5 Reasons Why Business Analysts Are Essential to Operations
1. Discussion Forum week 5
business discussion question and need a sample draft to help me learn.
In the article, Why Business Analysts Are Essential to Your Operations Team, September 3,
2019 by Paul Crosby, the following 5 reasons are listed.
1. Business Analysts Improve Operational Productivity
2. Business Analysts Need to Prove Their Value to the Operations Team
3. Business Analysts are Problem Solvers by Nature
4. Business Analysts Drive Value By Wearing Many Hats
5. Every Operations Team Will be Data and Analysis-Driven
Discuss your view on the necessity of each. Can you think of additional reasons? If so, please
share.
APA style, reply tow classmates later.
read Rubric before you start.
Requirements: in-depth example
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1/22/2020Why Business Analysts Are Essential to Your Operations
Teamhttps://theuncommonleague.com/blog/business-analysts-
2. operations?format=amp1/6BUSINESS ANALYST TRAININGVIEW ORIGINALWhy Business
Analysts Are Essential to YourOperations TeamSeptember 3, 2019 by Paul CrosbyBusiness
analysts belong in every part of your organization. They can streamline your
humanresources department and help your sales team drive new leads. When business
analysts arebrought in to improve production, they leave no stone unturned. More
companies than ever are finding value in bringing BAs into client projects and using their
skillsto assist with day-to-day operations. Here is the value that business analysts can bring
to your teamto streamline operations and production. Business Analysts Improve
Operational ProductivityBusiness analysts bring value to any team they’re on. They
immediately start to dig into theprocesses of various departments and projects to make
sure everything is functioning at its best. The core goal of business analysts from an
operations standpoint is productivity. Michael Mankins,coauthor of “Time, Talent, Energy:
Overcome Organizational Drag and Unleash Your Team’sProductive Power,” emphasizes the
importance of productivity over efficiency. He defines efficiencyas “doing more with less,”
and productivity as “doing more with the same.”
1/22/2020Why Business Analysts Are Essential to Your Operations
Teamhttps://theuncommonleague.com/blog/business-analysts-
operations?format=amp2/6So many companies have an efficiency mindset that they are
always looking to cut somethingsomewhere, usually targeting the workforce first. The
result is teams that cling dearly to resourcesand operate on shoestring budgets. Strategic
executives and business analysts will focus on doingmore with what they have, streamlining
operations and reducing waste. Instead of cutting, they aremaximizing.To achieve this
productivity growth, most business analysts start by asking questions. Dana
McInnis,continuous improvement and business analysis coach, encourages business
analysts to askfundamental questions to get to the core of the issue. She even calls these
questions “CaptainObvious” moments because they seem basic at the moment, but can be
used to really understandwhat is going on. For example, “what does that mean?” forces
people to define basic terms and processes, which canget everyone on the same page. When
everyone is working with the same definitions, they canmove forward toward a common
goal.Digital marketing manager Dustin Heathers says business analysts set the culture
within adevelopment team. It is their job to make sure everyone is working toward the
same objective andwith the same process in mind. With the right culture, business analysts
can instill a mentality ofcontinuous improvement and growth. This may be hard when first
introduced to a team (some employees might not want a businessanalyst “interfering” with
their work), but over time the employees can work together to produce astrong result.
Business Analysts Need to Prove Their Value to theOperations Team
1/22/2020Why Business Analysts Are Essential to Your Operations
Teamhttps://theuncommonleague.com/blog/business-analysts-
operations?format=amp3/6One of the main barriers to adding business analysts to the
operations department is perceived cost.Management wants to make sure that the
investment in the salary or contract is worthwhile and willgenuinely help the company.
“While some companies still believe that BAs are an added cost, they actually do the
opposite andhelp reduce company costs through increasing its ROI and lowering project
3. costs,” writes recruiterBen Fisher. “BAs are specialists of change, as they introduce, manage,
and facilitate the necessarychanges to your business model.” Business analysts can define
their value and turn seemingly immeasurable benefits into tangibleresults, says BA trainer
Jamie Champagne. She uses the example of a company that wants fewerchange requests on
infrastructure projects. While limiting the number of requests can actuallybackfire (teams
can take longer and overthink their work to prevent errors), business analysts canlook at
why there are so many change requests and what the overall review process looks like.
Thisgets to the root of the issue. The result is that more projects are completed on time,
which has atangible revenue benefit to organizations.Not only do business analysts need to
prove their value to their employers, they also need to earnthe respect of their
peers.“People do not want you on their team just because you are a business analyst,”
writes KentMcDonald, product manager and founder of KBPMedia. He says that many
companies have rules inplace that a business analyst needs to be part of the team. However,
BAs who do not provide valuewill likely be ignored with their role minimized.It is up to
business analysts to drive value to create a seat for themselves at the table.Business
Analysts are Problem Solvers by Nature
1/22/2020Why Business Analysts Are Essential to Your Operations
Teamhttps://theuncommonleague.com/blog/business-analysts-
operations?format=amp4/6The good news is that business analysts quickly prove their
value to operations teams by askingquestions, identifying problems and finding ways to
solve them. Take business process analysts, for instance, who focus on process details and
workflowoptimization. Owen McGab Enaohwo, CEO of SweetProcess, a web app that
documents standardoperating procedures, lists several benefits of involving business
process analysts within your overalloperations. These include:Customer demands are met
better and faster.Business goals are reached more efficiently.The company's overall
performance is improved.Root causes of problems within the organization are addressed.It
is entirely possible that your company has managed to “get by” for years on weak processes
orwith wasted resources. Business process analysts can jump in and identify these
problems and thenwork with teams to solve them.While some employees might think
business analysts are nosy, it is actually in their nature (and,frankly, in their job
description) to dig deep into what is going on and why operations are being donein a
certain way. “How would a treasure hunter go about looking for gold in the Pacific Ocean?”
asks Piyanka Jain,CEO of data science consulting firm Aryng. “They start by being a
detective, using the knowledge ofshipwrecks, trade routes, ocean depths and more to
identify the most likely spots for finding thetreasure.” She uses this metaphor to explain
that analysts are curious and hypothesis-driven. They exploretheories and follow their
research to see where they can improve operations. If they are skillful, theycan strike gold
and find a way to significantly increase productivity.Business Analysts Drive Value By
Wearing Many HatsIt is not uncommon for business analysts to float throughout a company,
starting in one departmentand moving through various other parts of the operational
process. Additionally, they use their in-demand skills to take on work where it is needed —
even if it isn’t immediately part of their jobdescription. “Depending on the organization, a
BA’s job description could extend them to other areas of thecompany that needs business
4. analysis support,” writes Henok Tekle, founding partner at multi-stageinvestment firm
Alphachain. “As a business analyst, you may need to get involved in all levels of
theorganization, and being able to self-manage in this ambiguous setting can go a long way.”
For example, quality analyst at Skyline Technologies Tim Morrow says he has served his
team as ascrum master, a traditional business analyst (where he reviewed requirements
and worked on thebacklog of tasks to maximize business value) and as a product owner. He
has the skills to take ondifferent roles, but uses his expertise as a BA to drive his decisions
within the organization.
1/22/2020Why Business Analysts Are Essential to Your Operations
Teamhttps://theuncommonleague.com/blog/business-analysts-
operations?format=amp5/6Other experts within the business analyst field agree with this.
Adrian Reed, director of BlackmetricBusiness Solutions, says “there isn’t a single, perfect BA
role to which we should all aspire.” Instead, the role of business analysts within an
operations team is expanding to make sure companyinitiatives align with organizational
goals and that organizations are keeping up with industry trends.BAs are needed in inward-
facing and outward-facing capacities.Every Operations Team Will be Data and Analysis-
DrivenThe more business analysts prove their value within the operations team (and the
more theiremployers recognize this value), the better off companies will be. Data and
organizational analysis isno longer limited to tech companies and IT departments. Every
operations team uses data at least tosome extent. “Organizations produce more data than
ever before,” explains Penny Pullan, Ph.D., director ofMaking Projects Work. “Many are
drowning in it! Those who are able to draw insights from thesedata and to use data to tell
stories, are much in demand and there are many business analysts whospecialise and are
very skilled in this area.” SaaS companies and brands that rely on technology to function are
turning to business analysts forhelp. This is why many BAs are stepping out of the IT
department and joining the production team. “Global businesses are facing increasing
complexity and market volatility,” writes Hugo Moreno,editorial director at Forbes Insights.
“In response, all business functions are turning to data-drivenanalytics and insights as a
means to manage this increasing uncertainty.” Every company is becoming a data company
and a technology company at least in some capacity.This means that business analysts need
to prove that they are the future of companies entering the
1/22/2020Why Business Analysts Are Essential to Your Operations
Teamhttps://theuncommonleague.com/blog/business-analysts-
operations?format=amp6/6digital world. They are ready to handle the changes and make
sure their employers are using theirresources to their fullest potential.“The career growth
prospectus for Business Analysts depends on their ability to adapt alongside thedigital
disruption,” the team at GetSmarter writes. “They will be required to enhance
theirinterpersonal skills as complexities and uncertainties emerge, and have technical skills
sufficientenough to ensure holistic business operations and functional
implementation.”Your company needs business analysts who can jump in and make a
difference in just a fewmonths. Teams and leaders who welcome these professionals their
operations teams can watchtheir productivity grow while becoming more resilient to
