What should a Business Analyst deliver?

Capturing right requirements, documenting these and communicating effectively with stakeholders are believed to be the key responsibilities of a Business Analyst.

But do Business Analysts need to think beyond this? How would you react if I say – You are missing out on one of the most important aspects of a Business Analyst responsibility?

Read on, as I am going to discuss this “missing part”.

Delivering Requirements – the Output

Requirements are detailed representations of business needs. This is an important part of SDLC, where Business Analysts collaborate with the stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical requirements. These technical requirements help the tech team to develop the software.

Once the software is ready, the business users validate the software application. At this stage, the software development team has delivered the software, which meets the agreed requirements. Technically speaking, the project delivery has been successful.

Is this what you are expected to deliver? Or there is something more to it?

Delivering Value – the Outcome

When business users accept the delivered software, they have just got the right software that meets the agreed requirements. Is this the end or this is just a milestone in the right direction?

A business undertakes an initiative (May comprise an IT, Non-IT or hybrid components) to solve a problem. The investments are made expecting that the problem will be solved in the end. We are talking about the outcome here.

The outcome follows the output. Key performance Indicators (KPIs) and well-defined metrics help in measuring the outcome and ensure delivery of Value.

Case Study – Outcome vs Output

Case Study: Rael Bank can open a savings account in 1 day and a current account in 2 days. The bank wants to improve this so that savings account can be opened in 4 hours and current account in 1 day.

This is the need the bank wants to address. A software with the ability to reduce the account opening time is the OUTPUT.

But, the real question here - Why would a bank want to reduce the time to open accounts? What is the benefit or return on investment?

This benefit or return on investment, broadly known as Value, is the OUTCOME here. In this case, the value expected is twofold:

• Customers getting their accounts opened quickly, improving the customer experience
• Rael Bank developing the capability to open more accounts per day without employing additional manpower. (Scalability)

?Once the OUTPUT is delivered, its time to measure the OUTCOME. In this case, Real Bank and the IT team define Key performance indicators (KPIs) and Metrics to measure the outcome:

What happens if the actual value does not match the expected value or worse than the expected value?

A root cause analysis is conducted to assess the reasons for not meeting the expectations. Once the root cause (s) is identified, the solution options are explored and change strategy is defined. Subsequent measurements of the data are used to assess if the outcome is achieved. This is a continuous cycle till the outcome is achieved.

As a Business Analyst, one must understand the “Why.” Why does a Business want to solve a problem? The why defines the OUTCOME that is achieved thought the solution or the OUTPUT.