The business analyst plays a key role in the implementation of new software, acting as a mediator between the client and the development team. His main task is to identify, clearly document, and communicate business requirements into technical specifications, as well as to agree on the criteria for successful implementation.
Key features:
Analysis and formalization of requirements: the business analyst thoroughly processes initial requests, turning them into clear, unambiguous, and measurable requirements.
Defining Critical Success Factors (CSF) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI): together with the client, he develops metrics that allow assessing the success of the product implementation.
Managing stakeholder expectations: communicates progress, agrees on the "Done" criteria (Definition of Done), adjusts expectations considering constraints and priorities.
What are the most important requirements — functional or non-functional?
Answer: Both types of requirements are equally important. Functional ones answer "what the system should do", while non-functional ones describe "how it does it". Neglecting either will lead to implementation failure.
Can we do without acceptance criteria if time is tight?
Answer: No, the absence of clear acceptance criteria will lead to disputes and rework. Even under a deadline, criteria are prioritized but not ignored.
Should the business analyst decide for himself what result is considered successful?
Answer: No, the correct approach is to collaboratively develop clear and measurable success criteria with the client, rather than relying solely on the analyst's opinion.
Negative case: implementation of a CRM system without agreed acceptance criteria. Requirements were formulated superficially, leading to disagreements between the sales department and IT by the time of release.
Pros:
Cons:
Positive case: formalization of requirements, creation of a success criteria matrix with the client, regular demos.
Pros:
Cons: