Imagine this: you are at a birthday party and someone asks about your profession. If you're a tester, software developer or project manager, it's simple to explain what you do. But when you, like me, are a Business & Information Analyst, it becomes a challenge. 

My definition

I explain my job as follows: when a company encounters a problem or change, they need me. For example, a problem can be inefficient or ineffective working. A change can be, for example, the introduction of a new product, legislation, replacement of an application, the introduction of a web portal or, for example, a merger or acquisition. I am the linking pin between the business and IT and make sure that all changes are identified and the problem is solved or the change is implemented properly.

I have been working in this field since 2005, and at Valid since 2015. Although the interpretation of my position varies over the years, there is always a common goal: successfully implementing change at our customers.

In this blog, I like to share some cases from my own practice to illustrate the diversity of my job.

The first introduction

My first introduction to the field of Business & Information Analysis was at an organization that was getting a new information system for (potential) tenants, with an attached portal for potential tenants.

Here I analyzed the current business processes and improved them to fit the new IT solutions. I also created functional designs for the system, website and portal. I tested all of this, wrote user manuals and provided training at all branches. The result is that potential tenants can more easily express their interest in properties and staff can match these potential tenants to available properties faster.

BIA & Finance

In the financial world, I have also worked as a Business and Information Analyst. In the three examples below, I will show you how varied and broadly applicable this role can be.

At a pension administrator I was involved in the development of a new website, a new web portal and a new system. For this, I inventoried the needs and requirements, performed information analysis, created screen flows and screen designs, prepared use cases and functional designs, and performed system testing.

At an insurance company, I examined the impact of new and changing legislation on the entire organization. This involved not only looking at the impact on systems but also at the impact in the areas of communication and commerce, personnel, processes, finance and legal. I mapped out what needed to be done to achieve the desired situation. On this basis, I mapped out the wishes and requirements together with the stakeholders and ensured, together with the other project members, that these wishes and requirements were implemented. As a result, this insurer complied with the new and changing legislation on time.

At a mortgage lender, I dealt with data management. A Data Quality Issue Management process had to be implemented here. I took care of this implementation and also provided the corresponding guidelines, manuals and instructions. There was also a Data Quality Issue dashboard in place. This dashboard needed to be improved and expanded. I took care of this improvement and expansion. I also assisted the organization in rolling out Data Governance within the organization.

BIA & Telecom

Within the telecom sector, I also completed some great assignments. Here again, my work looked very different. For example, I inventoried the requirements and wishes of a Business Intelligence department for a weekly automated report where I also mapped out the desired solution and wrote the required functionalities. The result: the department automatically receives a weekly report that is of higher quality than before.

Another department wanted a dashboard to monitor process throughput times. I analyzed existing data and mapped out the requirements and wishes of the dashboard. As a result, the department now has insight into the lead times and can make timely adjustments.

In addition, as new products and new websites and systems were introduced, I identified the process changes needed. I described new processes, modified existing processes and ensured that these processes were implemented in the organization.

BIA & other sectors 

In addition to the aforementioned sectors, I also had the opportunity to do some great assignments with a large sports brand and with a large machine and tool rental company. Again, two completely different assignments.

At the sports brand, I dealt with Data Management within a project dealing with migration of data from SQL servers to the Cloud. Within this project, I looked for the right Stakeholders, assessed data quality and documented the end-to-end lineage. I also ensured that the Data Governance and Data Quality maturity level within the team increased through training.

At the lessor, I was involved in several SAP related projects. My responsibilities included mapping interfaces, investigating and describing impacts on interfaces and applications, describing modifications on existing interfaces and applications (functional) and describing new interfaces (functional).

Welcome to the wonderful world of Business Analysis

As you can note, the work is very varied. If you ask my colleagues for examples, you will hear even more diverse stories. The dynamics and variety are what make the profession so fascinating and challenging.

With this blog, I aim to provide an insight into the duties of a Business & Information Analyst. I hope this goal has been achieved. Would you like more details? Feel free to let me know.