Individuals working as a Business Analyst I are responsible for serving as a liaison between the business community and the IT organization to translate business needs into IT requirements. They are project team members involved in all phases of the design, development and implementation of technology solutions throughout the business case and development life cycle processes supporting one or more low to moderately complex business process.
Based on breadth and depth of understanding of business needs and processes, they collaborate with other IT professionals to determine if solutions currently exist (internally or externally) or whether new solutions are feasible. They take a broad perspective to determine how such solutions will impact existing work processes and systems, and how to manage the integration. They also research and make recommendations for buy vs. build decisions.
Business Analysis professionals are innovative, identifying and proposing technology based business solutions. Through adaptable ommunication skills and the ability to translate between technical and business language, they work collaboratively, negotiating requirements across multiple groups.
Business Analysts must have a solid understanding of the client’s existing business processes, the key drivers and measures of success for the business, and the short- and long-term direction of the business and related technologies.
They must have a working knowledge of the business area that they support and should be equally aligned with the IT department. Strong analytical, interpersonal, negotiation and communication skills are also required.
Planning:
- Conducts data gathering and analysis to understand business strategy and direction.
- Participates in short-term planning sessions with a client to implement process improvement within an assigned client area.
- Assists in business case development.
Liaison:
- Serves as the link between the business and the IT technical team.
Business Requirements:
- Assists in assessing client needs utilizing a structured requirements process (gathering, analyzing, documenting, and managing changes) to assist in identifying business priorities.
- Develops, writes, and communicates business requirements and functional specifications for the implementation of business solutions.
Business Process:
- Documents current business processes and models.
Testing:
- Develops user test cases and validates test results during user acceptance testing.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs):
- Is familiar with the current Service Level Agreements (SLA) for a particular work area and can participate in the vendor selection process for clients in accordance with IT standards and specifications as required.
Problem Solving:
- Investigates and resolves issues, escalates as needed.
- Uses basic analytical techniques.
Customer Satisfaction:
- Analyzes metrics to ensure customer satisfaction.
Communications/Consulting:
- Provides frequent project status reports to clients and management.
- Communicates project issues and recommended resolution.
- Participates in the creation, review and analysis of user stories/ epics in projects utilizing agile development methodology.
- Requires basic knowledge of business operations and systems requirements processes.
- Typically requires 1-3 years of relevant technical or business work experience.
- Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally, as necessary.