Unit Head, Business Analysis at a Reputable Company

Job Objectives

• The focus of this position is to work closely with the business units to gain in-depth understanding of customer's business  strategy, processes, services, roadmap and the context in which the business operates. This role will be key to understanding  the documenting capabilities needed to address business challenges.
• Lead the analysis and refinement of requirements for delivering technology-powered applications, solutions and services.
• Ensure that relevant stakeholders are involved in specification of new services and/or major upgrades to existing services
• Identify and define detailed product requirements and use cases.
• Bridge the gap between the business and technical teams.
• Responsible for team’s understanding of the business requirements and translating them into technical specifications that the  development team can understand and implement.
• Responsible for the conformity of products and solutions with clients’ stated requirements

Department:

• Solutions Delivery

Reports To:

• Head of Department / Senior Manager,
• Solutions Delivery

Supervises:

• Principal Specialist, Business Analysis
• Senior Specialist, Business Analysis
• Specialist Business Analysis
• Analyst, Business Analysis

Job Responsibilities

• Lead the business analysis efforts within ACDSL.
• Work with stakeholders and provide guidance to the team in gathering and documenting the business requirements for all projects. This includes understanding the business needs, pain points, and goals for the projects.
• Lead the analysis of the gathered requirements to identify the functional and non-functional requirements for the projects.
• Support the process of improving systems by highlighting gaps in existing functionality and review of requirements  with stakeholders.
• Develop frameworks for the definition of the requirements in a way that is clear, concise, and unambiguous. This includes creating use cases, user stories, and other documentation that describes the requirements in detail.
• Develop communication process for cascading the requirements to the development team, stakeholders, and other project participants. This includes providing clearand concise explanations of the requirements, as well as  answering questions and addressing concerns.
• Establish a culture of tracking the requirements throughout 
• the Software Development life-cycle (SDLC) to ensure that they are met. This includes reviewing the requirements with the development team and stakeholders on a regular basis,and making changes as needed.
• Provide leadership to team members and peers by collaborating with others; articulating ideas and viewpoints  to senior management, peers and others; identifying and initiating projects; managing resources; driving the  resolution of issues; and holding self and team accountable for results.
• Provide and support the implementation of business  solutions by building relationships and partnerships with  key stakeholders; identifying business needs; determining and carrying out necessary processes and practices; monitoring progress and results; recognizing and capitalizing on improvement opportunities; and adapting to  competing demands, organizational changes and new  responsibilities.
• Provide project level analysis – producing required project analysis documentation {business requirements, scope  matrix, use cases, sequence diagrams, future state  proposals, User Acceptance Test  (UAT) plan}.
• Foster the practice of close collaboration with developers to implement the requirements, provide necessary guidance to testers during Quality Assurance process.
• Ensure the usage of requirement traceability matrix by  team members.
• Translate business requirements to epics. Also break down epics into user stories
• Create screens to visually represent use cases or user  stories
• Ensure practice of the review, negotiation, and prioritization of requirements with stakeholders by team members
• Liaise with the application development team to suggest a high-level functional solution.
• Ensure that relevant stakeholders are involved in specification of new services and/or major upgrades to  existing services.
• Confirm delivery and completion of all requirements documentation and secure agreement of business sponsor.
• Engage all relevant stakeholders and secure requisite sign- offs.
• Support the design of new solutions by analysing 
• requirements, constructing workflow charts / diagrams and process flows, studying system capabilities and writing specifications.
• Establish effective change control for user requirements.
• Support project teams during the analysis and design phase.
• Contribute to budgeting activities, including the estimation of time, cost, and resources needed to complete projects and individual assignment
• Establish goals, objectives and KPIs for team performance  and manage the attainment of these.
• Supervise the daily work of all Application Security,  Release and Deployment staff to ensure commitments are  on time, on budget and on quality.
• Lead team members in prioritizing and completing assigned project tasks.
• Create, enhance, and maintain processes that improve  their team and potentially other department teams' 
• effectiveness
• Develop people at various levels in their career that lead to successful high performing team.
• Get involved in the hiring and development of staff.
• Ensure that team members have the correct tools for carrying out their responsibilities

Key Performance Indicators

• Thoroughly reviewed and signed-off business  requirements documentation.
• Requirements Accuracy: A high percentage of accurate requirements indicates that the BA has effectively understood and communicated the needs of stakeholders, reducing the likelihood  of costly changes later in the project.
• Stakeholder Satisfaction: The satisfaction of stakeholders, including clients, end-users, and project team members, is a pivotal KPI for BAs. Regular surveys or feedback mechanisms can gauge stakeholder satisfaction.
• On-Time Delivery: Timeliness is often  synonymous with success in project  management. BAs are no exception. Meeting  project milestones and delivering on time is a  key indicator of the BA's ability to manage the  analysis process effectively.
• Requirements Traceability: This measures the ability to track and manage changes to requirements throughout a project's lifecycle. High traceability demonstrates the BA's commitment to ensuring that the project remains aligned with its original objectives.
• ROI and Cost Savings : Business analysis should deliver value to the organization. Measuring the Return on Investment (ROI) and identifying cost savings resulting from the BA's ecommendations or improvements can quantify this value. These financial metrics are  vital for demonstrating the impact of BA work.
• User Adoption Rate: When BAs contribute to  the development of new systems or processes,  the user adoption rate is a key KPI. A high  adoption rate suggests that the BA's analysis  and recommendations have resonated with  end-users, leading to smoother transitions and higher satisfaction.
• Issue Resolution Time: BAs often play a role  in issue resolution, whether related to  requirements, processes, or project challenges. 
• The time it takes to address and resolve these  issues reflects the BA's effectiveness in  problem-solving.
• Scope Creep Control : Scope creep can derail  projects, leading to delays and budget overruns. BAs must monitor and control scope changes.  Keeping scope creep in check is a clear sign of  effective analysis and project management.
• Quality of Documentation: Clear and concise documentation is essential in business analysis. Evaluating the quality and completeness of documentation, such as requirements 
• documents or process maps, can highlight the BA's attention to detail.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Business analysts often work across departments and teams. Measuring successful collaboration with different stakeholders and departments can  indicate the BA's ability to bridge gaps and  facilitate communication.
• Training and Skill Development :Continuous improvement is a hallmark of successful BAs. 
• Monitoring the training and skill development of the BA and their team members can reflect their commitment to staying current and evolving in  their roles.
• Client Retention and Growth : For BAs  working in consulting or service-oriented organizations, client retention and expansion of  services provided to existing clients are essential KPIs. They signify the trust and  satisfaction of clients with the BA's work

Competence Requirements

• Good understanding of business and technology domains.
• Experience in analyzing and breaking down problems and information using structured frameworks and methodologies.
• Ability to develop business cases / document cost- benefit analysis
• Ability to gather, translate and simplify requirements.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, presentation and facilitation skills.
• Client facing communication and presentation skills
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving and decision making skills, along with a dash of technical knowledge that supports development teams with handling requirements
• Along with critical and analytical thinking, solving complex problems and dealing with stakeholders up to the C-suite level is desired.
• Being a good listener won’t be enough, he/she must be well-organized and capable of creating in-depth documentation dependent on project and business needs.
• Leadership, team building and management  skills.
• Good understanding the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and Project Management Methodologies such as Waterfall and Agile.

Research oriented and constant awareness of the current industry trends in Business Analysis Industry Certifications. Innovative, critical thinking and meticulous attention to detail.

• The ability to prioritize tasks and good time-management skills.
• Good organization and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work under minimal direction and  independently determine and develop approach to solutions.
• Commitment to consistent professional development and education.
• Capable of working under pressure.
• Ability to create and maintain strong working relationships with colleagues and customers
• Business awareness and understanding of business requirements of IT.
• Awareness of the impact of changes.
• Understanding of and experience using change management tools.
• Understanding of systems engineering concepts.
• An understanding of information legislation, such as the GDPR and NDPR.

Educational Qualification 

• Minimum of a Higher National Diploma (HND) or Bachelor’s degree  in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Business Administration  or related fields.

Professional Qualification 

• Possession of the following certification is recommended: CBAP, MCSD, CSD, PMP, CSM.

Desired Experience 

• 12 to 14 years of functional experience