Business analysis may be defined as one enabling organizations to drive changes and deliver value to stakeholders. In this context, Business analysis is an integral part of the product design process. That is why at Qubstudio, we keep pushing forward the limits of standard practice in business analysis. With the mindset of continuous improvement, business analysts in our team tackle essential product design tasks — defining needs and recommending solutions. This article will lift the veil on how we envision the role of a business analyst.
A Product Designer and a Business Analyst are the Batman and Robin of product design. They have profound knowledge on how to achieve the critical objectives of the product development process — user-centricity and business value. While their skills and expertise are always complimentary, they keep challenging one another.
At ITUB, we nurture teams where Product Designer and Business Analysis generate synergy that results in numerous insights. Because discussing an issue from only one perspective, we will end up with limited knowledge of addressing it.
Bringing a Product Designer and a Business Analyst together in a cross-functional team is a way to get maximum effectiveness. In such units, leadership is shared, and the responsibilities of the team members are constantly evolving. This makes them more dedicated to the project and its overall objectives.
For instance, a Product Designer can easily make suggestions on the business model, while a Business Analyst can comment on the usability of a recent design solution. Every project is a living organism that goes through different lifecycle stages. So our primary focus is to analyse the current project environment and act upon it without sacrificing quality.
Everyone is excited about the project kick-off. But it doesn’t mean one should see fit to ignore the initiation phase and the role of a Business Analyst in the project planning. Discussing project expectations early on ensures that all stakeholders are happy with the result.
It’s the Business Analyst who is responsible for uncovering these crucial details. Open discussion around these topics builds a shared vision of success among all team members. So, the task of a Business Analyst is to use their unique perspective to create a project roadmap and plan out project-related activities.
The product ecosystem is another area that cannot be neglected in digital product design. Thinking a few steps ahead, we use information architecture, user flows, and UML diagrams to ensure the scalability of the service. Besides, we work with a technology solution:
• Investigate technical feasibility;
• Identify relationships between different entities of the system;
• Make “build vs. buy” decisions.
The product ecosystem is another area that cannot be neglected in digital product design. Thinking a few steps ahead, we use information architecture, user flows, and UML diagrams to ensure the scalability of the service. Besides, we work with a technology solution:
• Investigate technical feasibility;Identify relationships between different entities of the system;
•Finding a product-market fit takes effort, time, and resources.
This process might force you to reconsider your business model or rethink your killer features. Usually, at this point, businesses are looking for some systematic approach to managing and scaling their product. Business Analysts are destined for such tasks!
The development process does not end up with a mockup demonstration. A Business Analyst is a middleman between the design and development team, practically translating design mockups into technical requirements. This mediation can take up many forms, outlined below.
It’s only natural for a product to have its peaks and valleys. You might need to rethink your strategy and explore fresh ideas for adapting to new realities. The aim of this retrospective is an actionable plan for regaining market position.
