Welcome to the Lounge

Gerry Schmitz3-Aug-23 6:02

Gerry Schmitz

3-Aug-23 6:02

ERP means "enterprise"; refering to the systems that "run" the enterprise and how they integrate: Financials; manufacturing; order processing; purchasing; etc. The BA's role is to "know about those things".

The BA role was invented to isolate the user from the "programmer"; as such, their usefulness is inversely proportional to competency (and political reach) of the development team.

Working on the actual systems, the "programmer" tends to know more than the BA; so, yes, the programmer winds up being a ghost writer for the BA (who makes the presentations to management, but doesn't take responsibility for the results).

If there are no existing systems, there is no "BA" (that I'm aware of); he would be a "systems analyst" (chicken and egg).

"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I

Sander Rossel3-Aug-23 20:10

Sander Rossel

3-Aug-23 20:10

If there are more than those two BA's I'd say let the more experienced BA's help them out.
If anyone, they should know what's expected of them and how things work.
Also, get them proper (formal) training.

Best,
Sander

Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook)
Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook)
Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure
arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript

BernardIE53174-Aug-23 3:09

BernardIE5317

4-Aug-23 3:09

greetings kind regards may i please inquire edumakation of said BAs ? i have little knowledge re/ such matters however if i understand correctly via my ignorant opinion a so called BA would need to be learned of computer systems and business operations/systems .

re/ "desktop support" if i understand its meaning i.e. so called "help desk" i.e. assists w/ operation of software again via my ignorant opinion though w/ no small amount of experience seeking assistance via same w/ only occasional pleasant surprises a "desktop support" person would have none of these as in my experience they merely follow a pre-written script which requires little knowledge .

Member 147486254-Aug-23 4:44

Member 14748625

4-Aug-23 4:44

While there is some solid advice here and would encourage you to look into the options provided, I wanted to give you something a little more immediate, based on having dealt with two major ERP replacements and supporting a third, in my career. Essentially, the role of the BA is to be curious, to ask questions, and gain understanding. In my experience customers will try to prescribe a solution based on their own understanding of the technology or because they have always done something in a particular way, but more often than not they are not best situated to provide the solution, due to their lack of understanding regarding all of the factors involved. For this reason, it is so important to start with 'why'. Understand the business problem or requirement that the solution needs to address, without reference to technology, process or user experience (user interface, report layouts, etc.), and really understand the value that achieving that outcome will have to the business. Doing so will both aid in the prioritization and may potentially eliminate some requirements altogether if the value just won't be realized.

Robert Cummings 20214-Aug-23 8:01

Robert Cummings 2021

4-Aug-23 8:01

Thanks for your input Member. I wholeheartedly agree with your statement. I always find some confusion and push back from junior people in IT when I tell them there are NO IT projects. There are only business problems that can have an IT solution. But the project itself is less important than solving the business problem.

Eric Whitmore4-Aug-23 5:05

Eric Whitmore

4-Aug-23 5:05

Hi Robert,

I work for a public university so I understand some of the challenges you're facing as I have faced them as well. A couple resources that might be helpful:

1) ITANA is a higher ed focused Enterprise Architecture collaboration that deals with these types of situations. I highly recommend you check out their material here: Home - Itana - Internet2 Wiki[^]

2) If your institution uses EAB, Gartner or Educause I would setup an analyst call to discuss your specific needs. These calls are usually including as part of your university membership. I find that most IT folks don't know that they have access to these resources. Posting to the Educause forum is a great way to get resources that are higher ed specific.

I have 10 years in private sector IT and 10 years in higher ed IT. It is hard for people who have never worked in higher ed to understand that things just work differently until they experience it. I hope this helps.

Eric

Re: Help me, help my BA - deliverables?

Robert Cummings 20214-Aug-23 7:12

Robert Cummings 2021

4-Aug-23 7:12

Thank you very much, I was unfamiliar with Educause. I will certainly check them out.

David On Life4-Aug-23 11:54

David On Life

4-Aug-23 11:54

I would also strongly encourage formal training, or at least reading up on the web what they should do and what outputs they should produce (with samples). You might even review some of that yourself, then tailor the sample outputs to something you would find useful.

I don't recall ever working with a Business Analyst per se; however, my expectations would be something like:

They should document the main business processes, especially those that need automation or interface with automation (like user stories). This should include copies of sample forms and reports currently in use.
This should include key terms, abbreviations, and definitions.
It should include any (industry) standards or regulations the business is expected to adhere to (with links to full specs/requirements where available).
This should include data flow (and decision/action flow) diagrams that show who creates the data, who acts on it, and where it eventually goes.
It should also include data models. They don't have to be formal/relational, but they should list all the business data entities, allowable (and sample) data, volume/size/quantity, and relationships.
You might want to also have them help with developing persona, use case, or actor models.

Hope this helps.

CCC for Thursday August 3

Craig Robbins3-Aug-23 1:43

3-Aug-23 1:43

A reactive metal and an odd dog. (6)

pkfox3-Aug-23 3:12

pkfox

3-Aug-23 3:12

Afghan ?

In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. - Hunter S Thompson - RIP

Craig Robbins3-Aug-23 3:20

3-Aug-23 3:20

nope

DerekT-P3-Aug-23 4:19

DerekT-P

3-Aug-23 4:19

Hoping I'm wrong, but CANINE?
K = Potassium, a reactive metal; 9 = odd number K9 = canine canine = dog

Telegraph marker posts ... nothing to do with IT
Phasmid email discussion group ... also nothing to do with IT
Beekeeping and honey site ... still nothing to do with IT

Craig Robbins3-Aug-23 4:32

3-Aug-23 4:32

You hoped wrong - as you are right. Canine is correct, although I was thinking of Calcium (CA) as the reactive metal.

YAUT -- Craig

DerekT-P3-Aug-23 5:33

DerekT-P

3-Aug-23 5:33

haha.. I always forget Calcium is a metal. Doesn't seem right that bones etc are largely made of metal... Laugh | :laugh:

Telegraph marker posts ... nothing to do with IT
Phasmid email discussion group ... also nothing to do with IT
Beekeeping and honey site ... still nothing to do with IT

OriginalGriff3-Aug-23 5:51

OriginalGriff

3-Aug-23 5:51

DerekT-P wrote:
Doesn't seem right that bones etc are largely made of metal.

X-Rays and so forth would be a lot more difficult if they weren't! Big Grin | :-D

"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

Craig Robbins3-Aug-23 5:55

3-Aug-23 5:55

Astronomers consider every element a metal except Hydrogen and Helium.

pkfox3-Aug-23 4:53

pkfox

3-Aug-23 4:53

Well done Derek how did you deduce he wanted an odd number ?

In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. - Hunter S Thompson - RIP