Project Explanation — Tips & Tricks to Ease the Process for an Aspiring BA

Bhavini Sapra

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Analyst’s corner

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4 min read

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Apr 13, 2023

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The complete framework to explain

Coming from a non-BA background with 3+ years of work experience, I knew the first question that will be shot at me in every interview is to explain my projects.

With no official BA experience, I was very stressed about how to explain what I do, not as a network engineer but as a BA.

I did a lot of trial and error and finally came up with a draft, explaining my project in a way a BA could explain.

Let’s connect if you want to grab the draft.

After all this, one thing was clear in my mind. No matter what job role you hold or project you work on, the way how a BA would handle it should be clear enough.

Hence, I am going to talk about the way you can understand your project more thoroughly and can easily explain it by keeping yourself in a BA’s shoes.

I would highly recommend that after reading this, do give yourself a week’s time to prepare a document explaining every bits and pieces of your project. It will be a handy document with you which will keep evolving as you grow in your career and will definitely be of huge help in future interviews.

Let’s dive into it!!

The below method involves answering a few questions and then doing some deep investigation.

In which bucket do you fall?

Identifying yourself is the first step.

1. Are you a fresher, coming straight out of college and willing to start your professional journey as a BA?
2. Are you a working professional coming from an IT background already?
3. Or, are you a working professional but don’t know much about the hyped IT industries?

This will help you to mould your preparation strategy in a better and more specific way.

What kind of project do you handle?

If you have knowledge about the IT industry, then analyse your project.

Understand what kind of project you are currently handling or handled before. In my previous article, I mentioned it to be either of the below 3.

1. Product Development
2. Process Improvement
3. Managing either product or process

Assuming your role could be developer, tester, tech lead, designer etc. in an IT industry, take help from your fellow BA colleague/friend to dig deeper into various aspects of an IT project.

Get answers to these questions —

1. Who are our clients?
2. Why are we doing this? (what problem we are looking at)
3. What are the expectations of clients? (what solution do they seek)
4. What are we providing? (product/process improvement/managing both)
5. How the discussion with major stakeholders was kickstarted?

Perform AS-IS and TO-BE analysis based on your findings. Ask for any referenced document to learn in a more defined structure.

What is an ideal day for a BA in your team?

Explaining what you do as a BA is not easy unless you jump into their day-to-day chores.

While asking questions to your BA colleague, notice him/her very carefully.

1. What their day looks like?
2. How do they maintain several documents? (if possible, get your hands on them)
3. How do they handle different ad-hoc situations?
4. How do they communicate with stakeholders?

You are a BA now

After doing all these thorough investigations, consider yourself a BA now and draft the project document.

1. Briefly explain the problem (within organization or from outside)
2. The solution that your team came up with
3. What did you do to provide the solution (build a software/improved a process?
4. Your role in the whole journey.

You don’t have to go deeper into technicalities. A Business Analyst explains a project in a more business context.

It will give an idea to the interviewer about what kind of business areas you have covered through your projects.

Let me know how this goes by connecting on LinkedIn.

People who are reading this and falling under 1st or 3rd bucket might feel left out.

Don’t worry.

I will come up with an entire new article full of resources and ideas to showcase your projects even though you haven’t done any yet.

I will be providing my handwritten project document for reference very soon.

Do let me know if you need one.

Follow Bhavini Sapra and subscribe to my articles in order to get all updates about a BA lifestyle and how you get to live one.

Connect 1:1 with me for clearing any of your doubts regarding career switch, BA and PO transitions, Interview prep or making your LinkedIn and CV a door to open tons of opportunities.

Hi-Fi!!