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Define business_analysis

Define business_analysis

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Content

Introduction

Overview, Roles of

the Business

Analyst

Welcome to the Fundamentals of Business Analysis! * This

Fundamentals of Business Analysis course is a core course in the

Business Analyst Certificate Program. The certificate program focuses

on the skills needed to identify business requirements and to develop

appropriate solution strategies. Today, business analysis involves a set

of well-defined skills and knowledge that combine topics from traditional

business and IT disciplines. Because the IT world changes so rapidly,

many business analysts need to update their knowledge. The Business

Analyst Certificate Program provides a concise learning opportunity for

individuals wishing to enhance their abilities in performing business

analysis as they seek new opportunities or growth in this career. * The

Fundamentals of Business Analysis course concentrates on business

analysis as it relates to the new partnership between the business and

the IT communities within an organization. It further investigates the

emerging role of the business analyst as the primary and key liaison

between business and information technology functions within an

organization. Analysts gather business requirements from various

individuals in the organization and translate them into functional system

design specifications that can be successfully executed by IT

development teams. * Therefore this course, Fundamentals of Business

Analysis, is specifically designed to give people new to the business

analyst role or those who supervise business analysts a basic

understanding of the functions and business impact of this role. The

course provides a special focus on business analysis functions as they

relate to the development of information technology solutions and the

business analysis project life cycle. Course topics include the role of the

business analyst, the role of the other team members, business case

analysis and preparation, modeling the business processes, modeling

the systems objects, and quality management and testing

Introduction

Overview, Roles of

the Business

Analyst

This week's lesson concentrates on some of the more prominent roles,

responsibilities, and qualifications for the business analyst position. After

finishing this lesson, you should be able to: » Describe some of the

potential responsibilities of the business analyst; » Create a business

analyst job description; and » Explain in detail what one particular job

responsibility consists of.

Introduction

Overview, Roles of

the Business

Analyst

Why Do Businesses Need a Business Analyst Position?

Introduction

Overview, Roles of

the Business

Analyst

In the days before the Industrial Revolution most products were

produced by crafts workers who accomplished the whole process of

constructing a product, not just the manufacturing, but the marketing,

sales, design, and service as well. In 1776, with Adam Smith’s “Wealth

of Nations,” the Industrial Revolution began and with it the need for

specialization. In the time of the craftsperson, when the entire process

could be run by one person, the output from that process was very

limited. With the rise of the Industrial Revolution and the use of

specialists, however, a process could yield incredibly more output. »

For example, where a craftsperson could yield less than 20 pins per

day, a team of 10 people, each specializing in a certain aspect of the

process, could work together to produce 48,000 pins per day. Please

click on the links below to learn more about The Industrial Revolution: »

The Origins of the Industrial Revolution in England » The Industrial

Revolution

Introduction

Overview, Roles of

the Business

Analyst

Specialization, while producing great advancements in terms of output,

brought with it a set of unique problems. As companies benefited by

increasing output and reducing the price of their product, they needed

even more specialists to run the entire organization. Specialists were not

found just in manufacturing but in other areas such as finance,

accounting, legal, personnel, marketing, and sales. This specialization

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led to functional organizations within enterprises. Why? One reason is

that it is easier to manage people and their activities if they are grouped

into specialized fields or functions. Nonetheless, this functional

organization led to three distinct types of problems. Please use your

cursor to learn more:

Introduction

Overview, Roles of

the Business

Analyst

Thus began a need for looking at the entire process in a way that could

lead to advancements in the process. This became known as business

analysis, business process reengineering, or continuous process

improvement.

Introduction

Overview, Roles of

the Business

Analyst

* This concept really took off in 1993 when M. Hammer and J. Champy

wrote “Reengineering the Corporation.”

Introduction

Overview, Roles of

the Business

Analyst

From that point on businesses used a process orientation to business

improvement. Process orientation is involved in looking at the processes

that comprise the organization, as opposed to the departments that

comprise the organization, to determine which processes contribute to

or detract from an organization’s competitive advantage. This approach

then can help businesses deliver more value to the customer. They can

determine which processes add to or detracts from the value the

organization creates for their customers and could then redesign those

processes that would do the organization the most good. For more

information on the book "Reengineering the Corporation", please click

below: » Reengineering The Corporation: A Manifesto for Business

Revolution » Editorial Reviews

Introduction

Overview, Roles of

the Business

Analyst

For a long time, however, the process orientation used to understand

and improve the way businesses deliver value to the customer was far

removed from the workings of the IT professionals.

Introduction

Overview, Roles of

the Business

Analyst

More recently, with advancements in computer technology and a new

emphasis placed on IT departments to use technology to accelerate, not

create, change, there began a movement to align technology changes

with the business processes. Therefore, process orientation has

become a way of life for both business people and systems people alike.

» We will in this course refer to the application of the process

orientation to business improvement as business analysis. Further, it is

just this process-oriented business analysis that created a need for yet

another specialist, the business analyst. This is the person who applies

technology to help make better business processes.

Introduction

Overview, Roles of

the Business

Analyst

These business analysts would be involved in activities like: » Liaison

and provide technical and analytical support; » Translate the client

business needs into business process and technology requirements; or

» drive IT-related projects from inception through adoption. While the

correct term to use for this position is business analyst, other terms have

been used as well. For this class we emphasize that the correct term is

business analyst, but if you use your cursor to roll over below you will

see some other terms that have been incorrectly used to describe this

function.

Introduction

Roles and

Responsibilities

Possible Roles & Responsibilities of the Business Analyst Earlier it was

mentioned that the process orientation has now changed to include IT,

and therefore the roles and responsibilities of the business analyst are

separated between business-related and IT-related activities. The

function can be broken down further into five major areas: analyzing,

documenting, advising, presenting and leading. Possible roles and

responsibilities of the business analyst include: (Please use your cursor

to explore the concepts below.)

Introduction

Roles and

Responsibilities

Exercise Let's see how much you remember about these different roles

and responsibilities of a business analyst. Please use your cursor to

drag and drop the responsibilities listed below into the correct box.

Introduction

Roles and

Responsibilities

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Lesson Topic Page Content Introduction Overview, Roles of the Business Analyst 1 Welcome to the Fundamentals of Business Analysis! * This Fundamentals of Business Analysis course is a core course in the Business Analyst Certificate Program. The certificate program focuses on the skills needed to identify business requirements and to develop appropriate solution strategies. Today, business analysis involves a set of well-defined skills and knowledge that combine topics from traditional business and IT disciplines. Because the IT world changes so rapidly, many business analysts need to update their knowledge. The Business Analyst Certificate Program provides a concise learning opportunity for individuals wishing to enhance their abilities in performing business analysis as they seek new opportunities or growth in this career. * The Fundamentals of Business Analysis course concentrates on business analysis as it relates to the new partnership between the business and the IT communities within an organization. It further investigates the emerging role of the business analyst as the primary and key liaison between business and information technology functions within an organization. Analysts gather business requirements from various individuals in the organization and translate them into functional system design specifications that can be successfully executed by IT development teams. * Therefore this course, Fundamentals of Business Analysis, is specifically designed to give ...
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