What does the job of a business analyst include? Business Analyst: Responsibilities, Career and Professional Perspectives

Often people who start exercising entrepreneurial activity, ask the question: "Business analyst - who is it and why hire him?" After reviewing the definition of the concept, it will become clear that he is an indispensable employee. Then you need to find out what information his job description contains.

concept

A business analyst is a specialist who applies business analysis methods to perform an analysis of the company's needs, to find out the causes of problems in the implementation of activities and create proposals for their solution.

This concept is defined by the International Institute of Business Analysis as an intermediary to collect the necessary information and verify the requirements for creating information systems. The employee must understand what the business has opportunities and challenges that help or hinder the achievement of the company's goals.

The term in question has not been established for a long time. Synonyms can be used as the name of a specialist: requirements analyst and system analyst. Business Analyst is the lowest consultant position if consulting business is considered.

General provisions of the job description

A business analyst is a service employee of the company's development department, which belongs to the category of administrative and managerial apparatus. It should be noted that the purpose of the position is to optimize and analyze the processes that are carried out by the company. A system analyst can be appointed to a position and removed from it on the proposal of the head of the department by the head of the enterprise. The employee must follow the orders of the director strategic development. To do this, he must use the relevant regulatory documents.

Business analyst functions

The system analyst plans work on the analysis of business processes:

• is engaged in the creation of a work plan for the analysis, optimization and modeling of processes, after which it is coordinated with the head of strategic development;
• is engaged in the formation of an estimate of resources and a plan for communications required to perform modeling of new processes.

Performs analysis and optimization:

• develops the structure of the elements necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of existing functions and processes;
• applies modeling tools, acceptance by the company;
• draws up a holistic analytical report, presented with text comments and analysis tables;
• develops recommendations for changing organizational structure and application of optimized business processes;
• prepares the required information for the technical writer of the development department.

Performs a presentation of the optimized process to other employees of the company:

• the business analyst develops the demo materials that are required for the presentation;
• provides for the presentation the availability of the necessary information materials, software and hardware;
• demonstrates optimization results to other employees;
• deals with the procedure for publishing materials on the company's website.

Engaged in the improvement of the methodology for examining the processes of the company:

• monitors available sources of information to identify shortcomings in the methods adopted at the enterprise;
• conducts documentation of the shortcomings of the company's methodology, which will contain a report to the head of strategic development and ways to eliminate problems;
• develops recommendations for the use of innovative optimization technologies.

The duties of a business analyst include training company employees and professional development:

• should be appropriately trained and certified in accordance with established plan companies;
• trains other employees of the company to work with optimized business processes;
• trains other employees of the company to work in the tool environment of their modeling.

Business analytics knowledge

A business analyst should have the following knowledge:

• existing national standard DSTU ISO 9001-2001;
• organization standard for internal audit, regulation and system description;
• current orders and orders of company executives in the field of optimization and analysis of business processes;
• adopts domestic and foreign experience to improve management systems;
• the established and current model of the company's functioning;
• modern capabilities of computer technology, as well as ways to use it to carry out work on the examination and optimization of relevant processes;
• norms and rules of labor protection established by the legislation.

Job Responsibilities

To make it clear what responsibilities a business analyst has, the instruction for him should be drawn up by a representative of the company in which he will work. He has the following responsibilities:

• performance of the functions established by the job description;
• Ensuring compliance with company policy with high quality;
• contributing to the optimal functioning of the quality management system;
• taking corrective measures in the implementation of its activities;
• fulfillment of the requirements stipulated by the organizational documents.

The duties of a business analyst must be performed by him in full in accordance with the established job description.

System analyst rights

It is worth highlighting the following rights of a business process analyst:

• Request from officials and receive the required documents and materials related to the activities carried out.
• Conduct surveys and interviews with company leaders to perform analysis and optimization
• Carry out a survey of the company's management to ensure the collection of the required information to identify shortcomings in the functioning system and determine the need for its improvement.
• The business analyst has the right to receive reviews of documents developed by the company and required for the implementation of business processes.
• The employee must be familiar with the mode of operation included in the list of rules internal regulations companies.
• Has the right to travel on business trips if necessary.

The list of rights can be expanded depending on the order of the enterprise management.

Responsibility

Job description business analyst contains a list of processes for which he is responsible:

• for insufficient quality of performance of their duties;
• for providing false information about the quality of the work performed in accordance with the accepted indicators;
• for late reporting in accordance with the requirements of the regulation on internal audit;
• for failure to comply with the instructions and orders of the company's management and the head of strategic development;
• for violating the company's internal regulations.

Responsibility is established separately for each enterprise. The analyst must understand that it is impossible to violate the rules of the company.

Relationships

The tasks of a business analyst also include relationships. They represent the implementation information exchange with officials structural divisions companies under their authority. Also, the system analyst should provide the required information to the technical writer of the development department in the area of ​​documenting the results.

Regulations

The business analyst must be guided by the following documents and standards in the performance of his duties:

• Job Description, which is developed and adopted by the company's management.
• National standard DSTU ISO 9001-2001.
• Company standard.
• The company's quality management.
• An established description of the enterprise functioning system.
• Orders and orders of the company's management in matters of analysis and optimization of business processes.
• Accepted internal rules of the company.
• Legally established rules and norms of labor protection.
• Orders and orders of the chief, which relate to the organization of the activities of other employees of the company.

It is mandatory to adhere to the requirements of these documents, if it is provided by the enterprise.

Labor efficiency criteria

An IT business analyst must show certain results of work. The main criteria for labor efficiency are:

• Compliance with the established work schedule.
• Achieving a high level of employee satisfaction with the quality of work organization.
• Achievement of maximum values ​​during performance assessment, which are preliminarily set by the company's management.

A business analyst who has been hired by the enterprise development department must read the job description and sign an agreement to comply with its terms. The document should be developed by an employee specially appointed for this purpose. It is necessary to develop a job description taking into account all the requirements that must be observed.

The Business Process Analyst should review the submitted document in detail. After his signature, he can begin to perform his duties. You should also know your rights and responsibilities for violating existing rules. The job description is also signed by the head of the department and the chief executive of the enterprise.

Greetings, Friends/Comrades/Future Colleagues!

Recently, the profession of an analyst in the field of software development (in the future we will write software so that the abbreviation does not cause you bewilderment when you stumble upon it on specialized sites) is rapidly gaining popularity among representatives of not only the IT sector, but also "non-IT" specialties. Students, young professionals, long-term employees, many have a passionate interest in the enigmatic and intriguing phrase "business analyst". And on everyone's mind main question: how to become? We are launching a series of articles for beginner analysts, the purpose of which is to tell you about business analysis, help you make a choice and suggest in which direction to move on. Not so long ago, the authors of the article were at a crossroads, and if it were not for experienced people nearby, ready to prompt, explain and give invaluable advice, they would not have become what they have become - business analysts.

Today we will talk about the profession of an analyst, the qualities that analysts should have, and also outline the pros and cons of this craft.

So what is an analyst? The most simple and closest to IT definition: an analyst is an intermediate link between the customer of a software product (as well as its future users) and its developers. Imagine that you decided to build a house and hired a team of guest workers from nearby sunny countries for this. What is the probability that, by explaining to them the essence of your wishes, you will not waste your nerves trying to convey to them the idea that what they are doing is not “beautiful and convenient”? And how will you react to their statements like “you need a convector in the floor”? Undoubtedly, you will eventually find a common language with them. But now imagine that in the software development industry, specialized slang / concepts / principles of building systems are many times more complicated and voluminous, and programmers often show much more unwillingness to understand you and communicate with you in ordinary human language (sorry, programmers who read us; you are not all like that :)). This is where this very analyst comes to the rescue. International Institute The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) defines a business analyst as a professional who "understands business problems and opportunities in the context of requirements and recommends solutions to enable an organization to achieve its goals."

In practice, the essence of the work of an analyst may vary depending on the role of the analyst on the project. Most common types of IT analysts this:

1. Business analyst(Business Analyst, BA) - as a rule, this is a specialist engaged in the study and modeling of a specific subject area. In other words, he must find out the wishes of the customer, analyze them, supplement them if necessary, arrange them in a certain way (build models, document at least the general wishes of the client) and transfer them to the development team. BA is the face of the team, sociable, tactful, easily finding a common language with the customer. Technical Knowledge(or, using the now fashionable word, background) business analysts are not required at all, much more important is knowledge of the customer's language and the characteristics of his culture.
2. Systems Analyst(System Analyst, SA) - an analyst much closer to the development team than a BA; a specialist who must translate to the team the high-level software requirements received from the business analyst in the form of detailed functional requirements to the system, of course, in the language of the development team. Often he also has to offer specific technical solution and design system architecture.
3. Requirements Analyst(Requirements Analyst, RA) is a cross between BA and SA. In the official classification of the EKSD RB, this position is absent, however, in many Western theories, RA is present as a specialist who is responsible for extracting, analyzing, documenting and modeling requirements, i.e., in a simplistic way, for writing requirements specifications for their further transfer to developers. Unlike a BA, it is not enough for a requirements analyst to simply figure out the high-level requirements - he is also responsible for developing a detailed description of the system being designed. At the same time, it is not necessary for an RA to have deep knowledge in IT and develop a system architecture, since there are dedicated architects and system designers among programmers for this.

Most analysts in any outsourcing company in our country (that is, a company engaged in custom software development) are precisely requirements analytics. A rare company in our conditions can afford to keep a "pure" business analyst who is well versed in any one subject area, plus keep him on constant business trips, closer to the "customer's body". In addition, loading such an analyst with at least 80% of work will be very problematic, while the cost of maintaining it is quite significant. Although, it is worth noting that we have such companies and such analysts. As for system analysts, without having a BA on staff, they make little sense, except when you come across a customer with business analysts on their part, or a professional customer who knows and knows how to convey his “Wishlist” to the team (yes- Yes, not all customers know exactly what they want).

Well, are you interested? Then let's move on. So the main qualities/skills an ideal analyst (note that some qualities are innate, while others are developed, some quickly, and some quite long):

1. Analytical mindset (really? Analyst? Thank you, cap :)). This is the ability to analyze or, in other words, the ability to put information on the shelves and build logical chains. This is one of characteristic styles human thinking. An analytical mindset is not inherent in everyone from birth, but any of us can develop analytical abilities in ourselves, so do not despair.
2. The ability to notice details, attentiveness and systems thinking. On the one hand, these qualities are characteristic of a person with an analytical mindset, but still these are separate skills, or even habits that can and should be developed in oneself.
3. Sociability and communication skills, namely:
- the ability to listen and hear.
- the ability to express their thoughts clearly and clearly.
- the ability to establish and establish contacts and relationships with other people.
4. Knowledge of IT and the basics of software development (the so-called technical background).
5. Knowledge foreign language(most often English) in terms of written and oral application. Domestic outsourcing is mainly directed to foreign countries. Naturally, in unique situations, when you know that you will build your entire professional career exclusively on interaction with Russian-speaking customers, you can safely ignore this item.
6. Learning. Moreover, learning is not only at the stage of learning. In principle, it is important for analytics and it is necessary to constantly improve, “pump” in one area or another, follow new technologies, tools and approaches, filter information flows.
7. Creativity.

We have not in vain noted that these are the qualities of an ideal analyst. In life, you are unlikely to meet a person who has these qualities / skills from birth or who received them in full at school or university. They will have to be developed and developed. Let's say more: as we move along career ladder(and we will write about this later), you will have to develop and acquire additional skills, no less complex and interesting.

We must not forget that every profession has its own dignity, and limitations. And if you, most likely, have heard a lot about the merits, because it was not in vain that you were drawn into business analysis, then you may not know about the shortcomings. But for the sake of completeness of the picture, we will present both.

Why you might like the job of a business analyst:

This is interesting :) (of course, not always, of course, depending on the company and the project, but still ...)
- work involves constant communication (unlike developers and testers, an analyst will not be able to sit in front of a monitor all day, and this, in our opinion, is great)
- a variety of activities (here you have communication, and information analysis, and documentation, and design, and problem solving, and team management, and lecturing - and that's not all)
- the possibility of growth in breadth and upwards (if there is a desire, of course)
- the material side of the issue
- the opportunity to visit other countries and all the benefits that follow from this.

Why you might not like the job of a business analyst:

This is boring (: (again, depends on the specifics of the project and the company - sometimes you will have to do monotonous and routine work, or work that you do not like)
- the need to communicate (more precisely, you willy-nilly have to communicate, and, in most cases, not only in Russian, plus periodically make public speeches)
- the need to switch between various types activities and, as progress is made, between several projects that are completely different in nature
- the need to make decisions and take responsibility for their decisions.

Did you get the idea? Everything here is purely individual, plus a lot depends on where you will work (in which company / with which customers / with which team / on which project / in which subject area).

This concludes our introductory lecture. We hope that this article was useful, or at least allowed you to once again make sure that you are in the right place. We would advise beginner analysts to analyze the entire flow of information, decide whether you really want to become a business analyst, and thereby get one step closer to your cherished goal. In the following articles, we will talk about what are the options for “entry” into the industry, how to prepare for interviews, we will also talk about self-education, we will give many useful links and explanations, plus we will tell you about the next steps for those who have already become an analyst, but still wear proud prefix junior.

We encourage everyone to actively unsubscribe and share their thoughts and experiences on the above!

P.S. Feel confident that you want to become a business analyst or improve your knowledge in this area? Welcome to

Do Belarusian companies need business intelligence? The advertisement says that this is one of the most sought-after professions in IT, that it is not so difficult to get it, salaries are measured in thousands of dollars, and there are an incalculable number of vacancies on job search sites. Is it really? And how to become a business analyst if you are far from IT?

Who is a business analyst and what is the essence of his work?

The main task of a business analyst is a detailed study of the structure of the company, the search for problems and the best ways to solve them. Most often, business analysts analyze financial activity organizations, develop a new or improve an old business model, optimize the work process and do their best to increase the company's profit.

Business analysts are needed by large enterprises, banks, construction organizations and, of course, IT companies.

For example, the company was contacted by a client whose sales fell. The business analyst needs to find out why this happened: low-quality content on the site, high prices, complex interface, lack of communication in in social networks. The business analyst then details the results of his research and proposes a solution to the problem.

creative work

Creative work: it is necessary to understand what the customer needs, to see ways to implement the idea, to offer new solutions for the development of the company, to decide which technologies will be used in the work. The business analyst is the creative face of the team, as it is he who communicates the client's requirements to the developers and formalizes them properly.

At the same time, a business analyst must be able to politely communicate with a client and resolve conflicts, be accurate and attentive to details, be able to present the project at its final stage and be, as they say, “two steps ahead”.

Project Management Methods

Project management methods are one of the key requirements for employers. If to speak in simple words, then project management is the management and organization of all processes that will lead to a goal, whether it be a competitor analysis or a marketing campaign.

The difficulty lies in the fact that all projects are different, which means that each needs its own approach. For this, a whole system of project management methodologies has been developed, and, of course, employers will demand this knowledge.

What should be a business analyst?

What other requirements apply to a business analyst?

• Teamwork skills,
• Knowledge is big enough number of software,
• Knowledge of software development methodology
• Activity and desire to develop,
• English language.

If your level is below Upper-Intermediate, getting a business analyst position will be quite difficult. Indeed, in IT, most often clients are Western companies.

How much do business analysts earn?

A good business analyst can expect to earn at least $1,200. According to dev.by statistics, the median salary of a business analyst is $1,600. Senior receives about $3000. Of course, everything will depend only on your professional skills and desire to develop.

Why is project management so important to business analysts?

Why is project management so important to business analysts? Talks about it Alena Volchek, PMI specialist, AGILE (scrum, kanban) and teacher in

- Now the most demanded in the labor market are the so-called "universal specialists". I call themPM- BA". I myself often had to collect requirements from the customer, write technical requirements and specifications. A project manager can be a good business analyst, but the opposite doesn't always work.

For guys who need to decide whether to go into business analysis or project management, this course is ideal. Since there is a base for business analysis and project management. And where to specialize further, already depends only on them.

Now project management is very important for Belarus, especially the last year and a half. The project approach is being introduced everywhere, not even inIT, and, say, in restaurant business, tourist. The question is only in frames. There are few good project managers, and those who understandITspecificity is even less.

Is there a division into the humanities and techies here? Humanitarians, as a rule, choose the specialization "Business Analysis", and as for techies, it seems to me that everything is subject to them, if it does not bother the fact that in "Project Management" or "Project Management + Business Analysis" you need to constantly communicate. Not all techies can do it.

Our Academy is worth choosing for a very comfortable atmosphere! The groups become so united during the course that by the end of the course many become real friends, help each other with employment. Teachers build the course program, taking into account the interests of each particular group, and focus on the topics that the group needs.

Topics in the classroom will be very interesting: these are interviews and the features of team formation, protection from manipulation and negotiations and meetings. And also a “mix” in the management of classics and light methodologies, i.e. agile and pmi!

It is very possible to find a job after the course. From the group, at least 2-3 people find work in the first months after the end of the course. But these people are very interested in learning and are ready to change jobs. At the same time, they understand that without work experience it is impossible to immediately count on a salary of $ 1,500, and you need to start small, about $ 400. But the level of responsibility of the assistantPMmuch lower.

As for the best graduates, everything here is like at a university. You can be the best in theory, but fail in practice. Therefore, for me, the best ones are those who quickly master project management programs, grab ideas on how to combine them. Gaps in theory are easily filled, but you need to know the main points by heart: risks, deadlines, cost and team.

If you decide to change something in your life, in your profession, doubt less and do more. Without trying, you will never understand if this is your profession or not. In the meantime, you think, someone has already signed up for your place in my group!

Humanitarians have a place inIT

Vitaly Borodin, a practicing business analyst and educator, talked about why humanities can be better than techies, and why projects can fail without business analysts.

- The importance of the profession of a business analyst is explained very simply, and at the same time quite complicated. Let's try to figure it out. In the classical sense, BA is an intermediary between the customer and the developer, but what is behind this in practice? Hard intellectual work, which does not come down to a simple relaying of the customer's desire.

I know many projects that did not become successful precisely because of the lack of a business analyst. How it all happened: the customer says: "I want ...", and the developer implements the customer's desire. The customer looks at the result and understands that what he wanted was implemented, but it is completely impossible to use it due to some list of reasons.

In the case when a business analyst is involved in the project, he first of all analyzes the customer's business, identifies bottlenecks, the reasons why the activity is not as successful as it could be. After that, he determines and agrees with the customer the identified needs, approaches to satisfy them, determines the concept of a solution that can be associated not only with the development of a new software product, but also with the modernization of business processes. If the proposed concept is accepted by the customer, then work can continue. At the same time, the business analyst must also remember that in some cases it may be necessary to leave everything as it is, and this will be more effective.

Five or seven years ago, analysts were not so popular with us, as we traditionally lag behind in many areas. Now companies are learning to operate more intelligently, and come to understand the need and importance of the role of a business analyst. Yes, business analyst rewards may be high, but they pay off in reduced development time and the creation of better software solutions.

Business analysis is not as simple a profession as it seems. And there are many explanations for this. First of all, created software should not be just a program. The ideal option is when you manage to create a new management philosophy operating activities a company that is integrated into business processes, and in some cases even using a software product to build business processes, regulate and regulate the activities of each employee.

For example, who can imagine modern company, which does not useCRM? Or some software to maintain accounting? Now imagine a company, each software product of which has an integration with another, when you can get the information that you need at the moment in several manipulations in the same software environment. Just? Hardly.

Theoretically, anyone can learn to become a business analyst, but with one condition: there must be a clear motivation and understanding of why this is needed. In addition, it is necessary to clearly understand that business analysis is studied all the time while it works. You never know what project will be next: a website, search system, online store, reference and information system, payment service, graphic editor.

Young professionals with skyrocketing ambitions often completely forget that in order to high salaries it is necessary to work hard enough, and only theoretical knowledge obtained, albeit in a prestigious educational institution, absolutely not enough.

I do not know of any profession where you can get big money on the go. In any case, you need to get some set of basic knowledge, practical skills. Then there will be the first project, the first bumps, again new project, a lot of new knowledge, and so on ad infinitum. This is an experience. That experience and knowledge that a business analyst receives with each project can turn into a coefficient by which the beginner's remuneration will change. And after some time, it may be a few months, for someone a few years, you can get to the concept of "earn a lot."

I am a supporter of the fact that this profession is more suitable for the humanities, since they think a little differently, for them the word “impossible” does not exist, they are more creators than hard workers. The main thing to remember is that the creation meets the interests of the customer. Technical Specialist thinks in formulas, while the humanist describes the essence itself.

Our IT Academy "BelHard" has all the necessary resources and infrastructure for successful learning. First of all, it's frames. All teachers are practicing specialists, each of them has various projects in their portfolio, thanks to which the “dry theory” is explained on practical examples and specific decisions that were made during the implementation of projects. In addition, the course is designed in such a way that anyone can learn, regardless of his age and knowledge.

Let me give you a few tips for beginners. Make sure that there is motivation and desire to explore a new direction, there is a willingness to learn a lot, and after completing the course, start a career almost from the very beginning, and, regardless of age and past merits, become a beginner who after some time will become a specialist and will be able to hear , as a satisfied user will say: “What a cool program, a genius came up with it!” But there is a difficult and long way to go.

How to become a business analyst?

If you are still confident in your motivation to become a part of IT, then you should find out where you can get this profession.

IT Academy "BelHard" offers an integrated course. Here you will learn how to design an information system and manage its development, learn how to effective methods collecting user requirements, formalizing them in a form that is accessible and understandable to all interested parties, learn how to manage joint work teams that solve different problems and learn how to create a finished product.

This course differs from ordinary business analysis in that you will learn not only to analyze a business and propose a development strategy, but also to manage projects yourself, by human resourses, risks. You will acquire skills in two specialties at once, and this will double your chances of finding a prestigious and well-paid job.

Also, BelHard IT Academy has developed a course after which you will become a real business analyst!

In the courses you will learn about the features of software projects and modern software development methodologies, get acquainted with the functions performed by a business analyst, as well as the basic skills of a business analyst, learn the necessary tools and software, gain invaluable experience in compiling and processing technical specifications.

By the way, if you want to become a true professional in the field of business analysis and study this area a little deeper, then you can take a course. You will learn the UML modeling language, learn what user stories are, and learn how to manage requirements.

All courses at BelHard IT Academy are aimed at workshops to get the best results. At the end of the course, all participants submit a project, according to which the final certification will be carried out. And remember that the main investment in your life is an investment in yourself and your knowledge!

Business Analyst is a specialist whose task is to study the structure of the company in detail, identify problems and find ways to successfully resolve them. For example, business intelligence functions might include the financial analysis activities of the organization, automation economic activity or the development of a new, more efficient business model, which includes the optimization of processes and work of personnel, cost reduction, profit increase, etc.

Places of work

The business analyst profession is highly paid, prestigious and promising. Such professionals are in demand large enterprises various industries, mainly banking sector, in construction, trade and mining, as well as in IT companies and consulting.

History of the profession

The need to optimize and automate business processes arose about twenty years ago in Western Europe and the USA. Globalization and active distribution digital technologies began to dictate new business opportunities and created a shortage qualified specialists capable of finding new ways for companies to develop.

Responsibilities of a Business Analyst

IN official duties business intelligence includes:

• collection, formalization and coordination of requirements with customers;
• collection of information, description and modeling of business processes;
• analysis of efficiency and development of proposals for optimizing processes;
• development of documentation;
• preparation comparative analysis company activities;
• Preparing presentations for management and clients.

Business analyst requirements

The most common business analyst requirements are:

• higher education (preferably in finance, economics, accounting);
• experience with CRM, analytical data processing systems or banking information systems;
• experience in business analytics;
• experience in writing technical specifications;
• experience in the development of regulatory documentation;
• PC knowledge;
• analytical thinking and the ability to systematize information;
• Correct oral and written language.

business analyst resume sample

How to become a business analyst

Graduates of economic, financial, technical or mathematical faculties with theoretical knowledge in the field of analysis and modeling of business processes can apply for the position of a business analyst (Business Analyst). It may also require knowledge of information systems, accounting, financial and management accounting.

business analyst salary

The salary of a business analyst depends on the level of professional skills and work experience of a specialist. Today it fluctuates between 45-150 thousand rubles a month. average salary business intelligence is in the region of 80 thousand rubles a month.

This time we will focus on business intelligence, which acts as a link between the customer and developers.

Business analyst is a specialist who investigates the problem of the customer, looks for a solution and draws up his concept in the form of requirements that developers will be guided by when creating a product.

The average Ukrainian business analyst is 28 years old, has a salary of $1300-2500 and has 3 years of work experience.

Tasks and responsibilities

the main task business analytics - to identify the problems of the customer's business and find the most effective solution. To do this, he must have knowledge in the subject area. The business analyst works with requirements at all stages of the software development life cycle and constantly acts as an intermediary between the customer and the programming team.

The work of a business analyst includes the following steps:

1. Identify the needs of the customer, understand the problem that he wants to solve.
2. Independently or with the help of the team, formulate the concept of the solution.
3. Turn the concept into a technical task with specific requirements for the future product. For this, various business analysis techniques are used - building models of processes and structures, user interface prototypes, use cases. At the same time, an accurate assessment of labor costs and duration of work is made.
4. Detail each requirement in the form of specifications.
5. Advise programmers and testers during product development, discuss controversial issues with the customer.

“The range of tasks can be described in simple words: work with requirements. This involves both interaction with stakeholders on the customer side, and with team members who are responsible for the solution development process. ”

In world practice, the career map of analysts looks like this. In Ukraine, not all projects involve a dedicated analyst. There is also a reverse situation, when the analyst additionally performs the duties of a project manager, quality specialist or technical writer.

In large projects, the roles of Business Analyst and System Analyst are sometimes separated. The responsibilities of the Business Analyst include identifying the customer's business goals, thinking through solution concepts, and generating requirements. The duties of the System Analyst are formalization and specification of requirements, writing technical specifications at the level of functional requirements and software implementation.

“Sometimes analysts complain that the customer himself does not know what he wants. Usually, it is the customer who knows, but the analyst does not have sufficient analytical skills to understand him.”

The responsibilities of a business analyst include:
- Analysis of the customer's business needs;
- Drawing up requirements for the future product (communication with interested parties - developers, customers, end users);
- Requirements analysis (application of various methodologies and notations - prototyping, questioning, polling, brainstorming, analysis of existing documentation, competitors);
- Analysis of problem areas and suggestions for improvement;
- Formalization of requirements (separation of requirements into business, functional, non-functional, writing requirements specifications);
- Requirements management (processing of change requests, analysis and description of the impact on existing requirements);
- Translation of requirements between developers and the client.

“An analyst can have good English, fluent language and write perfect documentation. But if he does not understand the subject area, cannot understand the customer and convey this to the developer, then his projects will fail.

A typical business analyst day is:
- Meetings with the project team and with the customer;
- Development of conceptual solutions;
- Working with analysis tools: diagrams, diagrams, models, prototypes;
- Working with requirements: collecting, writing technical specifications and specifications;
- Consultations of developers and testers;
- Study of standards.

“It all depends on what stage the project is at. Sometime I can engage in self-education, sometime I can write documentation, or study documents written by others, test the program, communicate with the Customer.”

Advantages and disadvantages

The main thing The advantage of the profession of a business analyst is the ability to penetrate the essence: to understand what works, what parts it consists of, how they are connected and interact with each other, and then describe complex things using simple but useful models.

“I love coming up with beautiful solutions to real problems. Beautiful ones are logical, universal, which fit into the existing structure and themselves become a scalable structure, into which further changes will later fall. Real problems are the primary sources of the customer’s problems, the solution of which will remove a large number of “symptoms” with which he turned to us.”

Business analysts help different parties understand each other, and the result is an implementation that satisfies everyone.

“I love communicating with people, implementing solutions that make life easier for someone.”

“I like to be engaged in structuring information, optimization, and being creative. Communicate at all levels - with stakeholders and end users, developers, managers, testers, designers and admins. True power over the project ^_^"

Another plus is the importance and significance of the activity, since it is the results of the business analyst's work that determine the progress of the project.

“In the abstract, I don't decide how the bike will ride or how thick the spokes will be. In principle, I determine whether it will be a bicycle or a motorcycle, or it is not needed here at all.

“The quality of the product is the quality of the requirements. The quality of the requirements is the analyst.”

Among shortcomings highlight difficulties in communicating with the customer when it is not possible to convey good ideas or are hindered by time and budget constraints.

Another complaint is the need to learn large amounts of information in a short amount of time. In addition to studying directly his project, a business analyst must constantly keep abreast of new methodologies, approaches, and study the basic principles of new platforms.

“Perfect TK does not exist. Yes, it is not necessary, it is a colossal investment of time and money. There will always be criticism, you need to learn to separate the wheat from the chaff.

How to become a business analyst and where to go next?

There are 2 ways to become:
1. An IT specialist who is closer to communication than writing code. Such an analyst will understand the development process, know the capabilities of the software, and understand what a developer needs to know for quality work. However, he needs to separately acquire business knowledge in the area that is being automated.
2. Specialist without IT education, who is a professional in a particular subject area. Such an analyst understands all the nuances of the business and speaks the same language with the customer. But he will have to figure out what exactly is subject to automation and what data developers need to work with.

“Often analysts grow out of testers. The specialists who have come this way know the "inner workings" of IT and have the material to distinguish well-written requirements from poorly written ones.

For the work of a business analyst, it is important:
- know the methodology of collection, analysis and formalization;
- know subject area to be analyzed;
- understand life cycle software according to different methodologies;
- know the basics of programming, testing, algorithms, economics.

“An analyst must get rid of the narrow-mindedness of an IT specialist, be able to see the whole picture, notice shortcomings. The better he manages to go “beyond”, the more successful the work will be.”

As for personal qualities, it is necessary:
- possess analytical thinking;
- easy to understand in an unknown area;
- be able to analyze the current situation in comparison with the past;
- be able to make decisions;
- to love and be able to learn;
- have excellent communication skills;
- be attentive to details;
- Express your thoughts clearly and concisely.

“You need to be able to decompose what you want to explain into simple components, so that it is clear to absolutely everyone and everyone what the idea is.”

“A future analyst is required to understand software development processes, study the theory of business analysis and software requirements, have a good level of English, be able and willing to think, look with different sides and heights. A general technical background is also desirable - either experience in IT, or a technical university.

Business Analyst Career Opportunities:
1. Improve as an analyst, master a growing range of analytical tasks.
2. Go deep into the system component and become a Business or Enterprise Architect
3. Develop along the managerial ladder, project (Project manager -> Program Manager -> CTO) or business (Product manager).