To carry out his projects effectively, the business analyst needs to master the three spheres of analysis, namely the “Business” sphere, the “Software” sphere and the “Information” sphere. The work of the business analyst requires mastery of communication techniques and analysis techniques for each of these. Overview.
The “Business” sphere
The business analyst needs to lead a business meeting with the project’s stakeholders. At this time he finds out the customer’s requirements and identifies the needs related to the project. His ability to become well informed and to document the needs is therefore an important asset.
Analytically, he has to understand how the business works and model it. He can then illustrate it using one or more diagrams that explain the process. It is through this analysis that he will then be able to propose implementation of a new business solution.
The “Software” sphere
The analyst has to understand how the computer system – software – supports and assists the business process. Here again, the analyst builds models, scenarios or prototypes of the system’s functional requirements (use cases), which allows him to understand the sequence of events that make up the system and its usefulness.
Communication techniques lead the business analyst to review and then to validate the requirements and needs with all the professionals involved in the project and the customers. He then uses the so-called “user story” technique to understand and explain the requirements.
The “Information” sphere
This field covers the storage and retention of an organization’s data. Here the analyst uses modelling techniques such as the entity-association diagram, data mapping and the data dictionary. These processes allow, among other things, an illustration to be made of the links between the people, objects and concepts of a system, and to identify and visualize the data.
In communication, the tool to be developed at this stage is the glossary, a form of lexical field specific to the project and which will be shared, understood and used by all stakeholders so that everyone is speaking the same language. Success of communication is based on a clear and precise use of the vocabulary.
Mastery and multiple use of these techniques, both in terms of analysis and communication, allows the business analyst to clearly identify the impact of the changes and solutions to be implemented.