Responsibilities during SDLC

1. Guiding technology solution development: Understand the goals and requirements of a business area, relate these objectives to the capabilities possible through IT, and guide the specification, design and development of technology solutions to produce positive business results.
2. Communicating between stakeholders: Understand and respond to the differing perspectives and expertise of diverse project teams, from IT experts to project managers, IT vendors and the business colleagues who use the systems day-to-day.

Focus Areas

IT Business Analysts typically focus on:

1. Establishing project requirements: Collect, clarify and translate specific business requirements into documentation and conceptual designs from which technology applications and solutions can be developed.
2. Representing the business need for new and modified systems: Provide business input throughout a project, from initial stages to the implementation of the solution.
3. Communicating with stakeholders: Act as a connection point between technology specialists and business end users to facilitate the design and modification of systems to realize business strategies.

Job Description

IT Business Analysts generally engage in:

1. Project Definition & Design:
2. Participate in exploratory discussions regarding desired business operations performance improvements.
3. Review and analyze current IT systems, documentation and work process requirements to identify system capability gaps.
4. Document current – and future – business/system/data flows.
5. Development & Testing:
6. Work with the development team in an advisory capacity to produce new systems.
7. Work with the testing team to develop relevant test scenarios and testing plans.
8. Implementation, Maintenance & Monitoring:
9. Facilitate implementation or roll-out of new functionality (e.g. assist with the design, development and sometimes delivery of training for end users).
10. Plan and develop strategies to convert data from the current system to the new structure, if required.
11. Process Review & Enhancement:
12. Perform continuous reviews of a process or system to align processes with changing business conditions and new products and service offerings.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

Must-haves: 

• Specific knowledge of systems design methodology, analysis frameworks (i.e. Business Analysis Body of Knowledge – BABOK) and business process reengineering and modelling techniques.
• Familiarity with project management tools, process documentation tools, software testing and user acceptance testing techniques.
• Highly detail-oriented by nature.
• Strong relationship management skills.
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to prioritize and balance multiple tasks or projects.

Education & Credentials

Intermediate positions typically require:

• Undergraduate university degree

In the fields of:

• Computer Science
• Technology
• Business
• Management Information Systems
• Economics
• Industrial Engineering