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» FEATURED: Data Modelling & Object Oriented Development

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Data Modelling & Object Oriented Development

At some stage in their working life, every business analyst will have some involvement with data modelling. They may need to model how data is (or will be) used or - if they only deal with requirements investigation - then someone else in the team will need to verify that the data to support new functions will be available.

» From Mission Statement to Business Process

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From Mission Statement to Business Process

Most business analysts will never interview a CEO and many don’t understand how a company’s real objectives cascade down to the little bit of requirements they’re doing for a particular system. How does my system fit into the company’s business strategy? What is my role in the big picture?

» Just Enough Documentation

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Is documentation a blessing or a curse? If you’re working on an agile project does it get in the way? If you’re updating a core system that runs your company’s business, are you cursing the analyst who didn’t adequately document all the business functionality? Is today’s agile project tomorrow’s core system?

» How to Deliver a Recommendation

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Like it or not, every business analyst will have to stand up in front of a group and present. The group might be your business clients, the project stakeholders or just your fellow team members but for many people, one of two things will happen: it will frighten the life out of them OR they’ll umm and ah their way through, sending the audience to s...

» What is a Business Analyst?

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Today the term Business Analyst is synonymous with a career in the IT industry but the most successful and valuable analysts are those who understand the 'business' rather than those who understand IT. So what exactly is a Business Analyst? What is the Business Analyst’s role? What is the best background for this job? What skill set is required? Wh...

» How to Interview Your Boss

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Ever had to interview your boss – or a divisional general manager – or the managing director of a key customer? What about a politician or a senior executive in a government department? All these scenarios can be nerve racking, yet they’re something a business analyst may be required to do on a regular basis.

» The Creative Business Analyst - Part 3, Making Better Decisions

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The Creative Business Analyst - Part 3, Making Better Decisions

In this final paper of the series we look at decision making techniques – how to select the best idea from the many we’ve come up with – and how to justify our recommendation to our client, manager and peers.

» The Creative Business Analyst - Part 2, Generating Solution Ideas

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The Creative Business Analyst - Part 2, Generating Solution Ideas

A lot of people think that coming up with solutions to business problems is the hardest part about being a business analyst – particularly when working with a client who knows more about the business than you ever will. Don’t believe it, after all you’ve already made considerable progress in understanding the problem – and your understanding is bas...

» Golden Rules for Business Analysts

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Like all professions, business analysis has its golden rules – rules that are fundamental to the design of successful business systems. They might seem like common sense but it’s surprising how often we forget them and get ourselves into hot water.

» What is a Business Analyst?

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» Manager's Guide to User Acceptance Testing

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For most businesses and organisations, if IT stops, the business stops. Whenever a company turns on a new production line, opens a new retail store, launches a new product or provides a new service, there is invariably a new or modified IT system behind it. Going live is the culmination of time, effort, resources and finance. A problem-free IT syst...

» UML - Business Context

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“Where does UML fit?” is a common question among new (and not so new!) business analysts. We all know that the M stands for modelling but beyond this, perceptions start to differ. In its current form (V2.0) UML consists of 13 diagram types all of which provide a different view of a system. In this article we’ll take a brief look at which of the...

» The How To of Essential Modeling

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Also called abstract or business modelling, essential modelling can be an extremely valuable tool for the business analyst. Instead of modelling how things are done (the current system), or how they might be done (a proposed system), we model what is done, or what might be done. For example the purpose of a Customer Service Department is to provide...

» Stakeholder Communications - Pictures not Words

(7113 Views) (5 Comments)

Many people on our Business Analysis workshop ask why we use dataflow diagrams (DFDs). Why not Use Case…or even BPMN? After all DFDs have been around for 20 years, surely the world has moved on? Well, has it? The primary purpose of a business analyst is to communicate – to stakeholders and to solution providers – and when it comes to communication...

» The Creative Business Analyst - Part 1

(3897 Views) (3 Comments)

Many of us are familiar with the process of business analysis – start by gathering requirements from stakeholders then turn them into a specification which developers can understand. These days however, we need to do more than just document the requirements. We need to work with stakeholders and business users to understand their systems and analy...

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Business Analyst Articles: Business Analysis & Systems Analysis

Entries for 'pddean'

Join the Premier Community for Business Analysts, Business Process Professionals, Systems Analysts, Data Analysts, and more…

Business Analyst Articles: Business Analysis & Systems Analysis

Entries for 'pddean'

Join the Premier Community for
Business Analysts, Business Process Professionals,
Systems Analysts, Data Analysts, and more…