Business analysis helps organisations improve the way they conduct business in order to reduce overall costs, increase the efficiency of resources, improve customer service and most importantly, understand the company`s issues, needs and problems.
UMT business analysis specialist Dicky Hamelink says these issues require objective consideration and analysis. "Helping a company move forward strategically requires analysis of the situation so that issues are raised and understood in advance of solutions being suggested and applied. Strategic planning needs to be underpinned by an in-depth understanding of current business in terms of processes, people, skills and technologies."
He says it introduces the notion of process orientation, of concentrating on and rethinking end-to-end activities that create value for customers, while removing unnecessary, non-value added work.
The purpose of business analysis is to provide the client with an unbiased evaluation of the customer service or business operation, and actions to leverage strengths as well as correct deficiencies. The client deliverable is a comprehensive written and verbal presentation of findings, discoveries, recommendations, suggested operational changes, and action items that will improve customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and profitability.
The business analyst`s main responsibility is to gather, detail and document requirements in a format that is useful to business area experts and technical developers. They play a critical, yet often under-rated, role in many organisations and need to provide a competitive advantage to the client from proposed solutions.
Today`s businesses continually need to focus on strategic matters. Business analysts play a key role in fulfilling this function; they are knowledgeable in analysing the strategic profile of the organisation and its environment, advising senior management on suitable policies and the effects of policy decisions.
Furthermore, organisations need to introduce change to solve business problems that may have been identified by the strategic analysis. Business analysts contribute by analysing objectives, processes and resources, and suggesting ways in which business process redesign (BPR), or business process improvements (BPI) could be made. Particular skills of this type of analyst include soft skills such as knowledge of the business, requirements engineering, stakeholder analysis, and some hard skills such as business process modelling. Although the role requires an awareness of technology and its uses, it is not a technology-focused role.
Consultants are professionals who provide advice in a particular area of expertise, they usually engage with various clients. This provides clients with access to deeper levels of expertise than would be feasible for them to retain in-house, and to purchase only as much service from the outside consultant as desired.
Hamelink says consultants help organisations improve performance. "This is done primarily by means of a thorough analysis of existing business problems and the development of strategies for improvement, using industry best practices. The service includes gaining external and presumably more objective advice and recommendations. The specialised expertise helps with monitoring during ad hoc projects, where it might not be necessary to employ someone permanent."
As a consultant, one can provide organisational change management assistance, development of coaching skills, technology implementation, strategy development, or operational improvement services. Business analysis complements these skills from a business and process improvement perspective. Consulting includes business and management consulting, making use of best practice methodologies and frameworks to guide the identification of problems, and to serve as the basis for recommendations for more effective or efficient ways of performing business tasks.
The role of the business analyst requires different levels of competency; there are three skills levels associated with compiling business analysis deliverables. The first level is the logical phase, to capture and summarise information into a documented format as it was sourced. The second level is the logical phase, converting this information into a simple format so that clarity emerges from the confusion and complexities. Conclusions and recommendations are explicitly stated and can also be implicitly assumed.
The third level or functional phase adds another dimension to the presentation using text, diagrams, calculations, graphs and document formatting to provide a comprehensive, concise and accurate representation of what is required and how the objectives can be achieved.
He says the business analyst is the link between the business and technology. "A B2B drive will not necessary involve the IT department and will therefore only be conducted between the business and the business analyst. IT is the enabler of the business requirement.
"We must keep in mind - business analyst is not only a name, but this profession plays an important role in all the facets of business, projects and companies. Without them, we cannot complete the value chain of the business to ensure sustainable growth and continuous improvement," he concludes.
The business analyst needs to be involved in all stages of the project, but the involvement will be weighted throughout the project life cycle and according to the type of project. The business analyst needs to feature more in the initial phases of the project life cycle, even before a project manager is appointed to the project. Project management only starts when the definition of the project is defined and then filters through to the other phases up to post-implementation. A technical analyst or system analyst will be included to steer the project through the developing phase.
For more information, contact UMT Consulting SA on (012) 345 3518 or visit http://www.umtsa.co.za.
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