The Agile Business Analyst
Agile business analysis is a rapidly growing role in today’s technology and product development industry. This position has become increasingly valuable as organizations look to develop innovative projects in a rapidly changing business environment. A well-functioning Agile Business Analyst must possess an array of commensurate skills and capabilities, including but not limited to technical, business, and product management capabilities. While the job description for an Agile Business Analyst can encompass a wide range of duties and responsibilities, the goal is to assist and provide understanding during each step of product design and implementation.
What Is Agile Business Analysis?
Agile business analysis is a methodology designed to promote the successful implementation of a product’s intended purpose and objectives. Unlike traditional analysis processes, the Agile approach focuses on continual improvement and responding to change. An Agile Business Analyst is a key member of the development process, and is integral in bridging the gap between stakeholders, developers, and product owners.
The primary role of an Agile Business Analyst is to analyze and document a product’s business requirements and translate those into achievable development tasks. An Agile Business Analyst serves as the business SME, gathering requirements, overseeing product design and implementation, providing support to other teams, and performing quality assurance testing.
Agile Business Analyst: Role and Skills Required
The role of an Agile Business Analyst varies depending upon the product and business objectives. Generally, the responsibilities of an Agile Business Analyst include:
• Collecting requirements from stakeholders and customers
• Maintaining accurate up-to-date product and IT documentation
• Recommending process improvements
• Defining, familiarizing, and updating stories and user scenarios
• Prioritizing stories and tasks
• Documenting acceptance criteria, constraints, and cross-team dependencies
• Verifying with stakeholders that product design and implementation meet their requirements and expectations
• Identifying and implementing quality assurance tests
• Leading meetings, consulting with teams, and assisting with any questions or issues that arise during the development process
To successfully fulfill the responsibilities of an Agile Business Analyst, one must possess a number of specific skills and capabilities. Some of the primary skillsets that an Agile Business Analyst must possess include:
• Technical & Business Analysis: An Agile Business Analyst must have a clear understanding of software development models, agile methodologies, technical jargons and methodologies, and applicable business processes, concepts, products and solutions. Those with a technical background who work closely with developers and engineers to ensure clear understanding of each project, will be able to more easily complete the technical aspects of this role.
• Product Management: The Agile Business Analyst must be able to determine vital customer needs, support product strategy and mind-set, and select the appropriate solutions to implement the proposed strategy. An Agile Business Analyst typically has a clear understanding of Agile methodology, engineering processes and practices, customer experience, systems and architecture.
• Project Management: The Agile Business Analyst serves as the liaison between business and IT teams. Having the capability to establish and manage relationships among client stakeholders and engineering teams is highly important. Additionally, having a strong understanding of project timelines, costs, and resources – as well as the ability to anticipate, identify, and resolve issues – is essential for an efficient working relationship.
• Communication: Clear, concise, and effective communication skills are of utmost importance for this position. An Agile Business Analyst must possess the capability to quickly explain complex technical items to business stakeholders. Additionally, being able to clearly articulate business requirement and priorities, as well as customer feedback is essential.
• Problem-Solving & Conflict Resolution: A successful Agile Business Analyst must have the capability to identify common sources of conflict and take steps to remedy them. Strong problem-solving and analytical skills are critical, as the analyst may be asked to analyze customer feedback and make recommendations to improve product efficacy and customer satisfaction.
Agile Business Analysts play an integral role within the development process. As the liaison between business stakeholders, users, and developers, the successful delivery of products and solutions depends on their ability to bridge the gap among all parties. To fulfill the job requirement, an Agile Business Analyst must possess a combination of technical and business analysis skills, as well as product management, project management and communication proficiency. An Agile Business Analyst also needs to be well-versed in problem solving and conflict resolution to ensure each product is successful in meeting its objectives and customer expectations.
Overall, the role of the Agile Business Analyst is multifaceted, but strongly valued in today’s technology and product development environments. Those well-versed in the skills mentioned above can truly make a difference in project success.
