Outlined below is a summary of the activities carried out by a Business Analyst:
Ancillary Business Analysis Responsibilities
Policy Interpretation: Regulatory and internal business policies need to be reviewed in order to draw out high level business requirements. It is always advisable to engage business owners and line managers, policy advisers or SMEs on the programme in order to ensure that policies are being correctly interpreted, and requirements are being accurately elicited.
Project Management: It is possible that a business analyst would be required to help put together a business case, PID or project charter and/or contribute to a resource plan. Lead BAs can be expected to participate in, or even create budget forecasts, project plans as well as prioritize and manage specific work packages and deliverables. What is essential is that a business analyst is always flexible and willing to take the initiative.
Solution Design Review: It is imperative that a business analyst sees and assesses solution design documentation, primarily to ensure that what is due to be delivered aligns in principle and spirit to the requirements approved by the stakeholders. The aim is also to show how business benefits can be realised.
Test Case Definition: Designing and executing tests are tasks a business analyst must be able to undertake. Whereas review of proposed solutions proves design alignment, testing proves practical alignment to the specified requirements.
Post Delivery Support: A BA should be able to coordinate and manage the resolution of post implementation activities. This may include the use of run-books to itemise standard processes and expected outputs, then daily engagement of process owners to ensure that each process performs as expected. Where there are breaks, issues should be logged and managed through to resolution with the appropriate defect owners, e.g. development teams.
