Business Analyst Role in Software Development Life Cycle

The business world moves at such a fast pace that companies have to use software to expedite business operations. Having the best software that gives you the most business insights and allows you to do a lot in a short period of time translates to a huge competitive advantage. When we combine this with the rising level of competition across industries for the same clientele, we see that the company who has the best technology will be in a better position to attract customers. In order to make sure that you are getting the biggest return on your software investment, a business analyst is necessary. In this article, we will take a look at the roles and responsibilities of the business analyst in the software industry to emphasize how outstanding this job really is.

The Role of Business Analyst in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

One of the biggest reasons why having a great business analyst is important is because they wear lots of different hats during the SDLC. For example, since they have to stipulate all of the business requirements the software will have to meet, they usually become project owners. This means that they will be responsible for:

• Identifying the needs – Companies usually ask for a broad solution that covers a lot of areas. It is the business analyst’s responsibility to take this information and narrow it down to what is actually needed. Furthermore, the vision for software that a business might have is simply not feasible or practical to develop. The business analyst will advise the company on which features it would be best to focus. As soon as this part is done, you can start drafting the requirements specifications.
  Without a business analyst, you might end up with a product that is not as efficient as you imagined it would be. All the features that were jammed inside the solutions are having a negative effect on the speed of the system. Therefore, if you want to get all of the advantages that custom software development offers, make sure that you have a business analyst.

• Make sure everybody is on the same page – Once you tell the business analyst what you want, he will tell you what is realistic to create thus keeping the business and technical managers on the same page. The business analyst can take your business requirements and formulate them in technical terms for the developers to make sure that the software programming company creates exactly what you want.
  IT professionals will often use technical jargon that can be difficult for a non-insider to understand. Conversely, it might be difficult for software developers to understand a company’s business needs. Therefore, the role of the business analyst is absolutely critical in keeping everybody on the same page, so you end up with the exact solution that you ordered.

• Keeping the communication channels open – The process of custom software development is a long and arduous one and marinating proper communication between all parties involved is critical. The business analyst will assume the role of communicator and improve the flow of information by knowing the strong and weak points of the team members.
  As a customer, you always have to know what is being created, and you need to be updated on the progress of the project. The development team will also need guidance from you to make sure that what they are building is in fact, what you are expecting. Without this communication, there will be a need to redo certain parts of the software and cause a lot of headache on both sides. The business analyst will update you during all phases of the SDLC to make sure that development is headed in the right direction.

Benefits After Implementation

In addition to all the tasks performed by the business analyst mentioned above, we can further underscore the importance of having a BA by listing all of the benefits you get after the solution has been implemented. First of all, you will get a big boost in efficiency. The business analyst will be able to tell if your vision for a product appears to be the fastest way for success. Since they will have insider knowledge of the software development industry, they will be able to provide you with insights that will save a lot of time and money.

Speaking of saving money, the business analyst will make sure that the job is done right the first time. Since they understand the needs the software will have to fulfill, they will be able to eliminate unexpected costs such as rebuilding efforts. Therefore, while having such a specialist might seem like an unnecessary expense, it could end up saving you a lot in the long run.

Conclusion

While we mentioned some of the roles that the business analysts assume, a lot will depend on the specifications of your individual product. In an agile environment, the BA role in SDLC will be much more active as they will have to iterate their tasks at every stage of development. The biggest value that they offer is a peace of mind knowing that you are getting exactly what you ordered, and it will provide you with the most bang for your buck. By offering a certain level of predictability, you will be confident in making future software development investments.