Why Business Analyst Is a Must for Proper App Development

Proficient business analyst is literary a must for successful business dealing on modern software development market. According to recent statistical survey, data analysis skills lead among most in-demand skills in market analysis sphere around the globe, thus making business development analysts popular among employers. Need for qualified digital business analysts and their importance is also proved by PayScale’s research that claims average salary of IT business analyst reaching up to 6000 dollars per month.

In this post, OpenGeeksLab will explain who business analyst is, what are his/her core responsibilities, what skills do they need to possess and why having business development analyst is a must to reach business success.

Why Do Projects Usually Fail?

Project failure is a common thing in any business sphere, IT not being an exception. According to Forbes, about 25 percent of tech ventures crash on the spot, 20-25 percent turn out unprofitable when it comes to return on investment and almost 50 percent require significant changes by final phase.

Such unfavorable stats are bound to several common delusions emerging while project deployment:

1. Vague Results

Possessing an ambiguous idea of an outcome you want to get stands among top reasons that lead to venture failure. Dealing with technical subject excludes high level of abstraction while goals setting. The more detailed your plan is, the better, as precise results description will help you in understanding how to reach success.

2. Insufficient Accountability

Accountability and proper leadership are among top things not to be abandoned while business product development. Discontinuity of production stages and excessive autonomy without carefully arranged accountability often lead to collapse. Department leads cannot correlate with one another providing disparate data; thus, company lead would not have a whole picture of product success.

3. Poor Organization

Well organized management makes a great deal while concept implementation. Detailed plan, progress landmarks and clear-cut timetable contribute a lot into general success. Having several minor goals with precise deadlines is always better than one major aim to be implemented during long period, as such organization model eliminates possible delays or deviations from initial idea.

4. Communication Problems

Well established communication is a must on all stages. While ‘work-in-progress’ it is necessary to ensure proper connection between ‘tech’ and ‘non-tech’ parties, as appearing misunderstandings may ruin the workflow. Communication is of no less importance while negotiations or feedback collecting to ensure quick and easy cooperation.

5. Solving Wrong Problems

Due to other reasons, very often companies meet troubles they are not able to solve, as they define problem’s essence in the wrong way. Such situations usually lead to delays in finding right issue solution and may cause customer churn. Adequate reaction to emerging challenges ensures future business prosperity as well.

Hiring a qualified business development analyst can prevent emerging delusions listed above as he or she ensures realistic outlook and proper support while concept deployment.

It Is High Time for Business Analytics to Come Into Play

Who Is a Business Analyst?

Business analyst (BA) usually serves as a mediator between two parties while software development and rolling out. These parties may vary depending on process stage, though analyst’s function remains generally the same. As a rule, IT business analysts negotiate with department leads, managers, stakeholders and customers to bring diverse points of view to holistic image.

Project business analysts deal mainly with data analysis directed at working process optimization, requirements clarification, relevant information turnover, reporting and accountability. Due to wide industry knowledge and skills, agile business analysts may occasionally take position of team lead or project manager on minor business ventures.

When Does He or She Become Involved?

Project business analyst is usually engaged on all stages of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC): from planning until rolling out the final product and its maintenance. Depending on workflow stage, BAs are involved into diverse processes directed at general improvement.

1. Planning

Analyst’s adoption at the initial stage of project deploying guarantees profit increase in the long run. Market analysis carried out by an expert outlines nearest software niche perspectives and increases concept’s chances to become a successful product in future.

2. Design & Development

After finding out general strategy and setting primer goals analyst is occupied with adjusting desirable results to actual company opportunities. Whether non-functional or functional business analyst specifies requirements making them tangible for other workflow process participants.

3. Prototyping

Recruiting analysts while prototyping is necessary for saving valuable resources. They ensure proper informational flow between stakeholders and business executors; thus, team members can define possible drawbacks at once, without wasting time or correcting flaws at random.

4. Maintenance

Agile business analyst has an important role in business team even after rolling out the application. Providing relevant analysis data about market state he or she helps to improve the product via updates. Using business analyst’s niche knowledge and skills during maintenance period accelerates software competitive chances and reduces post-release expenses.

What Are Business Analyst’s Core Responsibilities?

As far as strategic business analysts take an active role on all stages of SDLC, the profession requires a wide variety of responsibilities.

1. Marketing Research

Conducting market analysis stands among analyst’s primer responsibilities. It is the initial step of any product creating, as it gives information necessary for software planning and deploying. Understanding market needs helps in defining general vector, prioritizing and setting realistic goals. Being equipped with relevant marketing analysis company is assured to get results that will take off.

Market analysis usually is performed in several stages including stakeholders analysis and competitor analysis. Business development analysts analyze key stakeholders’ requests to form the view onto market demand and match company’s opportunities to it. Investigating existing technologies handling the same challenges helps to improve your concept on its part. Market analysis covers problematic areas foreseeing and relevant solution generating. Thus, knowing possible pitfalls and flaws analysts give productive advice on how to avoid them producing the application perfectly matching the request.

2. Requirements Clarification

Specifying requirements is a key to successful software services implementation. Before starting any application deployment, BAs clarify a set of requirements, so developers can easily understand what they are to do. Professional business analysts can cope with both functional (application features, design, performance) and non-functional (supported device/software versions, maximum load, screen resolutions, etc.) requirements to secure successful communication flow in future.

Requirements specification represents one among most important stages of software rolling out, as analyzing client’s needs, problems and challenges they meet, experts can generate the technology perfectly fitting certain situation. Such approach helps in eliminating overspending and avoiding delays.

Besides, due to varied services experience and software industry connections, analyst may take on the role of advisor. They not only specify stakeholders’ needs concerning future application but bring desirable results to realistic image. Strategic business analysts advise on beneficial solutions, terms and features to improve.

3. Communication

Ensuring proper communication stands among business analyst key responsibilities. Developing an application is a complicated process demanding several parties to be involved. Thus, IT business analysts take care of them understanding each other correctly. Being an intermediary between different company departments, analysts conduct a kind of translation, so ‘non-tech’ managers/leads can understand basic principle of idea implementation without technological peculiarities, while developers get precise specifications spared of excessive management details. Finding a common language through a mediator contributes to fast and exact concept deploying with results meeting expectations.

Apart from supporting mutual intelligibility within the company, business development analysts are engaged in communicative process between executor team and stakeholders. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) constitutes an essential part of business analyst’s responsibilities as well. CRM business analyst ensures information exchange between clients and developers, so they adjust to each other making workflow more productive and precise.

4. Budget Planning & Forecasting

Apart from other responsibilities, analysts are also involved into budget planning. As they possess statistical data, software industry knowledge and experiences, they provide realistic view on financial issues as well. Building an efficient strategy of application creating usually saves time and reduces expenses, as team works harmoniously with no unforeseen troubles.

Besides, profound analysis enables experts deal with forecasts. Basing on statistical data and/or analytical research BAs can predict market situation for month or even years ahead. Forecasting helps while evaluating application projects, attracting investors, calculating prospective profit, etc. Still, wise leads always leave reserved funds for cases of emergency.

To perform all responsibilities professionally analyst should possess certain set of skills, main of them being analytical skills. As industry analysis is analyst’s primer duty, having elaborated analytical skills, varied services experience and deep software niche knowledge is a must to stay in demand.

A set of soft skills and communication skills are of great importance for BAs, as majority of their responsibilities are bound to interpersonal connections and coming to terms with various parties. Business management skills play an important part here as well.

Besides, digital business analysts should possess technical skills and knowledge as their responsibilities include explaining technologies and their peculiarities to ‘non-tech’ specialists.

Benefits Businesses Get After Adopting Industry Analytics

Making full-time or remote business analyst a part of business team promises numerous benefits not only while actual product creating, but also after concept implementation.

1. Efficiency Boost

Conducting wide market analysis strategic business analysts get understanding of product’s competitive chances, so they can either make sure that your hypothetical product is the best option or offer certain changes. Analysts usually use insider industry information improving initial idea so it will fit software market needs. Thus, following business analyst’s advice guarantees time economy and boosted efficiency.

2. Quality at Once

Clear requirements set by analyst help in fulfilling tasks correctly on the first try. With extensive software niche analysis, IT business analysts contribute into smooth workflow resulting in high-quality output designed from scratch, which will satisfy all parties. Besides, ensuring proper company-stakeholder communication eliminate possible misunderstandings leading to delays or additional alterations after finishing the work.

3. Wise Expenses

As adopting analytics improves productivity and eliminates possible delays or/and misunderstandings, it reduces expenses as well. Proper understanding of mutual needs and opportunities will help in avoiding additional costs such as final product rebuilding, redesigning, etc. Although hiring niche analytics expert may seem disadvantageous at first, his/her work will pay off in the long run, saving business project’s budget from unexpected overspending.

Build Your Perfect Business Strategy Today!

Business analyst’s role in SDLC is hard to overestimate, as they not only perform market analysis and deal with statistical data, but directly influence your business’ future success. Analysts have a wide range of responsibilities from proper analysis till bridging different parties involved into workflow. Adopting profound business analysis saves company’s time and money, promising boost in efficiency and output compelling with client’s needs.

Do not wait to catch a lucky break and drop us a line, as we can apply business analytics best practices to your software development to enhance your business.