“Business Analyst is the Allrounder every IT team must have”.
Hello, my name is Kartik Dua and in this blog article, I am going to talk about the importance of a Business Analyst (BA) in an IT organization. I will use a Cricket sport analogy to explain my thoughts, but I am sure other sports lovers will follow along too. The composition of a cricket playing 11 includes players who specialize in batting, those who are experts in bowling, those who are outstanding fielders, and those who keep wickets very well. Few players can do all the above, to the best of their ability, and those are the ones we refer to as Allrounders. Match-Winner is another term used regularly in conjunction with Allrounder. Now, who wouldn’t want a match-winner on their team? I know I would!
I am a Principal Business Analyst, and you can think of me as that Allrounder, who performs different duties for his team as an Allrounder would do in the game of cricket. It is like playing a 5-day test match, which is like a 5-day working week, where each day bring in its own set of challenges and responsibilities –
The Business Analyst responsibility – One of my key responsibilities is to analyze the business proactively for opportunities around efficiency and process improvements. As a company we have just kickstarted our S/4 Hana journey. We are at the first step where we are building a business case for sponsors to review and approve. We are looking at a targeted approach where we will launch Fiori first and gradually move on to S/4 Hana. A significant part of my week is focused on meeting deliverables for this task.
The Functional responsibility – I lead initiatives related to Order to Cash (O2C) for our businesses. I work on functional requirements, configuration items, potential new enhancements, support Revenue Accounting and Reporting (RAR) requirements, and assist with many other O2C tasks as my week goes on.
The Technical Support responsibility – I provide technical support for various SAP modules like SD, FICO, MM, and HR. I work on different SAP cloud products like Concur, FieldGlass & Navigator. I would say this takes up 10-15 hours of my week.
The Quality Analyst responsibility – As a Business Analyst, I am typically very close to a new enhancement, or a new product being implemented. So, when it comes to testing the product, I work with our QA experts in case they need the extra hand. An example is a Purchase Requisition or PR Approval process which was introduced in our company last year. The MM folks who implemented the requirement are no longer with the company and recently there was a request to add a layer of approval to the PR process. My manager looked towards me for help, and I pounced on the opportunity. I first helped with the implementation of the enhancement and then went through a complete round of QA and unit testing before handing over requirements to the business for validation and approval.
The Solution Architect responsibility – Robotic Process Automation or RPA is the trending topic these days. At our company, we too are looking for RPA opportunities for our ERP applications. Idea is to identify processes that need to be automated for efficiency and then find the right solution to make that happen. I am tag-teaming with the RPA experts to architect this solution from start to end which makes up 15-20% of my week.
The Project Management responsibility – We have a Quote to Cash project underway within our company which involves CRM and ERP systems. It is a huge project impacting all businesses. My role on the project is to lead the Data Migration track. “If a configuration is the heart of the project, then data migration is the soul”. I am very nervous and excited about this opportunity, but I am fortunate to have an extremely talented and wonderful team to work with. I am positive that together we will take this project to the finishing line with great efficiency and success.
The Scrum Master responsibility – We do have a dedicated scrum master on our team, but I tend to silently shadow him every now and then. It helps me learn skills through real experience. I also get to educate myself on tools like ServiceNow & Jira. When the scrum master is not around, I try my best to fill in his shoes.
A Business Analyst Allrounder can take up multiple roles in a team, depending on the need, and assist in any way possible. I support my teammates who are experts in their areas to make sure we are winning all projects. I perform primary BA responsibilities and learn & lean on opportunities where the team needs my help. All this to say, that a Business Analyst is a strong value add for an IT group, and in my opinion, they are a must-have for any IT team.
To all my fellow Business Analysis Experts out there, let me know how you play your 5-day test match. Comment below on skills that you possess or have seen other Business Analysts bring with them. How have you’ll been a value add to your projects or how have you’ll benefited your company in different ways? Excited to hear from all of you!
Next time when you watch a cricket match and see an Allrounder perform, think about this article, and envision that player as a Business Analyst for his/her team!! Thank you.
