technical IT people. Their presence in a company will contribute significantly to the organization’s success. There are many such tasks a BA must deliver; some of them include:
- Introduce a clear project scope
- Prepare reports on project scoping, planning, and management
- Produce the proper requirements for the IT project
- Ensure the accurate quality of the system
- Improve the quality of design for the proposed projects
- Arrange a quality test on the delivered systems
- Provide feedback to the technical IT people
Well, now we shall discuss the primary responsibilities of a business analyst.
Business Analyst Roles and Responsibilities
The responsibilities of a business analyst will change from industry to industry and from company to company, but some of the responsibilities never change. To be a successful BA, one must have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. Their main job is to find business opportunities and provide support by implementing IT and technological solutions.
The key responsibilities of a BA include:
Understanding Goals and Problems
Identifying the multifaceted organizational problems and opportunities for improvement in business operations and processes. Understanding every minute detail of a project is very crucial for business analysts.
Meeting the Organization’s Requirements
Eliciting relevant documents and requirements. Extracting the requirements and using those requirements to get the IT team on board and understand what the client wants, that’s one of the most significant responsibilities for BAs. It is also extremely critical for a BA to effectively document the information that they have found to make sure that the requirement of the client is efficiently mentioned, and nothing is left amiss.
Analyzation
The most important responsibility of a BA is to analyze the information collected in a detailed manner. When a BA reviews the elements in detail, the analysis phase asserts what the business needs to do to achieve its goal. During this stage, the BA will also be required to interact with the development team and the technical architects, which brings us to the next responsibility – communicating with a broad range of people.
Communication
The next responsibility is to interact with the business stakeholders and subject matter experts to understand their problems and needs. As a business analyst, it is essential to create and deliver quality presentations. A good business analyst also needs to dedicate countless hours, actively communicating back and forth. They need to listen, recognize, and understand verbal and non-verbal data.
Implementation
The next responsibility is to devise strategies to design new systems or modify existing business systems or processes. The business analyst’s most important job is to spend time identifying multiple options for solving challenges and then helping pick the best one. A business analyst makes specific IT recommendations and supports the IT team in the implementation phase in any way they can.
Conclusion
So, guys, these are some essential roles and responsibilities of a business analyst. A business analyst’s role is continually evolving and changing, mainly as companies rely more on data to advise business operations. The work BAs do is incredibly diverse. In the past two decades, business analysts are in high demand. According to Linkedin, business analysis is one of the most needed skills of the year 2020. The career prospect for BAs is growing by leaps and bounds. It is the right time for those wishing to make a switch to the business analysis profession.
If you want to become a Certified Business Analysis Professional do check out the Business Analysis Certification training offered by Invensis Learning. This program is in line with the EXIN’s Business Analysis certification exam.
