Digital transformation and enhancement projects are here to stay. But with a shift in the operational model of the organisation, how does a business manage its information to enable effective change? Business analysts are great at managing this change as they act as a conduit for information, thus enabling a business to better understand and articulate the change. In today's digital world, having access to the right information at the right time is critical to success. This is where the business analyst is here to help.
Think like a customer
In digital transformation, we have to first and foremost "Think Like a Customer." Business analysts ensure that the solutions they design and deliver meet the needs of customers and related stakeholders. As a result, business analysts are responsible for understanding enterprise problems and goals, analysing needs and solutions, developing strategies, driving change, and facilitating stakeholder collaboration. As we can see, this plays a critical role in both transformation and business enhancement efforts.
Take the example of Uber. If you want to get a ride, the customer controls the situation from an app. The tracking is visible and reassuring. This is a good example of digital transformation as it disrupted the entire taxi industry, creating a new business model. Uber eats, for instance, is a good example of digital enhancement. Again, thinking of the customer and their needs, but looking at enhancing the product and service offering to their customers.
What do business analyst do
Business analysts are responsible for gathering, synthesising, and analysing information from various sources within an organisation, such as tools, processes, documentation, and stakeholders.
A business analyst is critical when it comes to digital solutions. Fundamentally, digital change shifts the focus from a product to a customer and as a result disrupts the operating business model completely. Although this may appear to be a simple concept, it involves so much change that it can be hard to fully grasp the extent or the impact. To compare, when we look to improving our processes, which is digital enhancement; whereas digital transformation changes the entire way we work. If the company manages the digital transformation properly, it will restructure the entire business, altering every aspect of it, including the roles. For business analysts, we should be looking at this new business model and restructuring what we will be doing in the future.
The business analyst is responsible for eliciting the actual needs of the customers (stakeholders) in order to determine underlying issues and causes, which frequently involves investigating and clarifying their expressed desires.
Are you changing your business model?
In this very interesting and valuable webinar, Alexander Belin explains the difference between digital and regular change and advises BAs on the challenge they must deal with. If a company invents a new business model and wishes to implement it, they only have two options: They will either survive and create something new, or they will perish. Digital transformation can have an impact on more than just a workgroup, department, or division.
What is the Future of Business Analysis?
In this excellent series by Ken Fulmer, he highlights how the digital world and the business domain convergence requires us to think differently about business analysis. This involves three key components
- Is business analysis going to be relevant in the digital era?
- How will business analysis change to adapt to the future?
- Are the current skills going to be sufficient in the digital era?
To understand a bit more about your role as a BA in digital change, download the IIBA whitepaper Crossing the Chasm from Traditional to Digital
Summary
Digital transformation shifts the focus from a product to a customer and as a result disrupts the business operating model completely. On the other hand, digital enhancement looks to improve the customer experience and business model through digitisation. To support the change, business analysts play a pivotal role in both transformation and digital enhancement projects. This is because they act as a conduit for information, thus enabling a business to better understand and articulate the change and it's value.
Post sponsored by Agora Insights Ltd
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