The Business Analysis Blog

Matt was recently looking for a job shift. Matt is a Business Analyst and is open to relocate to any place given that the work he gets should be good and in the profile of a Business Analyst. When Matt started his search on internet job portals he stumbled upon a lot of job openings for Business Analysts. He soon realized that BAs are required almost all over the world be it USA, UK, Rest of Europe, South Africa, Australia, India, Singapore or New Zealand (place he always wanted to visit).

Here are some of the Business Analysis Job Ads that Matt found:

USA	Job Profile and Skills Required
Job Description 1	Ability to lead working sessions with client to capture product requirements and translate those requirements into structured Product Definition Documents Experience developing process flows from high-level concepts Ability to ask the right questions at sufficient detail in order to capture the essence of the product requirements Experience in devloping software under a standard SDLC methodology. Expert in MS Offices tools. Expert in Powerpoint, Visio and Project
	Demonstrates strong interpersonal skills, with team members, clients and counterparts. Builds personal expertise in a business area. Contributes to and/or delivers products that drive client satisfaction by performing tasks such as organizing and preparing business documentation in support of implementation of new business processes/procedures; and gathering and organizing data. Supports own Performance Management Process, including but not limited to, managing own time and expenses involved in work. May serve as a Peer Advisor for newly hired Senior Business Analyst(s). Applies BearingPoint Delivery Framework methodologies to work. Supports business development and proposal efforts by assisting with the development of written material and/or developing cost proposals. Supports, and may contribute directly to, engagement financial management activities. Participates in recruiting activities. Will serve as client representative in briefings, meetings, and conferences. Conduct functional business analyst activities across the systems development life cycle. Produce interface specifications, user documentation, and systems/customer acceptance testing. Conduct client interviews and produce high quality requirements documents. These requirements will include functional capability for DoD disbursing systems and the interface requirements between these systems and SAP and Oracle Financials ERP systems. The qualified candidate will need to possess an understanding of the functional needs of the client. This entails the ability to review and analyze an end-to-end process, understand abstract business concepts and processes, and revise to meet the client's goals. The candidate will need to facilitate the clarification of functional specification and relay those specifications to internal and external stakeholders for review and acceptance. Throughout both the functional and implementation activities, continuously develop and maintain all required and pertinent documents, to include memorandums, agreements, and management plans. Must have at least two years of analytical experience in a business or technical environment, and have demonstrated experience in: preparing and reviewing engineering and technical analyses, reports, change proposals, and other technical documentation; developing white papers, needs assessments, feasibility studies, cost benefit analyses, and flow charts; building and analyzing test plans and strategies.  The candidate should posses an understanding of enterprise architecture, different IT frameworks and related principles, as well as software improvement processes. The candidate will not only need problem-solving skills but should be able to see the larger picture and decipher the steps to get the client from problem to solution. Direct experience with business planning and execution for business continuity including implementation, post implementation support, role emphasizing configuration, testing, and project management to develop an integrated system that delivers a strategic business advantage to a client or company. Have experience establishing and updating systems' requirements.  Excellent communications skills, including the ability to clearly articulate client and customer requirements and objectives and serve as an on-site representative as requested. Developed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), Interface Control Agreements (ICAs), system test strategies and scripts and other system documentation. Experience providing technical implementation support following system "go-live". Experience supporting a project management office (PMO) for a major system implementation.
Job Description 2	Analyzes and evaluates computer and business systems. Supports design, implementation and testing. Performs cost/benefit/risk analysis. Assists in ensuring that the methodology is compliant with information technology guidelines. Works with Program Manager to identify tasks and scheduling. May work closely with or delegate assignments to other members of immediate workgroup. 3-5 years work related experience is required, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Strong understanding of software architectures, Microsoft products, software lifecycle methodology and information systems development required. Sound problem resolution, judgment and decision-making skills required. Must be able to communicate effectively. Strong technical design and process analysis skills may be required. Strong business related background preferred. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or related field required.
	People who delight in discovering the real problems to be solved and defining them in a way that the business community can understand and devising solutions the development community can develop and implement.  Business Analyst will lead the analysis, documentation, and management of business requirements and will ensure that requirements are fully understood by the technical team before solutions are designed and implemented.   This role will mentor and coach other Business Analysts.   You will have experience of formal methodologies (preferably more than one) and will adhere to the established System Life Cycle (SLC) and Computer System Validation (CSV) procedures in facilitating innovative solutions that meet the specified requirements and add value to the business. Modelling the processes and data of the business area Create prototypes and simulations thereby facilitating successful solution design and development Resolve conflicting end-user requirements Model processes to clarify business requirements, and to enhance or re-engineer business processes, prior to, or in parallel with, solution design and implementation Produce and review data/information models and preliminary system architecture, as needed Help manage BA resources in accordance with project schedules Identify initial Business Case requirements and other pre-project activities Work closely with the designated Project Manager to facilitate progress of the project Minimum 5 years experience as Business Analyst Prefer experience in a regulated environment

UK	Job Profile and Skills Required
Job Description 1	Business Analyst, Project Management, scoping and planning, requirements gathering, gap analysis, Documentation, UML, Development /​ programming knowledge well renowned business.​ Methodology experience (e.​g.​ Prince2, UML, SSADM) and/​or a background within a blue-chip, consultancy or large-scale technical environment (e.​g.​ banking a nd finance) Your main responsibilities as a Business Analyst will include scoping and planning, detailed analysis of requirements, documentation of requirements, managing sign-off with the business managing /​ looking after other relevant work stream and 3rd parties where appropriate.​ You will need to be a confident and articulate Business Analyst with excellent all round skills as outlined above in full project delivery from requirements gathering through to implementation and delivery.​  A knowledge or programming and development is also key as there will be a lot of interfacing with the technical teams however ongoing training and development is available when required.​ Experience in Business Analysis /​ Requirements gathering, Documentation, Successful Project Delivery and Development /​ programming knowledge /​ experience (due to contact with development teams)
Job Description 2	looking for a Business Analyst who enjoys engaging with end users to gather their requirements and delivering innovative solutions.​  If you would describe yourself as someone who thinks outside the box this is the role for you!! As a Business Analyst you will be required to analyse and gather requirements, which will involve facilitating meetings and coordinating workshops.​  Successful Business Analyst /​ Business Systems Analyst must have demonstrable experience in business process analysis;  Proven track record when it comes to gathering requirements, managing stakeholders and dealing with all levels of management within an organisation.​
Job Description 3	Managing a team of 3-5 individuals.​ The overall purpose of the job is to ensure the successful delivery of solutions to business problems.​  Identify solutions to business problems, defining and documenting the requirements in conjunction with the business and operations, in a clear structured manner to the relevant development teams.​ Lead initiatives to identify, document and design enhancements to existing services and processes in order to continually improve the business process.​  Prepare Users Requirements.​ Documents and functional specifications for new systems and extensions to existing systems.​ Documentation of business process and data flows Business Process Re-engineering.​  Prepare and evaluate business cases and cost-benefits analysis.​  Prepare and execute test plans and scripts Assist with UAT and Implementations Test Analysis Preparation and execution of test plans and scripts.​ Attention to detail throughout all aspects initiation, specification, testing and implementation.​ Ability to work and communicate effectively with people from different disciplines, business, technical levels and geographic bases.​  Ability to implement new process Uses initiative and original ideas to develop, tailor and modify approach, in order to tackle new issues and situations.​ Self-motivated and confident working across all levels.​ Experience of methodologies: UML, RUP or Agile preferred.​
Job Description 4	Senior/​ Lead Business Analyst experience Experience leading a team of Business Analysts Experience working on complex business change projects
Job Description 5	You will be involved in the conception stages by taking time to understand the needs of the clients occasionally visiting them to understand the requirements of the software solution they require. You will then be required to liaise with the IT developers to produce the most appropriate package and pre-empt any design problems, in order to help develop the software in to a user friendly and need related format.​  On completion of the product you will be required to assist in the testing phase of the product life cycle to help identify any problems with the software and to train new users on the new software as it reaches delivery stage.​ producing systems specifications

Switzerland	Job Profile and Skills Required
Job Description 1	You will be involved in a variety of projects in the energy trading area, initially in the Credit Risk environment Your remit will be to take an active part in the full life cycle of projects from business requirements through to the design and implementation of business solutions Maintaining and supporting the existing applications will take up about 20% of your working time You should have a working knowledge of technoloiges, particularly .Net/ Access/Excel and VBA You should be an excellent communicator in English, other languaes are a plus You should be skilled at managing expectations and have a good awareness of cultural differences
Job Description 2	To lead and mentor a small team of Business Analysts in their daily work To take a proactive role in the development of new global solutions To liaise across all stakeholders at a senior level, advising, setting expectations and as Project Manager, setting the pace for the whole project lifecycle To take a leading position from the business side working very closely with the technology to create global cutting edge solutions You will be an experienced business analyst with some project management experience You will be familiar with the complex technology that drives a leading investment company You will be interested in setting high standards for your team, mentoring them in business analysis proceses as will as coaching them and using the substantial company resources to ensure they are fully trained for the jobs they need to do You should be a good communicator in English, German would be nice but not essential. You will need to work with colleagues and external vendors at all levels of the business
Job Description 3	As Business Analyst, you will collect and formalize business and user requirements.  You will deal with process modeling and improvement as well as functional specification.  You will participate to the process or functional track of the analysis and design phases, producing the relevant parts of the deliverables (high-level and detailed process or functional specifications). Business and user requirements collection through workshops or interviews Business process modeling, redesign and improvement Writing of high-level and detailed functional specifications Writing and validation of test scenarios Excellent analytical skills Excellent communication and writing skills Analytical mind OOA/OOD, UML/RUP methodologies Workshop facilitation skills Very good level in English and French or German Industry knowledge in banking, consumer goods, telco or pharma a strong plus Experience with Service Level Management, Business Process Management/Improvement a strong plus Experience of Business Process Modeling with tools such as Mega, IDS Scheer At least 2 years of development experience . At least 2 years in business/system analysis
Job Description 4	Translation of business needs into IT requirements Preparation and definition of IT projects to address business needs Management of alignment of project deliverables with business requirements throughout the project life cycle Understand Business Requirements and Strategic Group objectives, by collaborating with the Business Community to capture business needs accurately Interact with peers to ensure a smooth integration of the processes/unit output with the rest of the IT environment Liaise with other IT stakeholders in project management, architecture, governance to ensure alignment Manage external resources: from finalization of deals with external vendors within authorized budgets (cost and time) to monitor implementation resources and recommending any necessary corrective actions Coach any Application Specialists involved within the implementation project Communicate on projects by issuing regular status updates, and managing communication with Key Account Managers, IT team and Business people Keep updated skills on the most important deployed applications Conduct market research and observations across all concerned specialist areas Secure high business acumen by attending any necessary business oriented training sessions  Ensure the compliance of global IT services processes  Apply the marketing strategy and process of IT services  Provide applications team with functional support to secure compliance with SLA and high customer satisfaction  Provide infrastructure team with input on business applications needs within the application domain  Understand Business Requirements and finalise Functional Specifications University degrees or equivalent either in Computer Science or Business Management Fluent written and spoken English Min 5 years experience in Business Intelligence applications and tools (implementation and support) Strong analytical and problem solving skills Good project management skills (ability to manage external consultants) Strong communication skills Negotiation skills Coordination capabilities and team spirit (ability to work in a cross-functional team)
Job Description 5	Analysis of business processes in controlling aspects, optimize existing business processes and create new business processes Development of business concepts and specifications in close cooperation with specialists Analysis and handling Change Requests Close collaboration with departments and IT Goal-oriented implementation of solutions Creation of Management Information Reports Quality assurance tasks Several years experience Good technical knowledge of databases and web applications  Ideally SQL knowledge Strong analytical and conceptual skills Own initiative, reliability and high operational readiness Dynamic environment Good communication skills Team player You have the opportunity to develop our business, such as support you with our employee development program. Very good German and English language skills

Singapore	Job Profile and Skills Required
Job Description 1	requirements gathering and documentation requirement to product gap analysis functional and business specifications project documentation and help screens test plans and execution liaising with the business, project managers and developers previous BA experience previous exposure to financial markets an IT or business related degree an analytical and detailed approach excellent written and verbal communication cash equities experience middle and back office (settlement) experience  exposure to Asian Pacific markets experience with vendor or in-house back office systems technical background favourable
Job Description 2	Assist in execution of all the activities within Client (APAC) workstream’s scope of business transfer. Work with the Cross Business Delivery lead in maintaining visibility and coordination of all required business activities to effect a business transfer (eg. client onboarding execution, ops / tech readiness status, trade novation timetables, etc). Work closely with the Product Integration programmes to understand and help prioritise the various business transfer activities. Facilitate and actively participate in all required (global and regional) business transfer processes. Where required be prepared to conduct detailed analyses as necessary engaging with parties outside the team to further the resolution of issues arising during the course of integration Engage with Product and Country programmes to ensure allotted tasks are understood, are being attended to and that any queries raised are answered. Highly numerical with excellent excel skills including Macro and Pivot table Chase and follow-up with stakeholders on tasks, approvals and other necessary action to facilitate business transfers. Ensure that all business related issues are recorded and actioned in a timely manner.  Minimum 5 years of relevant financial markets and banking experience with product knowledge in Banking and Markets; Graduate with a good degree; Understanding of business transfer methods such as risk transfer and novation; Good presentation and communication skills; Understanding of Global Markets businesses; Prior experience in Operations or Middle Office desirable; Must be able to interact with Management; Ability to communicate with all levels of management; Strong problem solving and analytical capabilities; Excellent organisation and coordination skills; Ability to identify root cause of issues and propose solutions based on supporting facts/evidence/analysis; Capable of quickly establishing credibility with business and support areas and be capable of contributing to the overall teams. Able to plan and prioritise projects workload efficiently and effectively; Adaptable and resourceful. Ability to handle change in dynamic environment. Ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines. Good time management skills. Self-starter, inspiring, motivated to achieve excellence. Willingness to be hands on. Ability to be an effective team player and also work independently when required.
Job Description 3	Requirements gathering for pre-existing ISS software products via stakeholder meetings and interviews Requirements gathering for new / custom software solutions via stakeholder meetings and interviews Undertake Business Requirement definition and associated documentation working alongside key business representatives Work with implementation team to ensure alignment of project/product documentation and training materials with software development. Analyzing existing business processes and IT solutions and providing consulting on business process changes/technology enhancements Design of IT Solutions (GUI, Back End, Architecture) Work with implementation team to ensure alignment of project/product documentation and training materials with software development. Production of Functional Specification documentation Facilitation and co-ordination of IT Estimates Provide technical assistance to Development and Testing teams on assigned projects Driving cost effective business outcomes related to assigned projects Degree in software engineering or equivalent Experienced in Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint etc.) OO language (C#, C++, Java etc) Web services, HTML, XML, Asp, Asp.net, JavaScript Databases: Oracle, SQL Server Experience in the Process domain (Oil and Gas, Mining, Manufacturing etc) is beneficial
Job Description 4	Scope of responsibility: Product analysis within consumer CFU. Understand, access, manipulate, analyze and provide customer and business insights  through applying advance analytical capabilities (statistical, financial and business) through leveraging on Business Intelligence Solutions and Analytics Software. through analysis papers/reports depicting trend analyses, spending and usage patterns of customers, and probability that certain situations may or may not occur. Interface regularly with Product Marketing - team, keep abreast of the activities, new product / service initiatives, promotional activities. Work with Product Marketing team in driving acquisition activities, designing campaign testing on communications, offers and other marketing activities. Prepare analysis on on-going campaigns and / or any marketing initiatives and recommend appropriate course of actions. Prepare post mortem analysis and share finding on completed campaigns and / or marketing initiatives. Work with Data Mining Manager in designing test campaigns pertaining to predictive and descriptive models. A good university degree in Statistics, Business or Finance. Competent in MS Office applications and knowledge in data manipulation language / package (SQL, Cognos, SAS). Minimum 5 years relevant working experience. Telecom industry and pricing experience will be an added advantage. Good knowledge in business and marketing. Effective communication, listening and people management skills. Strong organizational and negotiation skills. Fast learner with a sharp analytical mind and a strong drive to excel. Able to work independently and effectively under minimum supervision and a good team player.

India	Job Profile and Skills Required
Job Description 1	Business Analyst with health care Domain Knowledge. Requirement gathering through client interaction at onsite Use cases Strong Analytical skills- Ability to analyze requirements form client and developer perspective, ability to keep the larger picture in mind. Understanding of entity relationship diagrams/ domain models and process flows
Job Description 2	Exp as Business Analyst in Securities Lending business Excellent Communication and Inter-personal Skills.
Job Description 3	Experience in Solution Design, Business Analyst (BA), Architecture, Consulting Understanding of OSS Business Processes Very Good Understanding of Telecom Networks Excellent Communication and Presentation Skills Very Good Customer-Interaction Very good Analytical and Problem Solving abilities.
Job Description 4	looking for Business Analyst having exposure into Brokarage Applications. Very good analytical and problem solving skills. Should posses in-depth knowledge of the Software Implemenation Life Cycle (SDLC). Hands on exp in Intrenet Technologies Java/J2EE/.NET is mandatory. He/She should possess good communication skills.
Job Description 5	Understand the business requirements and appropriately document the flow, business logic and presentation formats. Liaise with technology team to provide constant business understanding and support Independently structure complex data analysis requirements and professional presentation formats and provide small automation/data management support on ad-hoc basis From time to time involve in various reporting and analysis requirements. Review and suggest improvements to the existing reports and data structures Ensure that all service level agreements (SLAs) with clients are met Provide analysis, recommendations, consultation, and expert advice on improving processes Develop a high level of product and business knowledge for the industry Ensure quality of work meets the department standards by establishing quality control checks into the processes

After going through the Ads Matt found that the Job Description of a Business Analyst role differs at various places. The Business Analysis skills needed at different location varies as well. He decided to make a list of similar qualities that were needed at all the locations, at the same time it made sense to make a matrix of special skills needed depending on the location.

Country	Job Profile and Skills Required
US	Business Analyst will lead the analysis, documentation, and management of business requirements and will ensure that requirements are fully understood by the technical team before solutions are designed and implemented.   This role will mentor and coach other Business Analysts.   You will have experience of formal methodologies (preferably more than one) and will adhere to the established System Life Cycle (SLC) and Computer System Validation (CSV) procedures in facilitating innovative solutions that meet the specified requirements and add value to the business. Modeling the processes and data of the business area Create prototypes and simulations thereby facilitating successful solution design and development Resolve conflicting end-user requirements
UK	Business Analyst, Project Management, scoping and planning, requirements gathering, gap analysis, Documentation, UML, Development /​ programming knowledge well renowned business.​ Methodology experience (e.​g.​ Prince2, UML, SSADM) and/​or a background within a blue-chip, consultancy or large-scale technical environment (e.​g.​ banking a nd finance) Your main responsibilities as a Business Analyst will include scoping and planning, detailed analysis of requirements, documentation of requirements, managing sign-off with the business
Switzerland	You should be an excellent communicator in English, other languages are a plus. To lead and mentor a small team of Business Analysts in their daily work To take a proactive role in the development of new global solutions To liaise across all stakeholders at a senior level, advising, setting expectations and as Project Manager, setting the pace for the whole project lifecycle To take a leading position from the business side working very closely with the technology to create global cutting edge solutions
Singapore	Requirements gathering and documentation Requirement to product gap analysis Functional and business specifications Project documentation and help screens Excellent written and verbal communication Work with the Cross Business Delivery lead in maintaining visibility and coordination of all required business activities.
India	Requirement gathering and documentation through client interaction at onsite Use cases Strong Analytical skills- Ability to analyze requirements form client and developer perspective, ability to keep the larger picture in mind. Understanding of entity relationship diagrams/ domain models and process flows Excellent Communication and Inter-personal Skills. Liaise with technology team to provide constant business understanding and support

After reading a bit more about the Business Analysis profession on internet and talking to his Business Analyst friends and seniors Matt realized that these qualities are not really geography specific and the categorization doesn't present the true picture of the Business Analysis practice all over the world. He decided to look at the whole picture from a different perspective, ignoring the geographies for a while. Matt decided to look at definition of Business Analyst, a liaison between the Customer and the Development team. There he found the correct axis for his measurement:

1. Where is the customer and
2. Where is the development team?

The role is varying due to location of Customer and the Development team. He decided to classify the responsibilities that a Business Analyst handles at both these ends.

Responsibilities of a Business Analyst at Customer Location:

1. Lead working sessions with client to capture product requirements and translate those requirements into structured Product Definition Documents.
2. Developing process flows from high-level concepts.
3. Ask the right questions at sufficient detail in order to capture the essence of the product requirements.

Responsibilities of a Business Analyst at the Development Team Location:

1. Liaise with technology team to provide constant business understanding and support.
2. Serve as a client representative in briefings, meetings, and conferences.

Now things were getting clearer to Matt. Yet he thought that there was something missing. What about the situations where development team is distributed, team is working from more than one location? A very common occurrence in the present world of outsourcing. Matt decided to list down the responsibilities of a Business Analyst from this perspective as well.

Responsibilities of a Business Analyst in case of Distributed team (thanks to outsourcing):

1. Liaise with offshore and onshore teams to provide constant business understanding and support and keep both the team on the same page.

Matt was happy that the bigger picture was getting clear in his mind. He was now surer that what kind of project setup he would seek at the location of his choice. Though Matt had gained clarity on the responsibilities of a Business Analyst, yet he was not comfortable, he was still missing something. Matt thought and realized soon that the understanding of responsibilities alone is not enough; he needs to understand the different Business Analysis skills that are needed to fulfill the identified responsibilities. Matt decided to list down the Business Analysis skills as well:

Business Analysis Skills needed at the Customer end:

1. Experience in Solution Design, Business Analyst (BA), Architecture, Consulting
2. Ability to lead working sessions with client to capture product requirements and translate those requirements into structured Product Definition Documents

Business Analysis Skills Needed at the Development Team location:

1. Demonstrates strong interpersonal skills, with the members of the Development Team.

Business Analysis Skills needed at with distributed teams:

1. Excellent Communication and Inter-personal Skills.

Now that Matt had identified the responsibilities and the skills needed for various roles that he could play as a Business Analyst, he had a clear idea of what kind of project setup he was looking for and what were the skills needed to perform his job. Thanks to Matt for sharing his analysis with us and wishing Matt all the luck for his new job :)

Tarun Chandel
The Business Analyst

*With the help of a fictional character Matt I tried to capture the Roles and Responsibilities of a Business Analysts in different situations. I am sure that the list can be extended further, please share your expereinces so that we can have a comprehensive list.