Business Analysis For Practitioners

We perform various Business Analysis tasks every day in our project management such as recognising business requirements, addressing business problems, building a business case, defining scope of solutions, and evaluating alternatives. In most cases, however, we do it offhanded without any prior formal training. By definition, Business Analysis practices identify business needs and recommend solutions to various business problems. The fundamental of Business Analysis includes requirement analysis techniques, stakeholder management, and communications. Business Analysis offers management the tools and techniques to explain why, what, and, how to deliver a product/service/change. Business Analysis is fundamental feature of any organisation. Transformation is inevitable, it can happen any time in the target market or the organisation you are working in. For your business to thrive, a proper analysis or the efficiency of your business should be conducted on a regular basis. This involves gathering information from various sources and analysing the information to provide a prediction of future trends. This will help devise ways for improving business strategies and operations.

Analysis of Business provides stakeholders an understanding of the needs of the organisation. This helps teams make appropriate recommendations for those needs that ultimately enable the organisation progress and meet those needs. By achieving a thorough understanding of the needs, legitimate recommendations, and an acknowledgement of moving forward, Business Analysis provides teams with the ability map issues that do not facilitate the needs of the organisation. This map provides an outline of how the project will proceed, the teams can navigate to the desired state, keeping the stakeholders in the loop.

Role of Practitioners in Business Analysis

Earlier it was a common practice to refer the Business Analysis practitioners as ‘Requirement Analysts.’ But the scope of Business Analysis is so much more than that of the Requirement Analysis. Due to the unique nature of organisations, there are many different roles in a project that performs Business Analysis. According to the PMI’s Pulse of the Profession™ surveys, poor requirement practices are a leading cause of project failures. A practitioner helps tackle project-associated issues related with requirements and business analysis. The practitioners deliver value by understanding the organisation in terms of its people, processes, and technology by proposing recommendations, enabling the organisation to make informed decisions. The practitioners performing Business Analysis need to have the following skills:

• Business and industry knowledge
• Analytical skills
• Creative and critical thinking
• Learning and leadership skills
• Issue-management skills
• Decision making
• Influence and negotiation skills
• Problem solving
• Presentational and organisational skills
• Ability to work effectively in teams, including virtual teams

Business Analysis Practitioners have the responsibilities spanning various knowledge areas of Business Analysis. Practitioners are accountable for determining which techniques to be applied in fulfilling those responsibilities addressed by each knowledge area. An individual needs to take into consideration the responsibilities described by these knowledge areas and decide whether to follow a change-driven approach such as Agile or a plan-driven approach (traditional waterfall model).

The practitioner must understand that he too plays the role of a stakeholder with every project involvement. Some tasks such as attending meetings and taking notes might seem like a routine, but it is important that the practitioner understands tasks assigned to him. If the practitioner comes across an issue that has not been properly understood or accounted, then he/she has the responsibility to speak about it in the stakeholder meeting and take necessary measures to settle the issue, without letting any delays to occur, keeping the project on track. The practitioners are expected to evaluate how his responsibilities back up the overall effort, which ultimately helps achieve the agreed-upon set of needs.

Benefits of Business Analysis to the Practitioners

• Helps you to develop proficiency in the principles and practices of business analysis.
• Demonstrates stakeholders, clients, suppliers, investors, and people of your organisation that you adhere to the industry-standard business-analysis practices.
• Makes you marketable with your participation in a recognised professional group.
• Gains you recognition among your professional peers and management.
• Advances your career potential as you gain the recognition of a professional business-analysis practitioner.
• Certification in Business Analysis improves your overall performance and widens market opportunities.
• According to the recent salary survey, Business Analysis practitioners have potentially higher income for being formally recognised as an experienced BA professional.
• Gives you a personal satisfaction of accomplishing a milestone in the BA careers.
• Helps you to ensure that you have constant growth, and remain up-to-date in the environment by accomplishing and maintaining the certification.