The Business Analyst arrives in the office with a goal in mind of

what they expect to accomplish that day. This plan may include
spending greater than 50% of the time in meetings or workshops
where they will be gathering information or seeking agreement on
the contents of the project artifacts that they produce. The rest of
the time, they will be performing original review, crunching through
spreadsheets of data and traceability patterns, analyzing or writing
documentation or working out the optimum way to define a
particular need, requirement or process.

A Business Analyst's everyday work duties can vary considerably,

depending on the variety of the current business and project.
Despite this, there are some activities that the Business Analyst will
usually do in the plan of every project.

They include:

1. Investigating goals and issues

2. Analyzing information

3. Communicating with a broad range of people

4. Documenting findings

5. Evaluating solutions

6. Implementation

For an assigned project, the Business Analyst will regularly try to

define and supervise a sequence of carefully structured
assignments aimed at obtaining the common goals of review,
constructing, planning, and evaluation. Of course, these functions
are bound to require a flexible approach matching the
circumstances.

Let's have a look at the responsibilities based on the project phase:

1. Investigating Goals And Issues

Business Analysts spend a great deal of time asking questions. To

explain the project and feasible clarifications, a BA might conduct
interviews, read, and observe work in progress. Business Analysts
do analysis and look for solution alternatives, both inside and
outside the organization.

2. Analyzing Information

The analysis phase is the phase during which the Business Analyst
explains the elements in detail, affirming clearly and unambiguously
what the business needs to do in order solve its issue.

During this stage the BA will also interact with the development
team and, if appropriate, an architect, to design the layout and
define accurately what the solution should look like.

3. Communicating With A Broad Range Of People

Good Business Analysts contribute countless hours actively

communicating. More than only speaking, this means hearing and
recognizing verbal and non-verbal information, building an open
conversation, verifying you've understood what you heard, and
communicating what you learn to those who will create the actual
solution.
4. Documenting Findings

Business Analysts spend a decent amount of time recording what

they learn and observe, and recording the results of their analysis.

During this phase, the Business Analyst should consider the best
ways to record particular kinds of information, either in text or
visual form, i.e., charts, graphs, illustrations, etc.

5. Evaluating Solutions

A Business Analyst must also spend time identifying options for

solving particular difficulties, then help choose the best one. The
preferred solution is then estimated throughout the layout and
planning to assure that it meets the business requirements.

6. Implementation

The implementation phase is not the conclusion for the Business

Analyst. It's the riskiest time for things to go amiss and for
objectives to be missed. It's during this stage a BA should be aware
of how clients are utilizing the framework.

Do they see the benefits envisaged in the business case? Do the

training materials support the business case?

In essence, a Business Analyst is a navigator, responsible for

reaching the end destination, which means a satisfying resolution of
a business problem. The BA always knows what the end destination
is, how to get there and is capable of handling course adjustments
as they arise.
You arrive in your office with a plan in your mind of what you need to do for the day.
This plan will involve spending greater than 50% of your time in meetings or
workshops where you will be gathering information or seeking agreement on the
contents of the project artifacts that you produce. The rest of the time, in theory, you
will be doing that actual analysis, crunching through spreadsheets of data and
traceability matrices, reviewing or writing documentation or working out the
optimum way to define a specific need, requirement or process.

In practice, you will spend most of the day being pulled from pillar to post so
reprioritisation, delegation, making fast decisions and managing expectations are
essential skills.

The BA's artifacts are key dependencies on many members of a project team
including the project manager, solution architects, software developers, test
managers, service managers, the investment manager and many more so any of these
people could come asking questions and any of them may make demands that would
either conflict with someone else's expectations, the critical path or simply with good
practice. Your greatest challenge is to explain the needs of the business to the team
responsible for implementing the change in a way that would allow everyone to do
their job and remain reasonably contented that their interests have been taken into
account. This is not the result of a single act but an ongoing discussion with many,
many stakeholders that continues for every moment that you are working.

What is Business Analysis?

Business Analysis is the practice of enabling change in an organizational context, by defining
needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders. The set of tasks and
techniques that are used to perform business analysis are defined in A Guide to the Business
Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK®Guide).

What is a Business Analyst?

Job titles for business analysis practitioners include not only business analyst, but also
business systems analyst, systems analyst, requirements engineer, process analyst, product
manager, product owner, enterprise analyst, business architect, management consultant,
business intelligence analyst, data scientist, and more. Many other jobs, such as
management, project management, product management, software development, quality
assurance and interaction design rely heavily on business analysis skills for success.

Business Analysis Helps Businesses Do Business Better

The Business Analyst is an agent of change. Business Analysis is a disciplined approach for
introducing and managing change to organizations, whether they are for-profit businesses,
governments, or non-profits.

Business analysis is used to identify and articulate the need for change in how organizations
work, and to facilitate that change. As business analysts, we identify and define the solutions
that will maximize the value delivered by an organization to its stakeholders. Business
analysts work across all levels of an organization and may be involved in everything from
defining strategy, to creating the enterprise architecture, to taking a leadership role by
defining the goals and requirements for programs and projects or supporting continuous
improvement in its technology and processes.

We have the specialized knowledge to act as a guide and lead the business through
unknown or unmapped territory, to get it to its desired destination. The value of business
analysis is in realization of benefits, avoidance of cost, identification of new opportunities,
understanding of required capabilities and modeling the organization. Through the effective
use of business analysis, we can ensure an organization realizes these benefits, ultimately
improving the way they do business.

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This is the first of a two-part look at a “Day in the Life” of a Business Analyst
(BA). It’s broken into hours as a simple way to illustrate the myriad duties and
skills that a BA needs to have, but in real life the process described below
would take weeks, months, or possibly years, depending on the size of the
effort. And, as every BA knows, there’s no such thing as a typical day – or even
a standard job description. We’ll look here at the phases that every effort has,
and tools that every BA needs.
At its core, the role of a Business Analyst is to help define and solve business
problems. The role might have Solutions or Requirements in the title, and are
known as Managers, Analysts, and Specialists. No matter what they’re called,
the BA must zero in on the issue, determine its root cause, model the
processes, develop solution requirements, choose a solution that balances
time, cost, and scope constraints, assess the impact of the change, get buy-in
from the sponsors and stakeholders, document the functional and technical
requirements, help set priorities, track the development to ensure that the
requirements are met, and measure and report on the result. They must
facilitate meetings, resolve conflict, understand technical jargon, write clearly,
present effectively, and advocate for all sides. Is that so much to ask?
The three components of process, people, and tools should be part of every
analysis. In addition to standard BA skills, Business Process Management
training brings additional power to the table.Ready to start our day?
6:00 – 7:00 a.m. Stakeholder Meeting.
The Project Manager has set up a conference call to introduce the BA to the
project sponsor and her team, many of whom work in different time zones. The
team has a hard time describing the problem, and they are already jumping to
solutions. The BA refocuses them and has them describe their process at a high
level. Although there are several software applications used within the process,
most of these were packages the company had already invested in. They were
repurposed for this process, in many cases causing additional steps in the
process.

The BA schedules follow-up calls with key team members. At the end of the
meeting, they agree on a high-level problem statement.

7:00 – 8:00 a.m.: Document the As-Is.

The BA begins the As-Is model, diagraming each step, decision, and handoff in
the process. He estimates elapsed and cycle time that he will validate later. The
diagram includes the tools and technology used, where applicable. He
highlights unknowns and potential problem areas. There are a number of areas
where he notices rework or redundant steps. In some cases, the BA suspects
that these are work-arounds that once solved a problem, but that now have
become institutionalized.

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.: Follow-Up Calls.

The BA uses the follow-up calls to validate the As-Is model he has begun with
individual team members, and to probe to understand their pain points.
Although the team is assuming that they need new software to solve their
problem, the BA walks each of them through several process gaps he has
uncovered in their area. He verifies his assumption that the process lacks an
owner and a governance mechanism. During his conversations, it’s also
revealed that some members of the team may not have the skills or training to
use the software they have to full advantage. A couple of the team members
display a strong resistance to change that he will have to overcome throughout
the requirements process. The tools themselves may need to be enhanced or
replaced, but it’s too early to make that decision until the requirements are
more fully understood. These potential automation points are highlighted on
the diagram.

10:00 – 11:30 a.m.: Facilitate Workshop.

The team meets to validate the As-Is model, and to begin process analysis.
They eventually agree that the root cause of several areas of opportunity was
the lack of process and requirements definition during the origination of the
team. The team then starts describing their ideal vision of how things should
work. They focus on decision criteria, business rules, and the experience they
want their customer to have. Using this information, they begin to construct a
To-Be model, which – used with the As-Is - will be the basis of their
requirements. This model focuses strictly on what is needed, not how it will be
done. That step will be included as they develop solutions.

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon: Gap Analysis.

The BA facilitates another meeting, this time with key members of the team
and stakeholders from the upstream and downstream processes. He makes
sure to include the individuals who are not comfortable with change. They
discuss the gap between the As-Is and To-Be models. Basically, the questions
center on what they need but don’t have, and what they have but don’t need.
This can include any of the three dimensions of people, process, or tools. They
discover that, in addition to the process needing to be streamlined to eliminate
non-value-added steps, they should look at new technology to support the
process. There may also need to be some reorganization within the team, to
enable each member to work from their strengths.
This gap analysis will be the basis for the requirements that will be
documented, validated, prioritized, planned, and signed off by the end of the
day. The requirements, in turn, will allow them to develop and choose options
to solve for the problem and its root cause.
Even though we’re only half-way through what will end up being a very long
day, we need to leave our BA for a few weeks, until we pick up with Part II of A
Day in The Life of a BA.

So, here’s the thing– as you all know, I’m the ice cream business analyst here at
Target. That’s fine and dandy…but my friends, my family, and even my
boyfriend wonder “What does that mean you actually do all day?”
As it states on the header of this blog, Pulse’s purpose is to give readers an
understanding of what daily life working at Target is really like. If you’re
interested in being a business analyst (BA) at Target (which in my completely
and utterly biased opinion I think you should be) here’s some insider
knowledge on what your day would look like if you were a BA at Target.
A Completely Honest & Overly-Detailed Average Day in the Life of a BA:
7:30/8 AM: Get to work!
Most people take the bus in (Minneapolis has a great public transit
system) and show up between 7:30 and 8. This is also one of the
busiest times in the Target HQ caf & Target HQ Starbucks—everyone
needs to get their caffeine fix!
8 AM: Approve Orders
Business Analysts are the ones that physically purchase the product
that you see on Target’s shelves. We have systems that help us decide
how much inventory we need, and we use this information to go in
and strategically make decisions on what we need to buy. We’re
responsible for staying within the budgeted amount of money we
have to spend every month—so it’s critical that we keep a keen eye
on our checkbook every day….especially when an average purchase
order is around $100,000!
9 AM: Team Meeting
Being aligned with your team is key to the success of the businesses
in your department. Each week you have a team meeting with the
buyers, business analysts, and merchandise specialists in your
department to ensure that everyone’s priorities are aligned to
accomplish everything that needs to get done that week. Your team
also will review forecasts for upcoming ads or other promotions to
ensure everyone is onboard and in the loop.
10:30 AM: Store Run
Did you know there’s a Target store connected to Target HQ? It’s
AWESOME. And…no surprise here…Target HQ employees are there a
LOT. While you sometimes head to the store to look at your product
and check out instocks…it’s oftentimes more of a fun break in the day
to go pick up a few things you need (and when I say “need” I
mean you go to get a Lean Cuisine for lunch and come back
with a new nail polish, some Valentine’s Day candy, and a
candle that just smelled so GOOD) since it’s so convenient.
11 AM: Vendor Call
Being a successful BA requires having a good partnership with your
vendors that you order your product from. Weekly calls with vendors
are a great way to proactively address issues and clarify any
confusion over orders and upcoming promotions.
11:30 AM: Eat Ice Cream
Okay, maybe not every BA has this in an average day…but it’s an
important part of my day so I included it. I mean, you have to
understand the product you’re buying, right?
NOON: Team Lunch
I eat lunch with my team every day. No joke. People outside of Target
oftentimes think this is odd, but it’s the norm in merchandising at
Target HQ. We have team tables and reserved rooms where teams
hang out and enjoy their lunch together. While no one is forced to
eat lunch with their team, almost everyone does. People love their
teams—and you want to spend time with your coworkers because
they’re awesome. Also, most people bring their lunch, but there’s
also a LOT of food options in the skyway (another fun Minneapolis
perk- indoor raised hallways that connect most of the buildings
downtown).
1 PM: Status
Development is really important at Target—which is why you “status”
(or have a meeting) with your manager once a week to talk about
your business, projects you’re working on, your own personal career
development, and feedback for each other.
2 PM: Desk Time
PHEW. The b-e-a-tiful thing that is an empty block on your Outlook
calendar is everyone’s favorite: desk time! A time to catch up on
emails, work on things that are due by the end of the day/week, and
perhaps do some instock troubleshooting or forecast an upcoming
ad.
3 PM: Captain Touchbase
When you’re a BA for a category, you do more than just order and
track product for your items. In your department you’ll hold multiple
captainships, or areas of expertise that you lead for your department.
For example, one of my department captainships is New
Store/Remodel, and I help guide our department through the details
of opening these stores. When you’ve been a BA for a while, you may
even hold captainships at a larger division level.
3:30 PM: Coffee
Having “coffees” at Target is something that everyone at Target HQ
does…even if they don’t drink coffee. “Coffee” is a term for an
informal touchbase—usually used to network with past colleagues or
with people in areas you’d be interested in working in one day. If you
have a coffee, you’re most likely having it in Target’s Great Hall and
you’ll most likely be meeting up at the famous “clock” (see picture!)
4:00 PM: (Another) Store Run
Yes… I know I went to the Target Store this morning….but c’mon.
There’s a Target store right there. In the building. Two minutes away.
HOW CAN YOU RESIST?!
5/5:30 PM: Head out!
At Target, work/Iife balance is something that’s really important to
team members. Most people in my area leave around 5 or 5:30, and
it’s completely normal to do so!
So…there it is. A day in the life of a BA at Target.
It’s fast-paced, it’s fun, and it’s friendly – just like Target. I
wouldn’t want it any other way.