Summary of Business Analysis Overview Lecture

Course Overview

• Duration: 10 days, daily from 7 to 7:45 a.m. USD timing
• Instructor: Pradipa, Senior Business Analyst with 16 years of experience
• Objective: Guide individuals on becoming Business Analysts

Day 1 Topics

Why Become a Business Analyst?

• Variety of jobs in IT: Tester, Developer, Engineer, Business Analyst (BA), Product Owner, Scrum Master, Project Manager
• Advantages of being a Business Analyst
  • Diverse career paths: vanilla BA, system analyst
  • Opportunities across different industries and global locations
  • Possibilities for career growth (lead BA, senior BA, Product Owner, Scrum Master, Project Manager)
  • Skill enhancement and self-assessment

Market Demand and Global Opportunities

• BAs are needed in both IT and non-IT backgrounds
• Opportunities across various countries
  • Examples: US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Bangladesh

Employer Types

• Service-based companies (e.g., TCS, CTS)
• Product-based companies (e.g., Amazon, Microsoft, Google)
• Differences in pay and work environment between service-based and product-based companies
• Market specifics (e.g., local compliance laws, global operations)

Domains for BAs

• Healthcare, Banking, Retail, Insurance, E-commerce
• Specializations in technologies (e.g., Pega, Salesforce, Guidewire)
• Importance of domain knowledge and technical skills

Core Skills for BAs

• Requirement gathering, documentation, user story writing
• Expertise in Agile and Waterfall methodologies
• Essential tools: Jira, Confluence, Lucidchart, SmartSheet

Self-Assessment and Continuous Learning

• Regular self-assessment to identify skill gaps
• Continuous learning and upskilling
• Networking and building professional relationships
• Importance of resume writing and highlighting specific skills (Agile, domains, tools)

Practical Guidance

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• Conducting requirement gathering sessions and identifying business needs
• Creating user stories, tasks, and defects in Jira
• Writing documentation: BRDs, FDs, SRS, RTM, SIT, UAT plans
• Drawing flowcharts, UML diagrams, and business process models

Stakeholder Management

• Managing relationships and resolving conflicts with stakeholders
• Coordinating with internal and external teams
• Practical examples of conflicts and solutions

Technical Aspects

• Introduction to APIs (SOAP, REST) and integration specifics
• Basic understanding of Pega, Salesforce, and other technical platforms
• SQL, Tableau for reporting

Real-World Application: Case Study Approach

• Example project: Electronic Medical Records (openEMR)
• Step-by-step process: requirement gathering, process flow diagrams, user stories, testing scenarios

Tools and Techniques

Key Analysis Techniques

• SWOT Analysis, MOST Analysis, Pestel Analysis, CATWOE Analysis
• Business Process Modeling: Lucidchart, Visio, SmartSheet
• Creating Prototypes: Balsamiq, Sketch, Figma

Testing and Validation

• Types of testing: SIT, UAT, Performance, Security
• Tools for testing: SmartSheet for test planning, detailed documentation
• Handling real-world testing scenarios

Important Interview Topics

• Roles and responsibilities of BAs in Agile environments
• Agile Manifesto, Scrum values
• Difference between user stories, epics, tasks
• Sprint planning, Daily Standup meetings, Sprint retrospectives
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics in Agile: Burnup/Burndown charts

Final Note

• Emphasize the continuous learning and practical application of skills
• Importance of actively participating in all project phases and communicating effectively with the team and stakeholders.