It is necessary to prepare yourself for the interview irrespective of whether you are an experienced business analyst or have applied for the role of a business analyst for the first time.
Business analysis is a diverse field and therefore, the type of questions that are going to be asked during an interview will very much depend on the type of role that you are applying for. Moreover, it will also depend on the industry in which you are applying for the role of a business analyst to some extent.
For example, a candidate who attends an interview for the post of business analyst in a software company might be asked a different set of questions than the candidate who attends an interview for the same post but in a manufacturing company.
Therefore, we have listed down some of the top business analyst interview questions that can be asked to a candidate seeking any post and in any industry.
What is the role of a business analyst in an organization?
A business analyst has to analyze an organization or firm based on its business processes, use of technology, business strategies, and much more. His primary role is to help an enterprise implement newer technology to drive the necessary change that would propel it to newer heights. He also communicates and acts as a mediator between various stakeholders of an enterprise or project. Moreover. he also assists them to plan, design, and monitor the product/project that is to be developed for the end-user or client.
List down the core competencies of a BA.
These are the core competencies of a BA:
- Strong analytical and communication skills
- Decision making and technical skills
- Complete knowledge of a particular industry or domain
- Mediating and negotiation skills
- Management and handling of business processes
Explain the differences between SDLC and PLC.
SDLC or Software Development Life Cycle is utilized for the development of software products and applications whereas PLC or Project Life Cycle focuses on the development of new products in the market.
SDLC uses only one type of software during various phases of software development whereas PLC uses several software for a single product/project.
Also, SDLC includes different phases such as a collection of requirements, designing, operations, coding, documentation, and maintenance whereas PLC includes ideas, screening, development of the product, screening, quality checking, analysis, etc.
Define Scope Creep and explain how can it be avoided?
Scope Creep is a change in the scope of a particular project that might arise due to incorrect documentation of the requirements or due to lack of communication between the various stakeholders of a project.
Scope Creep usually forces a team to deliver the changed requirements in the same budget and deadline that were stipulated earlier. This means that it could result in the loss of an organization’s resources.
For avoiding Scope Creep we have to take care of the following things:
- Documenting all the requirements of the project.
- Adhering to change management appropriately
- Conveying the outcomes of the changes to the involved parties
- Documenting all the latest requirements correctly
- Avoiding gold plating i.e. adding unnecessary features to the functionalities that already exist.
Define Gap analysis.
Gap analysis is an analytical process that is used to bridge the differences between existing functionalities/system and the system or functionalities that are targeted. This means that it is the analysis of the tasks that need to be undertaken to achieve the results or targeted outcomes. For that, the comparison needs to be done between the proposed and existing functionalities.
Name the documents that are utilized to capture the non-functional requirements.
Two documents viz. SDD (System Design Document) and FRD (Functional Requirement Document) are utilized to capture requirements that are of the non-functional type.
Can a business analyst contribute during the testing phase?
Yes, the business analyst can contribute to the testing phase as he understands the requirements of the system and the risks related to it well. He can prove to be useful in providing solutions to the queries that are related to the system. As a result, he can play a vital role during the testing phase.
Define Benchmarking.
Benchmarking is the process that is followed to determine the competency of a firm and its ability to survive its competitors in the market. For that, different aspects like performance, policies, etc. are measured by the firm or company.
Can you describe the different issues that a business analyst can face?
A business analyst is involved in almost all the phases from planning to implementation of the project. As a result, he may come across these issues:
- Issues that are related to the employees
- Issues that might exist in the technology that is being used
- Problems that related to access
- Issues that might occur due to incorrect business policies
- Errors of business models
Define Business Model Analysis.
Business Model Analysis is a complete process that includes analysis of business based on economic, social, and other factors. It determines if the business is profitable or not and is usually followed to bring a change in the existing business model of an organization.
What are the key differences between business analysis and business analytics?
Business analytics is more concerned with the data of an organization whereas business analysis deals with the analysis of processes and functions that are implemented within an organization.
Business analysis is conducted to analyze the requirements and to find solutions for the issues by using different tools like SWOT, MOST, WHY, PESTEL, etc.
On the other hand, business analytics is used to monitor the data to collect useful insights for business. The data is used to create reports that can be used while creating new products and solutions.
Define critical analysis.
A critical analysis is a process that includes all the activities that are included in a project right from the initial to the completion phase. It is used to reduce the cost and timelines of a particular project.
These are some questions that can be asked in a business analyst interview. Read all the different types of questions that are related to business analysis but answer in your own words as the interviewer should understand that you have a thorough understanding of all the concepts and terminologies.