Business Analyst

What is a Business Analyst?

The following job responsibilities are common for individuals in business analyst roles:

• Conduct research to understand and document processes and system functions
• Interview subject matter experts to further define requirements and processes
• Compile findings into business requirement documents (BRDs) and software requirements specification (SRS) documents
• Review documentation with stakeholders, subject matter experts, and developers to ensure correctness and enhance understanding
• Serve as subject matter expert during development, answering questions and following up on additional queries or complications

A Day in the Life

Business analysts (BAs) are researchers who use their analytical skills to investigate software, systems, and processes in order to document a system’s functionality. Often, BAs work for large corporations that manage complex legacy systems that have been managed and altered by different groups at different times. As these corporations seek to update and modernize these legacy systems, they need business analysts to investigate the systems and document functionality in order to replicate it when rebuilt.

To document a system’s functionality, business analysts conduct research using a variety of sources. They may review existing documentation, they may interview system users or subject matter experts, and they may perform technical analysis, querying databases and reviewing code. All of this information is collected and documented in a business requirements document (BRD), software requirements specification (SRS) document, or as user stories for organizations that use agile development processes.

Once a BA feels comfortable with the requirements he/she has collected and documented, the information is presented to all impacted parties: developers, subject matter experts, and business stakeholders. This helps the BA identify missing information and helps developers and consumers of the documentation better understand requirements. Once the requirements are complete, the BA often acts as subject matter expert for questions, making recommendations and decisions on functionality.

Typical Work Schedule

Business analysts typically follow standard working hours; working full-time of about 40 hours per week. However, you may also need to work overtime whether on evenings or sometimes on weekends based on the size of the company, scale of operations, the stage of the project and level of complexity as well as different emergency situations that may arise unexpectedly. That is why you may get overwhelmed by the work if you are not well prepared to meet the duties under different conditions especially during the final phases of projects before reporting the results of the work. Some business analysts may work remotely from home and in that case, the working schedule will be more flexible but may still be stressful.

Projected Job Growth

According to the US bureau of labor statistics, the demand for management analysts including business analysts is expected to grow by at least 11 % from 2019 to 2029 which is much faster than the average rate of other jobs. Specific fields are expected to have higher demand like IT related fields as the companies in this field need to increase their efficiency and have a competitive edge in the economy. In addition, healthcare is also expected to have a higher demand to be able to manage with multiple important subjects including health insurance and limited financial resources in specific cases as the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you want to reach better prospects as a business analyst, you will need to develop strong analytical skills, written and verbal communication skills, better finance certification and more importantly specialized expertise in the fields of work whether it was IT, Healthcare, …etc.

Typical Employers

Business analysts have diverse work opportunities and employers. Their employers could be specialized business analysis firms which deal with different fields and provide enough experience to start. The most well-known companies in the field include Capgemini, Wipro, LCC International Inc., Salient CRGT, Baxter International, and Science Applications International. Other available options may include consulting and professional service firms which can handle the work of large corporation. The public sector is also an option such as working for the county councils. Some technology companies, banks and international retailers may also employ their own analysts in their research or financial departments. Some business analysts can also work as independent freelancers work as well but you need to have proven successful record to attract clients.