Written By Kathy Kieffer:

Plan. Collaborate. Facilitate. Assess. Verify. Research. Document. Recommend. Innovate. Validate. Elicit. Review. Analyze. And More. A Business Analyst in action.

Business Analysts bridge communications between product owners, key stakeholders, the development team, and others, maintaining focus on the most current as well as long-term priorities for success. A key role of business analysis is to ensure the outcome of the effort – whether focused on a system, process, or other change – provides the best business value. The ‘best’ may be according to the level of effort for implementation or sustainment, short vs. long-term costs, innovation vs. maturity of the solution, the methodology agreed-to by key stakeholders, or other criteria.

Business Analysts work in projects, improvement initiatives, and other enterprise-wide or business unit endeavors in government, healthcare, manufacturing, construction, warehousing, finance, transportation, consulting, and more.

What are some of the attributes that differentiate Business Analysts?

• Curiosity

Curiosity begets a search for understanding. Whether manifested through questioning, research, observation, documentation reviews, scenario-building, or other means, curiosity encompasses a desire to learn, expand understanding, and use information within the context of solving business problems. Curiosity is fundamental to excellent business analysis work.

• Mastery

Mastery refers to self, context, and business analysis as a discipline. Business analysis mastery integrates strategic and tactical knowledge – and resourcefulness that fills in the gaps – to produce superior outcomes that focus the business problem.  Mastery also includes continuous self-development to improve analytical, application, organizational, and other skills significant to the varied functions performed by a business analyst.

• Communication

Communication denotes skills such as listening, high-gain questioning, influence, and presentation of information (whether formal or informal, overview vs. detailed, written vs. oral, technology use, or other variation in communication). It also means communication strategies including the messaging plan, sequencing, frequency, and style. Most importantly, relationships are built through communication.

Business analysis in action:

• Business Problem. A manufacturing company is challenged with identifying candidates for plant-level positions that require specific tooling skills. The total workforce with these key skills is diminishing, and competition with other manufacturers continues to increase. What’s the solution? Better plant floor efficiencies, reducing the number of employees needed? Internal development of personnel? Partnering with technical schools? Partnering with other manufacturers? Relocation of manufacturing processes to where skilled employees are more plentiful? Or something else?

The Business Analyst can look at various solutions, investigating and quantifying unrelated options while, also, assessing risks related directly and indirectly to each. The Business Analyst can model future scenarios based on varying sets of assumptions while projecting workforce needs, costs, and other factors. The Business Analyst can also research other considerations including legal, policy, collective bargaining, and organizational change implications, presenting all as a comprehensive package for decision-making by key stakeholders.

• Business Problem. Claims from five healthcare providers are being intermittently rejected for payment by an insurance company. What is the cause? Is the claim being denied based on patient coverage? Errors in the patient or insurance information, provider ID or other provider information? Is the error in the coding of services? Is it a system or transmission error? A system edit such as a procedure limit? A combination of factors?

The Business Analyst can follow the data with the understanding that each finding may not tell a complete story of why all rejections are occurring. The Business Analyst can observe the entry and confirmation of data by the provider’s billing department, confirm that provider references to medical procedures and corresponding codes are accurate and up-to-date, run queries to investigate potential intermittencies with the medical systems and systems interface, review differences between payments that were successfully processed and those that were not, and more. The Business Analyst can present their findings, solution options, and more.

The greater the arsenal of business analysis skills, the greater the value-focused, comprehensive outcome within projects, improvement initiatives, and other endeavors. Business Analysts should look to expand their capabilities through a variety of projects, tasks, initiatives, experiences, certifications, and other endeavors. For more information on business analysis, contact Momentum, Inc.

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Kathy Kieffer – Consultant

Ms. Kieffer is an experienced Business Analyst, Project Manager, team leader, instructional designer, facilitator, and trainer. As a certified Change Management professional, she has led and supported organizations through incremental and radical changes. Ms. Kieffer thinks strategically and performs with a lean agile mindset that fosters a disciplined, value-adding, inclusive approach in business relationship management, stakeholder management, organizational and individual performance improvement, operational metrics, and more. She has more than 25 years of experience in state and federal government and commercial sectors.