Business Analyst Task Code: BATNOV162012

I got an opportunity to explore one of my company’s native products which is a Business Intelligence tool. Since I am already familiar with few of BI tools such as Qlikview, Tibco Spotfire, MS CRM Dashboard, I took this chance to explore the in-depth of the naïve tool that my organization is developing. I have no outstanding or out of curiosity words to describe it but rather it’s another BI which had its own methodology in analyzing the data loaded into it.

I noticed that the tool didn’t have a setup wizard for the first time users and navigation was quiet scattered. Eventually I had no clue to where to begin or get started with the tool. I somehow managed to perform operations since I was there in company now and then absorbing the development team’s activities. Well security was so mannerly placed, scopes for each of the roles were easy to define and mapping users to modules were also done using the simple check box. This gave me the similar thought that this security module had been morphed from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Well going forward data management was either not so much complicated but it’s tough for a layman to understand the productivity of the data management.  As of you all know that data management plays a vital role in forming the entire BI reports or dashboard I found the data management module pretty easy or telling it clean it was “fun”.  Moving from there I landed in the cockpit where I need to familiarize all the terminologies for each different modules and some haw managed to build all modules only keeping in assumptions that I would find a wonderful dashboard in the end of all these activities. Absolutely as said I found the dashboard come magnificently, but users still need to analyze or repeatedly need to come back in order to familiarize with the functions.

Data insights are yet another mind crowded functionality of any BI, and yes this naïve BI tool I was working had beautifully drafted me into the core data analysis, it by itself finds the relationship between scattered data and maps it by showing a clean understanding of the data and the aftermath.

Here we go, this is another opportunity I grabbed in-order to horn my BA skills. Beside I also worked into different mathematical and statistical functions.

My review to conclude is that, this tool requires a lot of attention towards the UI, interactivity between the user and the product, Help modules and Wizards to help users understand the outcome of their data.  

Business Analyst - Profiling youself

Profiling the best fit solutions for different Business atmosphere would be one of the best aftermaths for a perfect Business Analyst. I have been stacking myself into this career close to half a decade, though my experience are an inexperience what the experienced mammoths call, but I have learned how a technology can play a significant role in Businesses and Enterprises.  Consulting is an important orientation that a Business Analyst can provide for the consumers particularly when an Enterprise looks for a far better solution preferred over the existing one. His/hers view should negotiate  from the baseline for outlining a solution to the security aspects, interoperability, Domain, User Administration, customizability and complete extent-ability, these aspects should fit for Web solution to Applications running over the Web or domain specific applications.

From the conceptualization to the prototyping, an UI and Web designs plays a crucial role in giving comfort to the clients, I would say a perfect, principal UI layout with all proper standards can be the first step in acceptance for a project to move ahead. A Business Analyst should forte from the client location mesmerizing and capturing properly all the business flows, disciplines, existing flaws, handshake methods, repetitive steps, authorities, user roles and most importantly the systems boundaries. Once all these gives a complete picture then the BA can start building the Business Plan along other required documentation for both the Client and Development cycles.

As discussed earlier the BA’s most strategic input as a consultant should be a parallel input throughout the complete Software development lifecycle’s of a project. These inputs should not restrict a BA only from the stakeholder but also from the multilevel users who actually use the system. Keep in mind this would suit for most of the Agile development projects where the actual requirement change over the time. BA’s should always have a lookout for the best solutions available in the market to ensure that what they deliver have the maximum throughput whenever compared.  

Coming to the development lifecycle a BA should have a timely lookout to ensure that the product developed is in phase with the requirement analyzed from the client end, over which he should also ensure periodic meetings to show the clients or customers the stages of development happening at the development center. Every meeting would definitely move with certain change requirement accordingly with the client, this the BA’s should ensure to properly document the Versions and change management are captured.

Ensuring a promised deliverable is what holds the fidelity of every Business Analyst. For this the BA’s would need to closely work with different designated co-workers comforting them and along with the client’s requirement are met. Working with deadlines and dates are yet other critical events, at this time BA’s as a Consultant should go hand-in-hand with Project Managers and Technical Leads who actually ensure to deliver the project in time. Executing Test cases are once again an imperative task for a BA, for this a BA has a variety of options to test the applications I am not talking much on this since Testing is once again a multitalented activity which builds the confidentiality for the complete system build.

So here’s to conclude, being just a BA on any project is a mere task but providing consulting in delivering the best solution and keeping up in par with the global needs is what a complete Business Analyst profession is all about.

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