Skip to main content

Tag: Career

Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Business Analysts and BA Jobs

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a buzzword, and it has been making waves in the tech industry. We are experiencing AI in our day-to-day life in the form of chatbots, Voice assistants in serving customers’ requests, forecasting market trends, detecting possible future ailments, and much more. In recent years, businesses have begun adopting AI to improve their operations and gain a competitive edge. But what does this mean for business analysts and BA jobs? With the rise of AI, will Business Analysts become obsolete, or will it create new opportunities? Let’s dive into how artificial intelligence affects business analysis and explore what the future holds for those in this field.

If you are a business analyst, you need to be skilled to leverage these technologies as an added advantage to your capabilities to deliver continued value to your organization.

So, are you geared to make the most of it or see it as a threat, or are apprehensive of losing your job to AI?

AI is your new superpower

As a business analyst, you have access to a wealth of data to help you make better decisions for your company. But what if you could tap into the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to supercharge your decision-making process?

With AI-powered business analytics tools, you can get insights that would otherwise be hidden in your data. For example, you can use predictive analytics to identify trends and patterns in your data and then use those insights to make better decisions about where to invest your resources.

AI can also help you automate repetitive tasks so that you can focus on more strategic work. For example, you can use natural language processing (NLP) to automatically generate reports from unstructured data sources like social media or customer feedback surveys. Using these opportunities helps us converse with customers about new possibilities.

In short, AI is your superpower when it comes to making better decisions for your business. So why not put AI to work for you?

 

Use AI to have more control over your time and use it more efficiently –

Let AI do all your routine, monotonous/repetitive jobs that free up more time and energy for Business Analysts.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used to automate low-level tasks, freeing time and energy for Business Analysts. This allows Business Analysts to focus on more strategic tasks, such as identifying new opportunities, analyzing data, and improving processes. As AI continues to evolve, it is expected that even more mundane tasks will be automated, further freeing up time for Business Analysts to add value to their organizations. Let the easy and monotonous tasks be taken up by AI, leaving the complex and the more challenging tasks to humans. Having said that, it requires us to grow and sharpen our skills.

 

BAs add significant value to the organization with their cognitive abilities

BAs add significant value to the organization in many ways that AI can’t take up.

They:

  • Perform a pivotal role in bridging the gap between business and IT.
  • Help/collaborate with stakeholders in prioritizing the requirements, helping them refine the requirements, and eliciting them using various techniques.
  • Influence/assist stakeholders in moving towards the unified project goal by communicating effectively.
  • They understand the business domain and processes and translate them into technical requirements.
  • They often apply out of the box solution approaches to solve business problems where a straightforward solution may not be available.

All these skills are essential for the success of any project or organization but cannot be replaced by AI.

Here is a detailed analysis of skills/tasks that currently are not possible to be taken up by AI.

 

Advertisement

 

Problem-solving

BAs help in Problem-solving – For impediments faced in the process or by the team:

Artificial intelligence has altered the role of business analysts and BA jobs. In the past, BAs were responsible for gathering requirements and documenting them. However, with the advent of AI, business analysts now need to be able to solve problems that may arise during the process or by the team.

This is where AI can be beneficial. With its ability to identify patterns and correlations, AI can help business analysts understand why specific problems are occurring and how they can be solved. Additionally, AI can also help BAs predict future problems that may arise and recommend solutions accordingly. As a result, BAs are now able to provide more value to their organizations by helping to solve complex problems.

 

Out of box thinking

Organizations are under constant pressure to do more with less. As a result, they need their employees to be creative and come up with innovative solutions to problems. This is where out-of-the-box thinking comes in.

Business analysts are in a unique position to help with this. They are trained to think critically and creatively, and they have the analytical skills to back up their ideas. BAs can help organizations see problems from different perspectives and come up with new solutions that they may not have considered before.

AI is only going to increase the demand for out-of-the-box thinking. As AI capabilities continue to grow, businesses will need employees who can think outside the box to keep up. BAs who can provide this critical thinking will be in high demand.

 

Critical decision making

BAs help in coming up with the best possible solution from the various alternatives.

BAs help organizations to make sense of all the data they collect and to use it to make better decisions. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), BAs can now do even more to improve decision-making. AI can help BAs to identify patterns and correlations that they might not be able to see with their human eyes. AI can also help to automate some of the tedious tasks that BAs have to do, such as gathering data from multiple sources. This frees up the BA’s time so that they can focus on more strategic tasks.

AI is also helping BAs to come up with better solutions from the various alternatives available. With AI, BAs can test out different scenarios and see which one is most likely to succeed. This helps organizations to make better decisions and to avoid costly mistakes.

Overall, AI is having a positive impact on the job of the BA. With AI, BAs are able to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently.

 

Stakeholder collaboration –

BAs play a critical role in validating and prioritizing needs.

In any business, it is essential to have a good understanding of what your stakeholders want and need from you. This can be difficult to do without the help of a business analyst. Business analysts are experts in stakeholder collaboration. They can help you validate and prioritize the needs of your stakeholders. This is important because it ensures that you are meeting the needs of your stakeholders and that your business is able to run smoothly.

 

Bridging the gap between tech and users

As the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow in businesses around the world, the role of the business analyst (BA) is evolving. BAs are uniquely positioned to help bridge the gap between technical teams and users, and workshops are one way they can do this.

Workshops help BAs understand the needs of users and translate them into requirements for technical teams. They also help technical teams understand the capabilities of AI and how it can be used to solve business problems. By facilitating communication between these two groups, BAs can ensure that AI is deployed effectively and efficiently.

What’s more, as AI becomes more complex, the need for BAs who can navigate its increasingly murky waters will only grow. With their deep understanding of both business and technology, BAs are essential partners in helping organizations realize the full potential of AI.

 

Data analysis –

Deriving intelligent insights from the data to facilitate business decisions.

A Business Analyst (BA) is responsible for analyzing an organization or business domain and documenting its business or processes or systems, assessing the business model or its integration with technology. They also help in data analysis and derive intelligent insights from the data to facilitate business decisions. Data analysts use statistical techniques to examine data and draw conclusions from it. They help businesses to make better decisions by taking into account a wide range of factors, including cost, time, resources, risk, and objectives. The role of a BA has become even more critical in recent years as organizations strive to become more data-driven in their decision-making.

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), there is ample opportunity for BAs to leverage AI technologies to improve their efficiency and effectiveness in data analysis. AI can help BAs to automate repetitive tasks such as data collection and cleansing so that they can focus on more strategic tasks such as identifying trends and patterns in data. AI-powered tools can also help BAs to make better recommendations by providing them with real-time insights based on large volumes of data.

In order to take advantage of these opportunities, BAs need to upskill themselves in AI technologies. There are many online courses and resources available that can help BAs get started with learning about AI.

 

Ethical and responsible use of confidential customer information

As business analysts, we are constantly working with confidential customer information. It is our responsibility to use this information ethically and responsibly.

Here are some ways that we can do this:

  • Be transparent about how we will use the customer information.
  • Get explicit consent from the customer before using their data.
  • Keep the customer information secure and protect it from unauthorized access.
  • Only use the customer information for the purpose it was collected for.
  • Dispose of the customer information securely when we no longer need it.By following these guidelines, we can ensure that we are using confidential customer information in an ethical and responsible manner.

To sum it up, keep your skills chiseled, use your cognitive skills to deliver value, keep your learning on, and leverage technology to keep you in demand.

Building a House: Analogy for the Business Analysis Role

Two years ago, my friend asked me what my job role was, and I said that I was a business analyst in Information Technology (IT). However, after all this time, she still doesn’t understand what my job entails. To assist friends of other business analysts around the world, I have written this article to explain what we do. I can’t wait until she reads my article!

 

Let us propose a world where business analysts are architects, the developers are builders, the inspector is the quality assurance team, and our software client would like to build a house.

Usually, the builders would start building the lounge. This sounds good because they are off to a flying start and the walls are going up, but the builders do not know how many bedrooms the house will need, where the best location for the bedrooms is, or even why they are building the building at all. The kitchen might even end up with four sinks and no oven, or the kitchen might not even exist. Finding out that this is not what the customer wanted when the house is half built is expensive to fix, will not meet the deadline, and worst of all, the house will not be what the customer wants at all!

A far better idea is to include an architect on the team.

 

Firstly, the architect will sit with the customer and find out the high-level goals of the building, for example, the customer would like a family house in a quiet suburb because currently they live in a noisy complex. They are also expecting a second child. The business analyst (BA) is gathering context on the problem and the customer’s vision.

Right from the start the architect explains the process that will be followed, builds a trusting relationship with the customer, and starts to manage the expectations of the customer, for example, steering the customer away from a water slide in the lounge which could take an extra six weeks. This is change management, which should happen as early as possible and should set the tone for the rest of the project. It should also be noted that the business analyst is the ambassador of user needs and so is the team member that focuses on them.

The architect will then dive into the details and obtain the customer’s requirements, draw diagrams, and can even print a 3D model of the house. It will become clear to the architect and the customer exactly where the main bedroom will be, how large it is, how many windows it will have and so much more. This is the Business Analyst (BA) conducting requirement elicitation, drawing up wireframes, and prototyping the solution. The BA will also choose the best way to engage with the customer, such as through prototyping in workshops or sticky notes on a virtual whiteboard.

 

Advertisement

 

To double-check that the architect and the customer are on the same page, the architect will draw up some basic design criteria that the building must meet, for the example given that the room is the older child’s room, when the builders are building the walls, then they must build two windows. This is writing acceptance criteria.

A very important step is that the architect will confirm their findings with the customer to make sure everything is covered and covered correctly. This is the validation and sign-off stage. Note that architects can suggest solutions to fill in the gaps, for example, they can suggest that the house should face north, but it is ultimately it is the customer who makes the decision.

 

Our builders are brilliant in their field, but they are better at building than communicating. This means that the BA needs to translate what the customer needs so that they fully understand what to do. BAs bridge the gap between the business and technical sides. The architect explains “what” needs to be done, the builders decide “how” it will be done, for example, the builders will use wheelbarrows.

The architect will sit with an interior designer and discuss the finer details to make the house as well designed as possible, for example how to place the cupboards in the kitchen to make the layout practical. This represents the interaction of the BA with the user experience experts to make sure the software is intuitive and a positive experience.

 

Now the builders know what to do, the building continues nicely, with a few hiccups along the way such as the bricks weren’t delivered on time. The architect will work closely with the builders every day and if the builders have any questions or are unclear on anything then the architect needs to go back to the customer for answers.

Each day the entire team, with the customer, will stand on the pavement and have a quick meeting to let the other team members know what they did yesterday, what they are doing today, and if there are any blockers or dependency issues. This is a daily standup meeting.

 

Every second week, the team sit around a table on Friday afternoon with some drinks and discuss how the project is going. They say what has worked well and what could have gone better. They decide what to keep doing and what new ways can be put in place to improve the way they are doing their work. This is a retrospective meeting used with an agile approach.

Once a section of the building is complete, then the architect will walk around the building with the building inspector. The inspector will check every detail to ensure the house is built to code and is safe while the architect will ensure that the building is what the customer actually wanted. Sometimes the builders can get really enthusiastic, go off course, and place a central fountain in the kitchen and forget the sink. This is a verification process step.

The house is completed, with a few bumps along the way, but the customer is thrilled (hopefully) and can’t wait to move in.

 

In conclusion, call us business analysts, business architects, solution designers, or craftsmen but understand that we undertake many daily tasks and play a vital role in the development of successful software projects. We may not build the building but direct it (builders like to build theme parks) and save the customer a lot of money. Hopefully, my friend will understand what I do now!

Does Your Personality Define Your Business Analyst Approach?

We all have personality; it is what comprises us as individuals and human beings to present ourselves in our personal and professional lives. Whether our personas experience duality separated by self-promoted boundaries, or the personalities of work and life are balanced as one big personality. But when you reach down into this core sense of self, a philosophical question came to mind when originating this piece: does our personalities define our business analyst approach? It is notwithstanding that I have little to no current, existing or previous knowledge in the realm of psychology, but it is worth chewing on the thought for a minute to examine it from a philosophical perspective. This core question begets more questions:

– If personality does affect the BA approach…then how?
– Is it the way we approach traditional standards or is it the manner of how we execute?
– How do we relate to our stakeholders to elicit requirements, validate them, overcome objections, and comprise the entire business analysis plan?

The unseen correlation between two independent variables became almost dependent immediately upon further self-analysis: personality does define our business analysis approach, right? Generally, speaking, I argue the point that it does. Genuinely think about how you interact with your stakeholders, how you go about performing your day-to-day, and even long-term, duties as a business analyst. Are those not influenced in which your persona, professional, personal, or combined, is presented when doing so?

 

Advertisement

 

For example, an extroverted personality with a deep mindfulness to detail would take the time to build the relationship with their stakeholders and those working on a project with them, but in significant detail to ensure nothing is missed. While this can be both beneficial and negative, this is an oversimplified example, of course and does not encapsulate every personality type; and yet it sufficiently illustrates the point made. Think of yourself and how you collaborate with stakeholders: what type of persona are you showing up as?

Applying that personality, however you summarize, influences the approach you have to business analysis. Do you go “by the book” and like to stick to the facts and in a Waterfall methodology? Or do you prefer to have projects take on fluidity and a more Agile perspective? It all boils down to personality…and you, as a business analyst, take the reins to own it. Neither personality nor approach is perfect but understanding this about us as professional individuals working with myriad backgrounds in our line of work, will only tap into our potential.

We may never know the extent of that potential, as there may not be enough time nor resources to perform the adequate studies over multiple fields related to understanding this eccentric analysis. But we can penultimately, begin to understand that in which we personify ourselves as human beings, personifies how we operates in the field of business analysis, and beyond.

Do You Consider “Opportunity Cost” In Your Analysis?

I’m a fan of live music, and I particularly enjoy music festivals. If you’ve never been to a music festival, you’re missing out. They usually involve multiple days of listening to music, dancing and having fun. There’s often multiple stages so one challenge is deciding which bands to listen to.

I was reminded of this fact last summer when I bumped into a friend of mine (who is also a BA) at a music festival. It turned out that we’d both created (and printed) spreadsheets showing who was playing when at what time. My spreadsheet even used color coding with green being bands we planned to see, and yellow being ‘backups’ (in case the first choice was too full, or there was some other reason we couldn’t get there).  Well, everyone loves a spreadsheet, don’t they?

 

Comparison and Opportunity Cost

Spreadsheets aside, this illustrates a point that is important in projects and product development initiatives too. Typically every action or decision has an opportunity cost associated with it. Taking one course of action means that it isn’t possible to pursue others (as time and budget is focused on the course of action that’s been chosen).

At a music festival, the opportunity cost is fairly easy to calculate. If I see Band A on the main stage at 8pm, I can’t see Band B on another stage at the same time.  I also can’t go to the bar (probably for the best), nor can I grab an overpriced hotdog. The act of deciding on an action means that other options are no longer open to me.

 

The same is true when it comes to deciding which projects to progress, which features to focus on, or which requirements to prioritize.  When writing an options paper, it’s usual to consider the impact of ‘doing nothing’, but in some cases it may be worth extending the thinking even further and considering what else could be done with the time and money.

When prioritizing requirements, there are always trade-offs. It’s desirable to deliver the features first that will enable the most benefit to be realized. This is certainly true, and this is something that I’m sure we all aspire to… but in reality aren’t things often a bit more complicated than that? There’s often resource contention (multiple development and testing teams, often with limited resources), organizational level challenges (code freezes, budget changes) and a whole load of other opportunities and threats outside of the immediate orbit of the project.

 

Sometimes It Makes Sense To Do The Second Best Thing

There might be cases when it actually makes sense to do the second most beneficial thing. Imagine there’s a high priority set of requirements. Everyone agrees those will yield the most benefit. However, the technical experts that need to work on them are also needed to work on some essential maintenance. Although systems maintenance and the art of ‘keeping the lights on’ is never as glamorous as delivering new features, it’s still super important.

Within the project, the logical decision is to go for the highest priority requirements. But, there’s an opportunity cost for the organization. If that action is taken, the maintenance is delayed. That might be a very bad idea, depending on the nature of the maintenance.

The key point here is that progressing the second best thing for the project might actually be the best thing for the organization overall.

 

Advertisement

 

Know Which Decision Options Are “Perishable”

Some options available to us “perish” if they aren’t taken. If you’re at an airport and delay deciding whether to get on the plane for too long, your option to board that plane will eventually disappear (as it’ll have taken off without you). The same is true at a music festival, if Band A clashes with Band B, then you have a straight choice to make. Choosing Band A means you don’t see Band B at that festival.

These are different from prioritization decisions where you can do both things sequentially. Delaying requirement A so the team can do some urgent maintenance probably doesn’t mean that requirement A will never be delivered… it’ll just be delayed. There will be an impact on the timing of benefits realization, but it’s not a binary “yes or no” decision. It’s important these types of prioritization decisions are separated from those where there really is one chance, and one chance only.

 

BAs as Facilitators of Decision Making

All of this leads to an interesting conclusion: An important and often overlooked element of the BA role is to facilitate decision making.  Whether that’s over prioritization of projects, feature requests, requirements or something else, we are on hand to analyze the different perspectives and ensure an informed decision is made.

Ensuring that we do this consciously, taking into account multiple factors (while keeping ‘opportunity cost’ in mind) is crucial. It’s one of the many areas where BAs add value!

Business Analysis Amalgamation with Product Management

In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations constantly seek ways to improve their processes, products, and services. Business Analysis and Product Management are two key areas essential to achieving these goals. Traditionally, these functions have been viewed as separate disciplines, with Business Analysts focusing on identifying and analyzing business requirements, while Product Managers focus on the development and management of products and services.

However, there has been a growing trend towards amalgamating these two functions to create a more integrated approach in recent years. By combining Business Analysis with Product Management, companies can benefit from a more holistic understanding of customer needs, more effective use of data, and improved collaboration and communication between teams.

An Overview of Business Analysis and Product Management:

Business Analysis is the process of identifying, analyzing, and documenting business requirements, processes, and workflows. The role of a Business Analyst is to help organizations improve their processes and systems by identifying areas of improvement, gathering and analyzing data, and making recommendations for change. Business Analysts often work closely with stakeholders and other teams within an organization, including IT and project management.

Product Management, on the other hand, is focused on developing and managing products or services. The role of a Product Manager is to identify market opportunities, define product requirements, and work with cross-functional teams to bring products to market. Product Managers must have a deep understanding of customer needs and market trends and/ or the ability to manage budgets, timelines, and resources.

 Benefits of Amalgamating Business Analysis and Product Management:

While Business Analysis and Product Management are distinct roles, there are many benefits to amalgamating the two functions. Here are a few of the key advantages.

  • Better understanding of customer needs:

One of the key benefits of amalgamating Business Analysis and Product Management is the ability to better understand customer needs. By working together, these two functions can create a more complete picture of customer requirements, preferences, and pain points. This can lead to better product design, more effective marketing, and higher customer satisfaction.

  • Alignment towards Business Goals:

Amalgamating Business Analysis and Product Management also improve team collaboration and communication. These two functions can ensure that everyone is aligned on business goals, product requirements, and timelines. This can lead to better project outcomes and faster time to market.

 

Advertisement

 

  • More practical use of data:

Another benefit of combining Business Analysis and Product Management is effectively using data. Business Analysts are skilled at collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data, while Product Managers deeply understand market trends and customer needs. These two functions can leverage data to improve product design, pricing, and marketing decisions by working together.

  • Faster problem-solving:

Amalgamating Business Analysis and Product Management also lead to faster problem-solving. By having a team of experts who can analyze data, identify issues, and recommend solutions, organizations can respond more quickly to changing market conditions or customer needs. This can help companies stay ahead of the competition and achieve their business objectives more effectively.

  • Better outcomes over outputs:

Finally, combining Business Analysis and Product Management can improve project outcomes. By working together, these two functions can ensure that products are designed to meet customer needs and that projects are delivered on time and within budget. This can lead to improved customer satisfaction, increased revenue, and a stronger competitive position in the market.

The amalgamation of Business Analysis and Product Management can benefit organizations looking to stay ahead in today’s competitive business landscape. By combining these two functions, companies can improve collaboration and communication, better understand customer needs, use data more effectively, and achieve better project outcomes. Whether a small start-up or a large enterprise, an integrated approach to Business Analysis and Product Management can help you achieve your business objectives more effectively.