Business Analyst

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Business Analyst (BA)

There are at least four tiers of business analysis:

• Planning Strategically - The analysis of the organisation business strategic needs
• Operating/Business model analysis - the definition and analysis of the organizations policies and market business approaches
• Process definition and design - the business process modelling (often developed through process modelling and design)
• IT/Technical business analysis - the interpretation of business rules and requirements for technical systems (generally IT)
  

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the business analyst typically performs a liaison function between the business side of an enterprise and the providers of services to the enterprise. A Common alternative role in the IT sector is business analyst, systems analyst, and functional analyst

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The BA will record requirements in some form of requirements management tool, whether a simple spreadsheet or a complex application.

describe what the system, process, or product/service must do in order to fulfill the business requirements.

Note that the business requirements often can be broken up into sub-business requirements and many functional requirements.

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Business Requirements

Functional Requirements

User(Stakeholder) Requirements

Quality-of-service (non-functional) Requirements

Implementation (transition) Requirements

Report Specifications

The traceability Matrix

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The role of the BA is key in software development projects. Typically, in organizations where no formal structure or processes exist, the Business Owners and Developers communicate directly. This can present a problem: the goal of the Business Owner is to get what they want very quickly, and the goal of the Developer is to give the Business Owner what they want as quickly as he/she can give it to him/her. This leads to creating changes in a vacuum, not necessarily taking the needs of all users of the system into account. There is rarely any detailed definition of the requirements, and many times, the real reason for the request may not make good business sense. There tends to be no emphasis on long term, strategic goals that the business wants to achieve via Information Technology. The Business Analyst can bring structure and formalization of requirements into this process, which may lead to increased foresight among Business Owners.[3]
In recent years, there has been an upsurge of using analysts of all sorts: business analysts, business process analysts, risk analysts, system analysts. Ultimately, an effective project manager will include Business Analysts who break down communication barriers between stakeholders and developers.[4]

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Regardless of the reason, do not bad mouth your current employer. Negativism will always hurt you. Good answers include:

“There is no room for growth at my current employer. I am looking for a company with long term growth opportunities”.

“Due to a company restructuring, my entire department is relocating to Florida. I was give the option of moving, but do not wish to relocate”.

“My current company is not doing well, and has been laying off employees. There is no job security there, and more layoffs are expected”.

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“I find that I work better under pressure, and I enjoy working in an environment that is challenging.”

“I am the type of person that diffuses stress. I am used to working in a demanding environment with deadlines, and enjoy the challenges.”

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Give definite examples of your skills and accomplishments. Be positive, and emphasize how your background matches the job description. Mention any software packages and spreadsheet software you are familiar with. Also let them know if you have advanced knowledge of any of the software.

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It is very important to give a strength that compensates for your weakness. Make your weakness into a positive.

“I consider myself a 'big picture' person. I sometimes skip the small details. For this reason, I always have someone on my team that is very detail oriented.”

“Sometimes, I get so excited and caught up in my work that I forget that my family life should be my number one priority.”

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While some emphasize communication skills, others emphasize leadership skills in business analyst job postings.
While some business analyst job openings emphasize requirements gathering, analysis and documentation, others emphasize software development skills, reporting skills or data analysis skills.

yuba

原帖由 xblues 于 30-4-2010 22:49 发表

                               
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Q: Can you tell me why are you considering leaving your present job?

A: There is no room for growth at my current employer. I am looking for a company with long term growth opportunities.

你去面试，人家问你你怎么看上我，你说因为我原来的公司没有发展空间了，我觉得你们公司看起来还行.这样的回答说明三件事情：1。人家会怀疑你这句话曾经在面试上一家公司时也说过。2，你成长得够快的，我们公司能在多长时间内给你持续发展的空间。3。你不稳定，等你翅膀硬了一定会像甩掉上一家公司一样甩掉我。

你说人家会要你吗？

yuba

原帖由 xblues 于 30-4-2010 22:49 发表

                               
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Q: Can you tell me why are you considering leaving your present job?
A: My current company is not doing well, and has been laying off employees. There is no job security there, and more layoffs are expected.

回答错误，出局！

xblues

都是在网上找来的一些资料，反正在家呆着也是呆着。

yuba

原帖由 xblues 于 30-4-2010 22:54 发表

                               
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Q: Tell me about your greatest weakness?
A: I consider myself a 'big picture' person. I sometimes skip the small details. For this reason, I always have someone on my team that is very detail oriented.

这样的回答显然没有想过他为什么要问？在问题的背后，他想了解的是你的什么能力，或是什么背景？他的concern是什么？

xblues

不同的考官期待的答案也不同啊，不好想。

yuba

给你个hint,
这道问题是想知道你最担心自己的地方，从而判断你是否能顺利融入现有团队。

xblues

The BA identifies business&client requirements.

Communicates these requirements to the project team, vendor, software factory, outsourcer...

business process analysis
requirements specification
outline design
acceptance testing
systems implementation work

analysis and creativity skills
data and process modeling skills
requirements interpretation and specification - writing skills
interpersonal skills for interviewing and for leading workshops to find out what the clients really want and need.

sell the solution to decision-makers and development teams
negotiating and compromising on the three crucial elements of speed, cost and quality.

Do you want it quick, cheap or good? I can give you any two.

data and process modeling
design
specification writing
analysis
creativity
interviewing
presentation
negotiation

More than 50% of large software projects are over-budget or behind schedule.

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Mosts of BA are not members of the ACS

A broad experience of business is required, the more varied, the better. Business experience in insurance, HR, banking, retail, manufacturing, processing and technology industries, etc. is transferable, no matter what the recruiters might say.

针对这一点我有看法，目前倒是雇主比中介还看中同行业经验，上面不是说了么，经验越是广泛越好，各种经验都是可以互相转化和通用的！澳洲的雇主最好来看看这个！

xblues

The BA has to get alone with everyone, maintaining good relationships at all levels from senior management to junior staff. They must be able to understand the business objectives and be able to quickly priorities their work. so that they do not spend undue time on the small things before they've sorted out the main issues.

They must be analytical and be able to deal with the abstract;

They must be good with detail, and tenacious -- following issues through to conclusion.

time management.

excellent communicators.

listening!

You have two ears and one mouth. I suggest that you use them in that proportion.

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http://www.scribd.com/doc/264662/What-is-a-Business-Analyst

• process modelling
• requirements gathering
• requirements specification
  

stakeholder (clients, colleagues, organisation)

下面这一步看了好多网页资料都没有提到，还是要深入书本啊。实际上在项目的各个阶段，BA的职责也是已经定义好了的。

Project Phase (Expected Roles)

Project Initiation,

• Investigate, formulate & agree terms of reference.
• Establish relationships
  

Analysis & Specification

• Investigate business system
• Establish & agree business requirements
• Establish cultural & organisational changes required
• Advise on technology options
  

Design

• Propose outline design & specify business functions
• Appraise software packages
• Design manual interfaces. Design implementation & training processes.
  

Build

• Liaise with technical services provider
• Plan/build/present training courses
  

Test

• Liaise/manage acceptance testing
  

Implement

• Liaise/manage implementation
  

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Analysis & investigative skills
Process modelling
Data modelling
Specification writing
Business writing
Inter-personal communications skills

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Presentation & training skills
Technology & vendor knowledge
SDLC knowledge
Project management
Team leadership

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IT capabilities:

Understanding of what systems can and cannot do.

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Data: this area will usually focus on identifying what data the business currently has, what data need to be carried over into the new systems and/or analysis around what can be achieved with a new system.

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UML

Process flows

use cases

interview skills

workshop facilitation

investigation of current state (existing systems and / or processes)

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assisting with the business case

high-level feasibility studies

gathering of the requirements

designing and / or reviewing test cases

processing change requests

tracing the requirements during implementation (traceability matrix)

manage project scope

acceptance, installation, and deployment

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Provide guidance to stakeholders on devising effective and efficient approaches to achieve the project objectives

Identify and resolve issues

Manage the risks

Liaise with other project areas to coordinate interdependencies and resolve issues

Liaise with various business units to gather requirements and resolves issues

Improve business processes

Gather and define business requirements

Analyze and map processes (current state/future state)

Analyze data

Produce high quality documentation

Report status and issues to the PM

Contribute to enterprise architecture development from a business needs point of view

Great communicator and diligent team member

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好多资料都说BA在不同的行业之间切换是很平常的事情，可是悉尼的雇主和中介都十分强调相关行业经验。

xblues

Business Requirements
Functional Requirements
Non Functional Requirements
Report Specifications

Business requirement often can be broken up into sub-business requirements and many functional requirements.

xblues

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13785118/Businessanalystbasics

Translating business needs into technical requirements. The fundamental aspects of the job include:

• Identifying, documenting, and validating business requirements.
• Setting the scope of the proposed system.
• Resolving conflict.
• Looking for potential areas of business automation.
• Helping to re-engineer business processes