What we do
The Business Analysts (BA’s) at Software Solved are responsible for the definition of requirements and the preparation of user stories and acceptance criteria for a range of custom software, data, and product development projects. They bridge the gap between stakeholders and the development team, translating customer requirements into development tasks that combine to create the final software product.
How we do it
The BA is often the first member of the project team who the client works with. The BA will plan and host a series of workshops where they will discuss the client’s needs and define the scope of the project. The BA will gather as much information as possible to understand what the client is trying to achieve. They may need to identify problems, perform a gap analysis or analyse data in order to define the project requirements.
The requirements will be documented and then reviewed and approved by the client. The BA will then translate these requirements into tasks for development and support the developers and testers throughout the development project.
The tools we use
BAs use many different tools to capture requirements and designs, including those listed below:
- Story Maps
- Flow Diagrams
- Wireframes/mock-ups
- User Stories
- Acceptance Criteria
- Data Definitions
User Stories
A fully formed user story is a description of a feature of a software system, written from the perspective of a user of the system. It contains all the information needed by the developers to create the feature and the for the testers to verify that it is fit for purpose. An example of a fully formed user story describing the entry of personal details in a job application system is shown below.
Basic User Story
As an Applicant I want to enter my personal details So that they are included when I submit a job application.
Wireframe Design
Acceptance Criteria
Data Definition
The skills we need
In addition to being proficient in the processes and tools already mentioned, BAs have a number of other skills, including the following:
A typical day
No two days are ever the same, but a typical day might include the following:
- Client workshop to discuss the client’s needs
- Document project requirements and create user stories
- Review and update the product backlog to prioritise development activities
- Planning meeting to present the planned work for the next sprint to the development team
- Stand-up meeting with development team to review progress and answer queries
- Review test scripts to ensure coverage of requirements
If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you with custom software, please get in touch.
