Business Analysis: From A Role to Mindset — Questions Answered
In our presentation titled ‘Business Analysis: From A Role to Мindset’ at IRM UK’s Business Analysis Conference Europe, we shared our experience on fostering a Business Analysis mindset within the entire technical team.
Ranging from the evolution of the role over the years to the main benefits and challenges involved with incorporating the Mindset, the talk included practical tips regarding project-level Business Analysis and its application in software development.
There was an excellent discussion at the end of the presentation, and we received some great questions. Therefore, we decided to collate the most interesting and frequently asked ones together, and share the detailed answers for anyone who missed the live event.
How do you manage client expectations in the early stages of adopting a Business Analysis Mindset?
Clients need to be mindful that in some respects applying the Business Analysis Mindset represents a significant shift in responsibilities and ways of working.
As such, there may be short-term adverse impacts on productivity (either due to the need to build new skills or adhere to new practices), which are completely normal and to be expected.
However, an emphasis must be placed on the fact that the long-term yield of the Mindset will greatly outweigh any short-term issues, and that there will be significant benefits not only in terms of productivity, but also higher output quality and greater strategic focus.
What are the most critical Business Analyst skills that the technical team needs to embrace?
Whilst the Business Analysis Mindset builds a variety of skills within the software development team, perhaps the most critical ones are domain understanding and stakeholder management.
The increase in domain understanding allows the technical team to comprehend the bigger picture around some of the low-level requirements. This in turn means that they can apply critical thinking not just in terms of a functionality’s technical properties, but also assess whether it fundamentally addresses the underlying business needs.
In combination with enhanced stakeholder management skills, this means that the development team can gain a pivotal role in the communication with the client and contribute on a much higher strategic level.
Read the whole article to discover the answers to all of the BA questions.
Emphasis on the Business Analyst Mindset and fostering its principles is an important foundation of a successful business analysis practice in any software development project. If you’re interested in learning more about our approach to developing software solutions, get in touch today!
