What is a Business Analyst?

Did you know that the Woodrow Wilson Bridge is the only bridge that spans across the three jurisdictions of the DMV? It carries the beltway over the Potomac River and a portion of it crosses through DC!

The Woodrow Wilson Bridge serves as a critical connection between Virginia and Maryland, allowing travel between the two states and the nation’s capital.

You may be thinking to yourself… what does this have to do with being a Business Analyst (BA)? Well, it’s the perfect visual to describe what we BAs do – we serve as a critical connection between business stakeholders and technology teams.

The BA role can vary depending on the organization, project or industry, but the goal is still the same – to solve business problems that require technical solutions. Take me for example, I serve as a technical BA for a federal agency, and I am currently working on automating interconnection between two key systems.

So, what exactly does the day to day look like for BAs? Every day I find myself completing tasks in one of the following three categories.

Detective: Problem Solving

Work in this category centers around deepening an understanding of the organization and the system that supports it to clearly define the problem and design a plan to fix it. Some specific tasks include (but are certainly not limited to): requirements gathering, data analysis, research, system testing, documenting findings, project planning, and even code review.

In my current role, I wore my detective hat to deepen my understanding of the code behind the functionality to request applicant scores from an external system. I worked closely with a senior developer and translated the code logic into technically accurate flow diagrams that we can use to troubleshoot issues and plan future work.

The takeaway here is that the BA works to define the problem and provide a clear solution and plan that can be agreed upon by stakeholders and technology teams.

Builder: Solution Implementation

Here, the BA primarily works with the technology teams to bring the solution to life. BA tasks in this category may include meeting facilitation for various technology teams (e.g., development, UI/UX, data), testing, and providing necessary updates to stakeholders.

For me, this looks like sprint support for the developers and testing when the changes are ready. This is rewarding for me because it gives me a chance to interface more frequently with developers as well as stakeholders via status updates.

Should anything arise during the build stage that would impact the delivery of the desired solution, the BA is the point person to ensure all relevant parties are informed and facilitates any changes in direction the team needs to take.

This category of work is complete when the solution is delivered to the end users.

Watchman: Monitoring Solution Effectiveness

Once the solution is delivered to the end users, everything is perfect right?

Nope!

The BA doesn’t assume everything will work smoothly 100% of the time. Technology issues will arise, so the BA will monitor the solution’s effectiveness by reviewing automated reports, conducting regular production and regression testing, and soliciting end user feedback, for example.

But there can also be organizational changes that make the solution insufficient or even obsolete. This is why in this category, the BA maintains strong relationships with stakeholders and technology teams, ensuring organizational effectiveness over time and thus repeating the process.

Now that you’ve had a peek into the world of a business analyst, hopefully you, too, see how well the bridge analogy fits! Connecting teams and stakeholders to find solutions is fulfilling and valuable work, and if you’re looking for someone to help improve the efficiency of your business, this type of position may be just what you need.

Tim Daniels joined FMP as a Senior IT Consultant in October 2021 and works with the Office of Personnel Management as a Business Analyst. Tim is from Alexandria, Virginia and enjoys scenic walks, dancing and woodworking.