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407.2 The Role of an Analyst
Projects are typically started because a sponsor wants to change from the current state to a future state to help their organization meet the challenges of the marketplace. The role of an analyst is to help organizations understand the challenges before them to make this transition and to ensure that the needs and expectations of the client are represented correctly in the final solution. Each company needs to define the specific roles and responsibilities that an analyst plays in their organization. However, the general roles and responsibilities of an analyst are defined below.
General Definition
In general, the analyst is responsible for ensuring that the requirements set forth by the business are captured and documented correctly before the solution is developed and implemented. In some companies, this person might be called a Business Analyst, Business Systems Analyst, Systems Analyst or a Requirements Analyst. While each of these titles has their particular nuances, the main responsibility of each is the same - to capture and document the requirements needed to implement a solution to meet the clients' business needs. If requirements are not captured and documented, the analyst is accountable. If the solution meets the documented requirements, but the solution still does not adequately represent the requirements of the client, the analyst is accountable.
Process Responsibilities
Once the Analysis Phase begins, the analyst plays a key role in making sure that the overall project successfully meets the client needs. This includes:
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Analyzing and understanding the current state processes to ensure that the context and implications of change are understood by the clients and the project team
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Developing an understanding of how present and future business needs will impact the solution
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Identifying the sources of requirements and understanding how roles help determine the relative validity of requirements
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Developing a Requirements Management Plan and disseminating the Plan to all stakeholders
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Identifying and documenting all business, technical, product and process requirements
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Working with the client to prioritize and rationalize the requirements
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Helping to define acceptance criteria for completion of the solution
Again, this does not mean that the analyst physically does all of this work. There may be other people on the team that contribute, including the project manager. However, if the finished solution is missing features, or if the solution does not resolve the business need, then the analyst is the person held accountable.
Analyst Skills
Generally, analysts must have a good set of people skills, business skills, technical skills and soft skills to be successful. These include:
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Having good verbal and written communication skills, including active listening skills.
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Being well organized and knowing good processes to complete the work needed for the project.
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Building effective relationships with clients to develop joint vision for the project.
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Assisting the project manager by managing client expectations through careful and proactive communications regarding requirements and changes.
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Negotiating skills to build a final consensus on a common set of requirements from all clients and stakeholders.
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Ensuring that stakeholders know the implications of their decisions, and providing options and alternatives when necessary.
Multiple Roles
Depending on the size and complexity of the project, the analyst may take on other responsibilities in addition to capturing and documenting the requirements. For instance, the analyst may assist the project manager in the creation of the work breakdown structure of the Analysis Phase. Or they may help design a web page layout or they may write some of the project documentation.
Depending on the size of your projects, an analyst’s time may be allocated one of the following ways.
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They may have a full-time role on a large project.
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They may have analyst responsibilities for multiple projects, each of which is less than full time, but the combination of which adds up to a full-time role.
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They may fill multiple roles, each of which requires a certain level of skill and responsibility. On one project, for instance, they may be both an analyst and a beta tester.
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