Why Would the Business Analyst Use Kano Analysis

8/3/2019 Why Would the Business Analyst Use Kano Analysis

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Why would the Business Analyst use Kano Analysis?

Answer:

Kano Analysis refers to the process of analyzing a product or system requirements todetermine what the perceived impact will be on customer satisfaction.

The Kano model categorizes product attributes or system requirements into 3categories to determine the perceived customer satisfaction.

Unexpected Delighters: These are attributes of a product or system that thecustomer doesnt even know they need or want. The absence of these has no impacton customer perception or satisfaction. However, the existence of these results candelight customers and drive premium pricing.

My smart phone example: Tethering (connecting your computer to the internetvia your cell phone service) is an excellent example of an unexpected delighter.

In general, this is not a feature I felt I needed on my cell phone. But after buyingmy new smart phone, seeing how easy it was to set up the mobile hot spotwith a single selection and connecting to the internet, I was certainly delighted.I might not use it often and if it wasnt there I wouldnt mind. But having itavailable makes me happen every time I use it.

Performance Attributes: These are attributes of a product or system that follow afairly direct correlation to customer satisfaction levels, either positive or negative. Ifthese attributes are missing or of poor quality then customers will be dissatisfied.However, the better these attributes are the more the customers satisfaction levelsrise.

My smart phone example: Signal strength is an example of a performanceattribute. The poorer the strength of the signal and the more dropped calls orpathetic internet connections I have the more dissatisfied as a customer I willbe. On the flip side, the better my signal the more pleased I will be.

Must Have Attributes: These are attributes of a product or system that if missingwould be considered unacceptable and result in dissatisfaction. However, theexistence of the attribute or improvement on it wouldnt increase customer satisfactionin any meaningful way.

My smart phone example: Voicemail is an example of a must have attribute.Imagine buying a phone without voicemail nowadays. As a customer you wouldbe completely dissatisfied. However, having voicemail certainly doesnt win anyawards. And trying to improve on it probably wont result in a great deal ofincreased satisfaction unless it was a monumental shift in how voicemail is usedtoday.
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What is the BCG Matrix and how might you use it?

The BCG Matrix was developed by the Boston Consulting Group in 1986 in order to

evaluate and analyze the business units and product offerings of corporations.Companies can use this simple 2 x 2 matrix as an analytical tool in portfolio analysis,strategic management, product management, and brand marketing.

The BCG Matrix plots business units or product offerings along two axis; the first ismarket growth, the second is market share.

Market growth describes the maturity of a market. New markets continue to growth andexpand over time, presenting additional opportunities for revenue that can be shared

among market participants. Eventually, all markets mature and as they new revenuessources diminish.

Market share describes the percentage of the overall market that a companys businessunit or product offerings enjoy.

A business unit or product line is categorized based on the quadrant of the matrix inwhich it resides. These categories are Cash Cows, Stars, Question Marks, and Dogs.
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Cash Cows represent business units or product lines (businesses more generically)that enjoy a large market share within a market which is experiencing low marketgrowth. This means that the market has already matured, and that the business is wellestablished and positioned within the market. Cash Cows typically generate cash inexcess of the amount needed to maintain the business. These steady businesses are

like having your own money mint. Its ever companys goal to have as many of these aspossible. Little capital investment is turned into the businesses since it would be wastedon such a mature market (nothing more could be gained).

Stars (or Rising Stars) are businesses that enjoy a large market share in a fast growingmarket. Like Cash Cows they boast a prominent market position for the time, but theyrequired investment of resources to maintain or increase their market share is themarket continues to grow. They goal of any business is to manage and nurture theirStars through the market growth maintaining their market position. As the marketmatures, those businesses that maintain their market position with turn from Stars intoCash Cows requiring little to no capital investment while continuing to throw off large

sums of money.

Question Marks are businesses that have a low market share in a fast growingmarket. If Stars have a goal of becoming Cash Cows, Question Marks have a goal offirst becoming starts. Since the market growth is strong, there is potential for QuestionMarks. But their current market share is low. They often require large amounts ofcapital to gain in market share, yet there are no guarantees that they will succeed.Questions Marks ultimately have a fate of becoming Stars if they successfully gainmarket share, or they will never gain market share and become Dogs. All the while,they are taking large amounts of capital to sustain. Question marks must be analyzedcarefully in order to determine whether they are worth the investment required to grow

market share.

Dogs are businesses that have a low market share in a slow growing, mature market.Sometimes they are pet projects with small amounts of capital allocated to supportthem. In the best circumstances they barely make enough to sustain themselves.Clearly Dogs are the bleakest of situations. Of course, there may be times when a Dogmakes sense to keep around. Maybe the breakeven business creates synergies withother lines of business thus providing an intangible benefit. Other times, there may beother social benefits to such business due to the people they employ and theopportunities they create within the environment in which they operate. The moremature the market the more difficult it would be for a Dog to ever become anything otherthan a Dog as growth is always more difficult in mature markets.

What is PEST Analysis?

PEST is an acronym that stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological. PEST analysis is

one way that a business can analyze the environment in which it operates.
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Political Environment: refers to government laws, regulations, and policies. These are things

that impact the business either directly or indirectly. This may include trade laws, tariffs, laborlaws, taxes, environmental regulations, zoning restrictions, etc. Some of these, if passed

recently, may have a long term affect on the economy as well. While PEST covers the economic

environment, some political environment considerations, such as leadership changes that come

from elections, may not have impacted the economy yet (this is an example of an indirectimpact). So the analyst should watch for how new government regulations may impact the

economy longer term and assess its impact on the business.

Economic Environment: refers to the forces at play within the economy that the business has

little control over. These may include interest rates, inflation rate, exchange rates, increase inGross Domestic Product (GDP), the financial and stock markets, the job market, etc. All of these

have impacts on the business from the ability to generate revenue to the cost of borrowing money

to the salaries they will need to pay employees.

Social Environment: refers to the demographics of the environment that the company operates

within. Since demographics are nothing more than characteristics of a human population thiscould include a nearly infinite number of groups. Some common demographics that areconsidered are gender, race, age, income, disabilities, educational attainment, employment status,

and religion. Ultimately, if the strategic plans of a business affect a particular group, they may

react positively or negatively. A business may face criticism, negative publicity or even protestsbased on the decisions it makes. These factors could have an enormous impact on the operations

and revenue of the business.

Technological Environment: refers to the technology that currently exists that the business has

accessible to them. This could include servers, computers, networks, software and software

frameworks, database technologies, wireless capabilities, availability of Software as a Service

(Saas), and more. The rate of technological progress should also be considered, particularly ifthe business has plans to develop a system or product that takes advantage of cutting edge

technology.

How familiar should a business analyst be with BA skills and techniques that arent used in their current

position?

This may seem like an obvious question, as if the interviewer is asking you to say very familiar, and Imake sure I know everything there is to know about ALL things business analysis related. However, howyou answer this question can ultimately reveal a lot about your desired growth as a business analyst, howwell you manage your spare time, and how honest you are throughout your interview.

First, an interviewer wants to assess your eagerness to grow as a business analyst. Are you the type ofanalyst that is always looking to improve and learn a new technique or skill? Do you feel its important togain and understanding of business analysis techniques that you wont even use for the foreseeablefuture? The answer to this question should be yes, and heres why.

Two of the most sought after skills of a business analyst are communication skills and problem solvingskills. Having at least a basic understanding of business analysis skills and techniques (even those youmay not use very often in your current position) can help you do both. Ultimately, it will make you better-rounded and give you a richer set of knowledge to draw from. No one diagram or technique is best for all


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situations. And there will inevitably be times when you are looking for a way to emphasize andcommunicate something a little bit clearer or to structure a unique and difficult problem in a different wayto arrive at an ideal solution. Its exactly times like this, when you feel your current set of skills andtechniques are falling short, that you need to have and adequate breath of knowledge about othertechniques to draw on.

Second, you dont necessarily need to have an expert level of knowledge about other business analysistechniques that you use infrequently. In fact, for most people, trying to know everything very well wouldreflect a poor use of your most limited resource time! Business analysts should think and act morestrategically. Become an expert at those skills and techniques that you use often. Build a fairly strongunderstanding of techniques that you may use less often but that are particularly powerful in nature. Andthen gain just a basic understanding of the pros and cons of tools and techniques that may be useful atsome point in the future, but wait until the need arises to focus on them in great depth. Instead, use thatextra time and energy to focus on becoming an expert in those skills and techniques that you use everyday.

Finally, if you claim to be in expert in all areas, the interviewer is going to do their very best to punchholes in such an outrageous claim. And if you cant back the claim up, they will start to question howmuch else you have been exaggerating throughout the interview.

What is Gap Analysis?

Gap Analysis is the process of comparing two things in order to determine the difference or gap thatexists between them. Once the gap is understood, the steps required to bridge the gap can bedetermined.

Most often gap analysis is used to compare two different states of something; the current state andthe future state.

Gap analysis can be conducted on:

a system features that exist in the system now versus the features that need to exist in thefuture

a system interface data that a system provides to an interface now versus data that willneed to be provided in the future

a business process activities and steps of a current business process versus the activitiesand steps that will be supported by the business process in the future

business goals and metrics how well a business meets certain goals and metrics nowversus the targeted goals and metrics at some point in the future.

How would you assess your value as a business analyst?

This question is not intended to determine how much you are looking to make. If an interviewer asks youa question like this, they are likely looking for answers to a number of other unspoken questions such as:

Do you understand the real value a business analyst brings to an organization?

Do you ever think about the cost associated with employing you as a business analyst?


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Do you have the skillset required to be a marketable business analyst?

Are your expectations of the value of a business analyst realistic?

Companies dont hire business analysts for fun; they hire them to save money. Its that simple. So howdoes a business analyst save an organization money? You might mention a few examples such as:

Make a process more efficient saving the company time and resources (which translates asmoney)

Drive out the real requirements of a system, instead of a half-baked solution, ultimately reducingthe amount of rework and re-development required to develop a system that delivers the intendedvalue (rework means lost money)

Identify opportunities for increased customer satisfaction leading to greater customer retentionand greater new customer conversions (more money)

If you have quantifiable examples of work that you have produced in the past and know precisely howmuch your work saved a company (not the work of the entire team, but YOUR actual contributions) thisinformation can be very powerful. This is your true value as an analyst within a similar organization androle. But few people have the information required to make this kind of assessment. In addition, the

value you bring to an organization is very different from your potential value. If an organization has youwriting specs for a system, your opportunity to bring value may be much lower than if you are re-engineering a multi-million dollar business process to eliminate hundreds of thousands or even millions ofdollars of waste.

This line of reasoning leads us to the question Do you have the skillset required to be a marketablebusiness analyst? You may have expert knowledge of traditional SDLCs and be able to create complexanalysis diagrams, but if the organizations that are hiring all require you to work in an Agile environmentthen what value can you bring them? Even though your potential value for some organizations may bequite high, your value to others that use a different range of skills may be quite low. This example showshow your value is dependent upon the industry environment and the tools, competencies, andmethodologies that are popular at that time. It also shows the need to keep your skillset current and thenstress those skills that are most relevant to the interviewing organization.

If you can talk through these concepts with an interviewer, then you will have demonstrated that you donttake you value as a business analyst for granted and that you are the type of person that will maximizeyour value within the organization that hires you.

How do you handle stress and pressure

A nice, brief response to this question may sound like this: I handle stress well. Im the type of personthat mitigates stress rather than folding under it. I thrive on challenge and Im used to working in a goaloriented environment with demanding deadlines.

But if you just leave it at that, your answer will sound canned and wont be very believable. Expand on

how you feel about stress and specific action you take to deal with it.

Stress and pressure in small quantities can be a motivator and allow us to operate at peak performance.However, in too large of quantities it causes anxiety, frustration, fatigue, and a host of other bad thingsthat ultimately are counterproductive to achieving our goals and objectives. So its important to managestress and to find the right balance that works for you.


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When you do feel stress coming on and rising to levels which are counterproductive, you must firstidentify that the stress is there. This can be harder to do than it sounds, since when we are in a stressedstate are brains arent usually in control of the situation. So how can you train yourself to do this?

Stress and pressure typically arise from a number of common root causes. Understanding these causesahead of time can help us be able to quickly identify the stress and take appropriate action to manage the

stress and bring it back down to reasonable levels. Here are some of the more common causes of stressand how you might deal with them.

1. Too much work/overburdened.

Feeling overburdened creates stress, but for most people this can be overcome by doing twospecific things.

First, create a prioritized to-do list where you track every task along with progress notes detailingwhat has been completed for each task and what remains. The key is to track the information sothat you dont have to remember and so that you dont worry over forgetting something important.If the list is too long, dont stress, thats what the second step is for.

Second, if time required to complete the tasks is too great, talk to your manager immediately.Review the tasks with him or her and talk about realistic expectations.

2. Lacking direction.

If you feel as if you dont understand the direction you need to take on a task, raise it to yo urmanager. Ask him or her to explain their vision for the outcome of the task. It could be that yourmanager doesnt have a clear vision of what the results should look like, but they probably knowwhat requirements or problem the outcome should solve. Explain to your manager that you wouldlike to make an attempt at a solid start and then schedule periodic reviews together to review theprogress that youve made. This gives them the opportunity to provide guidance and redirect yourefforts if they feel you are going in the wrong direction. Remember that your manager probablywouldnt have given you a task with such an undefined vision if he or she didnt have a great dealof confidence in your abilities.

3. Lacking knowledge or experience.

Lacking the experience needed to perform a task certainly isnt a confidence builder, but itsimportant to remember that lack of knowledge or experience isnt a weakness. Everybody isalways learning, and no one person has all of the answers. If its information you lack, the key toreducing stress in this situation is taking a structured and well thought out approach to acquiringthe information you need. If its experience with a specific skill set then its not out of line todiscuss training options with your manager.

Ultimately, remembering that nobody is expected to know or have experience with everything is

key to keeping stress levels in line.

You cant completely avoid stressful situations, but one overarching approach that has always worked forme is approaching every challenging situation more like a strategic, thoughtful game of chess. Identifythe challenges in front of you, evaluate multiple options for proceeding in the most efficient mannerpossible, and then act.

How would you assess your value as a business analyst?


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This question is not intended to determine how much you are looking to make. If an interviewer asks youa question like this, they are likely looking for answers to a number of other unspoken questions such as:

Do you understand the real value a business analyst brings to an organization?

Do you ever think about the cost associated with employing you as a business analyst?

Do you have the skillset required to be a marketable business analyst?

Are your expectations of the value of a business analyst realistic?

Companies dont hire business analysts for fun; they hire them to save money. Its that simple. So howdoes a business analyst save an organization money? You might mention a few examples such as:

Make a process more efficient saving the company time and resources (which translates asmoney)

Drive out the real requirements of a system, instead of a half-baked solution, ultimately reducingthe amount of rework and re-development required to develop a system that delivers the intended

value (rework means lost money) Identify opportunities for increased customer satisfaction leading to greater customer retention

and greater new customer conversions (more money)

If you have quantifiable examples of work that you have produced in the past and know precisely howmuch your work saved a company (not the work of the entire team, but YOUR actual contributions) thisinformation can be very powerful. This is your true value as an analyst within a similar organization androle. But few people have the information required to make this kind of assessment. In addition, thevalue you bring to an organization is very different from your potential value. If an organization has youwriting specs for a system, your opportunity to bring value may be much lower than if you are re-engineering a multi-million dollar business process to eliminate hundreds of thousands or even millions ofdollars of waste.

This line of reasoning leads us to the question Do you have the skillset required to be a market ablebusiness analyst? You may have expert knowledge of traditional SDLCs and be able to create complexanalysis diagrams, but if the organizations that are hiring all require you to work in an Agile environmentthen what value can you bring them? Even though your potential value for some organizations may bequite high, your value to others that use a different range of skills may be quite low. This example showshow your value is dependent upon the industry environment and the tools, competencies, andmethodologies that are popular at that time. It also shows the need to keep your skillset current and thenstress those skills that are most relevant to the interviewing organization.

If you can talk through these concepts with an interviewer, then you w ill have demonstrated that you donttake you value as a business analyst for granted and that you are the type of person that will maximizeyour value within the organization that hires you.

What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology. It is structured into 5 phases which can beiterated to continually improve key processes and deliver greater efficiencies and success within anorganization. These 5 phases are Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control expressed as theacronym DMAIC (pronounced dee-may-ic). Six Sigma, being a process improvement methodology,views the entire world in terms of processesprocesses that achieve goals, processes that act on


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data, etc.

Define The define phase is used to define the problem that has been identified. The term voice ofthe customer is often used within Six Sigma. The voice of the customer is used to understand wherethe problem resides. This could be an external client or an internal client such as business workers

that are involved in a specific business process that is not performing as well as it could. Whiledefining the problem, clear goals of the project are outlined. The goals should define what will makethe process better or what is critical to quality.

Measure The measure phase takes the defined problem and measures key aspects of the currentstate process. Collecting of this data is necessary to ensure that the results of the control phase canbe compared against those of the measure phase and objectively show that the process has beenimproved to the degree expected. You may have heard the phrase you cant improve what you cantmeasure.

Analyze In the analyze phase the data captured in the measure phase is analyzed to understandcause-and-effect relationships and perform root cause analysis. The equation y = f(x) is very popularin Six Sigma. It emphasizes that some problem domain y is a function of x where x are the

inputs or factors that drive the outcome y. Analyzing the data from the measure stage is intended touncover all of the inputs that have a significant impact on the outcome of the process.

Improve The improve phase is where the current process is redesigned based upon the analysisthat was completed in the analyze phase. By ensuring that the inputs to a process are available atthe right time and in the right condition, the outcome of the process should improve. And really theprocess can be just about anything. Consider requirements as an input to the development of an ITsystem. If its found that the quality of the input (requirements) is subpar, the team can focus on abetter process for gather requirements which will result in an improved project outcome. Once thenew process is designed it should be tested or prototyped before implementing. The results of thetested process can be measured to ensure that the desired improvements are being realized.

Control The control phase is an important step in the DMAIC process. It emphasizes the need to

continually monitor the improved process to ensure that any deviations from the targeted outcomecan be corrected. Without the control phase the benefits of many process improvement initiativeswould begin to decrease over time. The control phase can also be used to uncover new areas forimprovement and the DMAIC process begins all over again.

Additional Answers/Comments

By ng14 @ Thursday, October 14, 2010 1:25 PM

Are the concepts of Six sigma and best practices in the industry the same?

By cadams5 @ Thursday, October 14, 2010 2:01 PM

The basic phases and principles, and best practices of Six Sigma are pretty much the same

throughout the industry. However, there is no single group that state this is exactly how you

should carry out the Six Sigma process, or that you must use a particular set of rules or

diagrams. Therefore, it does vary a bit from company to company.

In general, you can probably assume that someone who was Six Sigma certified at one

company versus someone certified at another would have agreement and understanding that


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is about 80% consistent. Maybe 20% of the details of the process used would vary a bit.

What do you think are your strengths as a Business Analyst?

I think that I have following strengths in my past profile as a business analyst:

The right mix of functional and technical knowledge

Ability to communicate effectively between the development (whether internal or

third party vendors) team and the end users.

Strong levels of persistency and quick learning capability

Adaptability to the work environment as desired.

2. What do you think are your weaknesses as a Business Analyst?

I believe in turning my weaknesses into strengths, so I strive towards having a calm and

cool attitude. Also, I would like to at par with the latest technology in the market but its

not always possible.

3. What can you do for us that other prospective candidates cannot?

I am confident on being the best fit for this role as my principles are I believe to be in line

with the company vision and mission. I will bring to the organization my technical know-

how as well as my functional expertise, striving to achieve success for the company

What are your goals?

I want to go for the professional Business Analysis certifications such as ISEB and in the

near future will be striving for the PRINCE 2 certification also, which will enable me to

grow in the Business Analyst career path

2. Why do you want to work here?


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This is quite a well known company and its principles are in line with my principles. I

believe that the organization will give me the best available platform available with the

right amount of support and motivation

3. What is the motivating factor which you expect from your job?

Believing that the work done by me is contributing in the organizational growth and

success is my utmost motivation. Its a feeling of knowing that the work done by me has

contributed towards the companys good results, and being a part of that achievement,

howsoever small my part might have been gives me great pleasure. I know for sure that if

the company is performing well, then it will definitely down the line look after it main

resourcesits employees and I would be a proud party to that!

4. What Part of Your Job Do you like The Most?

The ability to analyze and research the various aspects and arriving at the solution or way

forward so as to benefit the organization or at least at the project level gives me great

satisfaction.

5. What Part Of Your Job Do You Dislike The Most?

There is currently no part of my job that I dislike, and I am glad that I have chosen this

career path.

What Made You Apply For This Job And Why Do You Want It?

I have the right mix of educational background; technical and functional skills. The job

role is as per my expectations and can be described as a best fit. I can add value to this

role and contribute towards the success of the organization.

Business Analyst Related Questions

1. Are you aware of the various software methodologies? Name a few


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There are various SDLC methodologies which are available and used by the majority of

the organizations for their software development projects. Some of these software

development methodologies are:

a) Waterfall methodthis is one of the most widely used systems development process

b) Agile methodologies like RUP (Rational Unified process), RAD (Rapid Application

development), JAD (Joint Application development) .

c) Prototyping Modelinvolves the presentation of a simplified prototype of the system

based on the requirements

d) Spiral modelhybrid of the waterfall and the prototyping method

2. What are the various testing stages in a software project life cycle?

The major testing stages in a software development life cycle are:

a) Unit Testingthis is usually done by the developers who have coded the unit

b) Integration testingthis is done by the QA team (quality assurance) and /or the

business analysts to test that the integration of the units is working fine

c) System testingis done by the QA team or the Business Analysts to see whether

the system is working as a whole or not

d) Regression testingis done to test whether the current parts and the new

development are synchronized and there is no impact on any other system. This

testing is done by the analysts.

e) User acceptance testingis covered by the end users in order to test that the

requirements given for the system are in line with the developed application

f) Stress and/or Load Testingis done by the technical team to test whether the

system can sustain heavy load and usage etc.


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3. What are some of the challenges you have faced as a Business Analyst

As a business Analyst, one has to be an interface between the users and the technical team and

provide regular support. Some of the major challenges which a business analyst has to face in his

profile are:

There should be clarity regarding the requirements as they lay the foundation

of the project. In case of any gaps, there can be huge repercussions.

There are several software methodologies, technologies, documentation

standards in the market and they keep on evolving. The business analyst has to be

on top of such methodologies and trends to be successful in the profile.

The business analyst Is regarded as the knowledge house regarding domain

knowledge and has to keep on updating himself with the industry and company

know-how to keep himself at par.

What are the documentations which you have completed in your experience? Explain in

detail.

A business analyst is expected to document the following:

Feasibility Study

Scope of the project

Business Requirement Documentation

Functional specifications

o Main content

o UML Diagrams

o Prototypes(in HTML/Excel etc)


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Non Functional specifications

Test plan, scenarios and cases

2. What is UML? What are the tools which are generally used by business analystsfor UML diagrams?

UML is Unified Modeling Language and is a worldwide standard for diagram-based

object-oriented modeling. Class diagrams, Use case diagrams and Activity diagrams are

usually used by business analysts during their functional documentation and requirements

analysis process.

Usually, business analysts use any of the following tools for UML diagrams:

MSVisio

Rational Rose

Sparx SystemsEnterprise Architect

3. What are non functional requirements?

Non Functional requirements include the following:

Performance Characteristics of the systemspeed, response time, capacity

constraints

Error and exception handlingsystems logs, error logging

External Interfaces & Integrationdata integration, data feed schedules.

Security of the systemuser profiles, administrator, privileges

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Plansystem back ups

User and Training requirementsfor users and technical team


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Questions which can be asked to the interviewer by the candidate!

1. What are the measures used to judge how successful I am in the role?2. What can I expect from you in terms of development and support?

3. Where will the job fit into the team structure?

4. What is the main thing the organization expects from its employees?

5. Are there any plans for expansion?

6. What is mean by logical data model?7. Data model tells clear details about the data and how the data is stored physically in a

database.

8. What do u mean by high level & low level use case?

9. A broad view of a business process is called a high level use case. And if we divide thebig view into different small sub use cases, then it is called low level use case.

10.What do you know about SDD ?11.It is also called system design document. My role as a BA is just a mediator or a middle

layer between business users and developers and we make developers to understand the

business requirements.

12.What do understand by URS & FS ?13.User requirement specifications and Functional specifications. To keep track of these

requirements, we generally use Traceability matrix.

14.By using Test director we can do traceability of requirements n testing phase.15.How do you prepare use cases?

16.BY using MS Visio and Rational rose.17.How do you participate in testing as a BA?18.I participate mainly in reviewing the test cases to see if all the requirements have been

met.

19.What is the main quality of a good requirement?20.The requirement should be good, clear, understandable, and consistent and should be

easily verifiable.

21.What do u understand by UML ?22.UML is basically Unified Modeling Language. This is the standard language used in the

system to understand, document, construct different components in the system.

23.What are different diagrams to be known by a BA?

24.Entity relationship diagram, data flow diagram, use case diagram, class diagram, activitydiagram, state chart diagram, sequence diagram, collaboration diagram, componentdiagrams, deployment diagrams etc..

25.Use case diagram: basically explains the business environment. Series of all relatedactions performed by actor.

26.Activity diagram:Used in the early stage of analysis and designing level. It describeseach individual component.


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27.Sequence diagram:It tells the objects interactions with each others arranged in timesequence. Very useful for developers and testers to understand the system better.

28.Where did u use rational rose & requisite pro ?29.When we created different modules of requirements for different functions, and finally

collected all together and made a single requirement document, we used requisite pro to

do this.30.And we used rational rose to create the business model as a visual representation.

31. Created High level & low level use cases.

32. Activity diagrams

33. State diagrams34. Collaboration diagrams

35. Sequence diagrams

General Business Analyst Q & A....

What do you consider is your greatest strength as a Business Analyst?

I think the biggest strength is the domain and the technical experience that I have had over the

years as a business analyst. I have the right communication and leadership skills required to

excel in this role.

What do you consider is your biggest weakness as a Business Analyst?

I would like to think that my weaknesses are like my stepping stones towards success. At

present I would like to fine tune my technical abilities to the constantly changing

technologies available in the market.

What are the methods you use for gathering requirements ?

As a business analyst, we not only have to gather the requirements but also provide

solutions often with the help of the technical team


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Requirement gathering with Zachman framework - Use the famous 5W + 1H formula

(WhoWhatWhenWhereWhy + How). Keep asking about the problem with this

formula to find the principle requirements

Implicit requirements we should not forget about these as they can make or break the

whole project

Prototyping and process flows these tools help in illustrating the requirements to the

end users and confirm whether the Business analyst has done the requirement analysis

correctly

What is the difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control and how are they

related to the Business Analyst profile ?

Quality Assurance focuses on the process: is the method chosen able to produce the product or is

the deliverable free from errors and/or defects. Quality Control speaks about the products or

deliverables themselves: the final examination of the product or deliverable to ensure they stand

to the specifications and theyre free from error of defect.

A business analyst has to take care of Quality Assurance as well as control is in place in the final

product which is delivered.

What are the challenges which you would face as a business analyst?

A balance between technology constraints and business needs should be maintained at all times.

Technology is used to help fulfilling business need, so its usually close to the need. You also

have to keep an open mind as to how a process works effectively and accurately produce the

required product. Then, you must make sure that the written specifications are written properly to

avoid misinterpretations.

How did you handle a requirement/enhancement that was not feasible?

I know that even if I think a requirement was not feasible, I have a responsibility to

explain why it was not feasible to the business representatives. So first Id clarify the


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requirement, what was the true requirement there. Then, Id explain the technical

limitations in non-technical language to them as to why the requirements couldnt be

accommodated at the same time. Most of the times, the reason was not feasible because

its not affordable. After I present the business representatives with the estimated cost,

they would decide whether or not the requirement was really needed. Whichever the

outcome was, the business representatives would feel that theyre in command and

theyre involved in the decision making process.

The Role of a Business Analyst

A "Business Analyst" (BA) is a role that can mean different things to different people. Insome companies, the BA plays a technical role with very little business knowledge;while in other companies, the BA has a full understanding of the business with very littleknowledge of the IT systems and architecture.

In today's times - the BA has come to become a person of great value to anorganization, and who is a generalist capable of functioning competently in diverseroles. Typically, these people have a broad educational background and a diverse skillset with a wide range of work experience in different jobs and industries. In essence,

they are able to visualize the "big picture" - that is - understand the business fromdifferent perspectives, as well as the technology side of what can be effectively used toimprove the business.

The Business Analyst Skills in a broad perspective comprises of the person being aBusiness Planner, Systems Analyst, Project Manager, Subject Area Expert,Organization Analyst, Financial Analyst, Technology Architect, Data Analyst, ApplicationAnalyst, Application Designer, and Process Analyst.

As we drill down deeper into the specific roles of a BA and understand the essentialskills required for each of the roles, it would give a clear picture.

The major roles of a BA, as defined by certification experts are:-


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1. Define and Scope Business Areas

The BA must be sure that the project scope is clear and complete before the start ofdetailed requirements gathering. The BA may be given the scope pre-defined by theproject sponsor or may be responsible for defining and documenting the scope as part

of the requirements gathering task.

Defining and documenting the project scope requires the BA to understand why theproject has been initiated, and the objectives of the project. An important contribution ofthe BA to the project is the analyzing of the business problem without "jumping" to asolution.


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In addition, a complete project scope will name and define all the stakeholders that willbe involved with the project, including people, systems, internal departments, andexternal organizations.

Other important components of the project scope documentation include the projectviewpoint, project assumptions, and business risks. These components give the BA theinformation necessary to prioritize and focus the requirements gathering.

Finally the project scope should include a high-level description of the businessprocesses. It may also include a list of items that specifically will not be included in the

scope. This gives the entire project team a complete understanding of the work that theBA will be doing during the detailed requirements gathering phase.

One additional task required of the BA, is the creation of an organized system formaintaining project information. A glossary should be started along with a filing systemfor maintaining all of the information that will be gathered during the project.

Essential Skills Required:

1. Facilitation skills to bring multiple groups together to scope project and getconsensus

2. Ability to document the project scope using business terminology3. Project scope documentation techniques

2. Elicit Requirements

The most important task of a BA is to gather the detailed requirements that clearly andcompletely define the project. We use the word gather because the BA must be sure toask the right questions of the right people to gather accurate requirements. Further, weuse the word elicit, since the BA must be able to get people to say all that they have toand not leave anything as assumptions.


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It is critical that the BA initially gathers Business Requirements and completelyunderstand the business needs before defining a software solution.

The BA must assess the type of project, the people involved, and the volume ofinformation required; and then determine how and where to find the requirements. BAshave a variety of techniques available to them including interviews, facilitatedinformation gathering sessions, surveys, questionnaires, observation, and existingdocumentation from which to choose. In addition, the BA will often have many peoplewith whom to talk and several existing automated systems about which to learn.

Gathering complete, detailed requirements is an iterative process that involves the BAasking questions, pondering answers, asking follow-up questions, and bringing

divergent opinions to consensus. It also involves prioritizing the requirements to assurethat the most critical issues are addressed by the project solution.


1. Asking the right questions2. Active listening3. Interviewing techniques4. Facilitation techniques

5. Documentation6. Ability to categorize requirements

3. Analyze and Document Requirements

Requirements are analyzed and documented using an iterative approach. As each ofthe requirements is documented, additional questions will arise requiring the analyst toprobe deeper. There are many different approaches to documenting requirements. TheBA is responsible for following their organization's standard documentation format or for

creating their own. When developing a documentation format, the BA must consider thebest format for communicating with the information technology team and the best formatfor communicating with the business area experts. Both groups must be able to readand review the document and clearly understand the requirements. Some requirementsare more appropriately documented in textual descriptions, others in diagrams orgraphical displays. The BA must also determine the appropriate level of detail for thedocumentation.


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Ideally, the entire organization uses a consistent documentation format and approach.This makes the review process easier for people working on multiple projects. It alsoallows the organization to constantly improve the format as quality enhancements are

discovered. The BA is often the person leading the development and maintaining thestandard documentation format.

Typically there are many requirements. To organize them and make them easy toreview, they are divided into categories or groupings. It may be good to categorizerequirements into Business, Functional, and Technical.


1. Analysis Skills2. Understand the system development methodology3. Utilize modelling techniques4. Categorization skills5. Prototype user interfaces6. Develop a textual template for requirements

4. Communicate Requirements

The BA should be the best communicator on the project team. The role is to act as aliaison between the business area experts and the technical team. This role requires theBA to "speak" both languages. The BA must also work very closely with the ProjectManager to ensure that the project plan is adhered to and scope creeps / changes areapproved and documented.

As the requirements documentation is being created, the BA will conduct informal and

formal requirements reviews. These review sessions increase the quality of thedocument by finding missing or unclear requirements. It is important that the informationis presented to the business and technical audiences in a manner that is mostappropriate for their understanding. Summaries of the requirements or various graphicalrepresentations may be appropriate as part of the reviews. Understanding youraudience is critical to the successful communication of the requirements.


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1. Run effective meetings2. Active listening skills3. Precision questioning techniques

4. Conduct formal and informal presentations5. Write clear emails, memos, and status reports6. Conduct a comprehensive requirements review7. Change management8. Write review summaries

5. Identify Solution

The BA should work closely with the Business Area Experts to make a recommendationfor a solution and work with the technical team to design it. This recommendation mayinclude software changes to existing systems, new software, procedural or workflow

changes, or some combination of the above. If software automation is part of thesolution, the BA should assist with the screen design, report design, and all userinterface issues by providing detailed functional requirements.

If a software package is going to be purchased, the BA works with the Business AreaExperts, IT personnel, and the potential vendors to discuss the requirements and verifythat the package selected will meet the needs. The BA may also be responsible forwriting the Request for Proposal (RFP). Detailed business and functional requirementsshould be completed to accurately reflect the needs for the software and a thorough

review should be conducted.


1. High level understanding of the software design2. Ability to evaluate vendor software packages3. Ability to estimate solution costs and benefits and build a business case for

implementation

6.Verify Solution meets the Requirements

The BA should remain involved in the project even after the technical team takes over.The BA reviews the technical designs proposed by the design team for usability issuesand to assure that the requirements are being satisfied. Once the solution is developedinto software, the BA is uniquely qualified to assess the software and determine howwell it meets the original project objectives.


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The BA should work closely with the Quality Assurance team and to assist with theentire testing process. Testing is based on requirements, so the BA's intimateknowledge of the requirements allows accurate design of test cases. If there is no

Quality Assurance team available, the BA can still assist with User Acceptance testing,the time when the Business Area Experts are asked to approve the software forimplementation. As the software is tested, the BA ensures that it is clearly documentedand reports defects and variances from requirements.


1. Basic understanding of system design concepts2. Knowledge of software usability principles

3. Understanding of testing principles4. Ability to write and review test cases

Documents

Why Would the Business Analyst Use Kano Analysis