Business Analysis and Software Development

Why Does Business Analysis Matter in Software Development? 

Why Does Business Analysis Matter in Software Development?  Some argue that the only professionals required to build some are software developers or engineers, since they’re the ones who write the code that allows the ordering client’s wishes to come true. There is a significant gap between both the purchasing client and the software developers, which must be bridged by a third party. This isn’t due to a lack of communication between clients and developers; rather, it’s since they think at totally different levels.

The ordering client considers the big picture of their business and the objectives that software industrialization will help them achieve, whereas the engineer’s job is to consider the finer points of how the software is intended to function and how to achieve the desired features and functions, including everything from where the system is intended to pull data to how to name a specific column in a specific database and more.

In other words, the developer is concerned with how, while the ordering consumer is interested with what for, which implies that if they tried to discuss directly with each other, they would almost certainly come to a stalemate. We have a fantastic function called “business analyst” in the software development field to prevent this issue — and to guarantee that what the developers build fits what the clients demand. So, let’s take a closer look at how this expert performs.

What Is the Role of a Business Analyst as it relates to Software Development?

The business analyst acts as a liaison between the buying client and the development team in a software development project, assisting both parties in better understanding each other. This expert “translates” the client’s business knowledge into specific specifications for the programmers to follow. This role has several important components, and we’ll go through five of them.

Evaluation of Customer Requests

A business analyst typically begins working on a customer’s request during the pre-sale phase, when the customer first contacts a software development firm. A business analyst collaborates with a sales director and technical experts to evaluate the best solution for the customer and the extent of work that could be necessary.

To do so, the business analyst must have a thorough understanding of the specific business problem that the solution is designed to solve for the ordering client. The business analyst creates the “Vision and Scope” document, which explains the business goals and priorities, the core functionality of the solution, and the stakeholders, using this information as a starting point. Before any work begins, this job guarantees that the customer and the supplier are all on the same page.

Business Analysis Requires Elicitation

A critical aspect of a business analyst’s job is gathering solution requirements. The project’s overall success is primarily determined by how effectively needs are comprehended and documented before development begins. Requirements define the functionality that the solution must have in order to meet the specific goals of the customers and end users, as well as the standards and requirements that the system must meet. When a business analyst is gathering requirements, three primary questions should be kept in mind:

• How would the new solution benefit the company?

• What matters most to the end users?

• What distinct qualities of the industrial domain or the company must be considered?

Client-side stakeholders, such as corporate owners and managers, funders, users, and/or field specialists, are frequently in direct touch with the business analyst in order to obtain requirements. Other techniques, such as user polls or questionnaires, may be used by the business analyst to discover essential requirements. The business analyst may also spend time on-site at the ordering customer’s location to research and record the business operations that the solution is supposed to assist or complement.

To arrange the data, the business analyst can use graphical tools like charts, tables, and maps to represent business processes. The Business Process Management Notation (BPMN) and the Unified Modeling Language (UML) are commonly used by business analysts (UML). BPMN allows an analyst to graphically display complicated business operations and all their components as chains of events and circumstances, such as processing orders in retail. As a result of this approach, both parties can find potential opportunities to automate those operations.

Business Analysis and Approval of Requirements

When the requirements list is complete, the business analyst meets with the project leader, development engineers, developers, and quality assurance professionals to discuss them. These experts may bring out differences or holes in the standards based on their own experience.

After they have been addressed, it is critical to ensure that all needs are feasible to implement given the available resources and timetable. The team then collaborates to decide which functionality should be prioritized. The business analyst may organize the requirements into subsystems with the help of the software architect or lead developer. After that, the business analyst submits the requirements for approval to the ordering customer.

Prototyping

The business analyst may create a prototype of the UI to help the customer visualize how the finished version will look and feel. The management consultant doesn’t really design the future product; instead, he or she builds mockups of screens that demonstrate its key features. Analysts can use programs like Sketch, Axure, and Atomic to generate interactive prototypes of apps that have interactive buttons and allow users to navigate from one screen to the next.

Specification of Software Development Requirements

The Software Criteria Specification (SRS) is a document that outlines all the requirements that the business analyst has generated and serves as a foundation for organizing the whole development process. SRS offers descriptions of all capabilities and settings that will be included in the final product. If the product is in a highly regulated business, such as healthcare or insurance, the documentation will also take industry norms and regulations into account.

Even after all these pre-development tasks have been completed, the business analyst remains an important member of the software team, communicating with the ordering client about progress as well as changing requirements or extra feature requests. The business consultant is also available if the developers require any additional clarification of the initial requirements. As new information is gathered, the business analyst adds it to the backlog of development tasks, documenting each item and keeping track of the project’s overall progress.

In other words, while the client is an expert in their field and the software developers are specialists in development, the business analyst is critical in bridging the gap and ensuring that all parties are working toward the same goal.