Business Analyst Vocabulary Flashcards
User stories
A user story describes the functionality that a business system should provide so that it can be developed. It is often called a ticket or work item. The format is “As a…. I want to… So that I can…”
Functional requirements specification (FRS)
This is the business requirements that are defined from an end user or business perspective. It will specify the expected outcomes. These are hard requirements that illustrate how the feature should work as opposed to nonfunctional requirements which cover things such as how the feature should look
Nonfunctional requirements
Nonfunctional Requirements (NFRs) are intended to specify ‘system qualities,’ various systems attributes that are not directly related to their functionality. This covers attributes of a function such as the look and feel. A functional requirement would be a ‘Submit’ button while a nonfunctional requirement would be the color of the submit button
Gap analysis document
This document describes the gaps between the current processes and the intended processes.
Change request logs
This document is a log of all the change requests in the project including date of request, requester, and any other key information.
Jira
Jira is a software application that allows teams to track issues, manage projects, and automate workflows. Jira holds the project backlog (aka the team to do list), user stories, acceptance criteria, and more
Stakeholder
A stakeholder is a person, group or organization with a vested interest, or stake, in the decision-making and activities of a business, organization or project. Stakeholders can be members of the organization they have a stake in, or they can have no official affiliation. Can be anyone. A user, an executive, anyone who is interested in or will feel the affects of the project.
Sprint Backlog
A subset of product backlog to-do items, which is to be taken up for development in a particular sprint. These are fully detailed out. A sprint backlog may contain:
Requirements
Defects
Changes etc.
Product Backlog
A listing of to-be-done requirements (captured as user stories or any other format) with priority and estimation. It is maintained on the product level and not all requirements are detailed out in the phase.
Business Case
A document describing solution options, their comparisons and recommended solution based on parameters relevant to the organization.
Wireframes and other visual documentation
This document contains renderings of the user interface, often in the form of low-fidelity wireframes.
Use cases
A use case identifies, defines, and organizes the system requirements from the perspective of a user.
Current state analysis
If the current business process or domain is not well understood, the BA analyzes and documents the current state before scoping a project to improve upon it. (ex. as-is diagram)
Agile
The division of work into small iterative tasks with the ability to rapidly adapt to changing circumstances.
Business Requirements Document
A Business Requirements Document is a requirements package that describes business requirements and stakeholder requirements (it documents requirements of interest to the business, rather than documenting business requirements).
Competitive Analysis
A structured process which captures the key characteristics of an industry to predict the long-term profitability prospects and to determine the practices of the most significant competitors.
Cost Benefit Analysis
Analysis done to compare and quantify the financial and non-financial costs of making a change or implementing a solution compared to the benefits gained.
Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
An analysis model that illustrates processes that occur, along with the flows of data to and from those processes.
Deliverable
Any unique and verifiable work product or service that a party has agreed to deliver.
Subject Matter Expert (SME)
A person with specific expertise in an area or domain under investigation.
End User
A person or system that directly interacts with the solution. End users can be humans who interface with the system, or systems that send or receive data files to or from the system.
Elicitation
An activity within requirements development that identifies sources for requirements and then uses elicitation techniques (e.g., interviews, prototypes, facilitated workshops, documentation studies) to gather requirements from those sources.
Prioritization
The process of determining the relative importance of a set of items in order to determine the order in which they will be addressed.
Process Map
A business model that shows a business process in terms of the steps and input and output flows across multiple functions, organizations, or job roles.
Project Manager
The stakeholder assigned by the performing organization to manage the work required to achieve the project objectives.
Prototype
A partial or preliminary version of the system.
Quality Assurance
Activities performed to ensure that a process will deliver products that meet an appropriate level of quality.
Requirements Trace Matrix
A matrix used to track requirements’ relationships. Each column in the matrix provides requirements information and associated project or software development components.
Requirements Workshop
A requirements workshop is a structured meeting in which a carefully selected group of stakeholders collaborate to define and or refine requirements under the guidance of a skilled neutral facilitator.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It is a model used to understand influencing factors and how they may affect an initiative
Use Case Diagram
A type of diagram defined by UML that captures all actors and use cases involved with a system or product.
Unified Modeling Language (UML)
A non-proprietary modeling and specification language used to specify, visualize, and document deliverables for object-oriented software-intensive systems
Use Case
An analysis model that describes the tasks that the system will perform for actors and the goals that the system achieves for those actors along the way.
User Acceptance Test
Test cases that users employ to judge whether the delivered system is acceptable. Each acceptance test describes a set of system inputs and expected results.
Test Case
A test case is a set of actions executed to verify a particular feature or functionality of your software application. Contains test steps, test data, precondition, post-condition developed for specific test scenario to verify any requirement. Can compare expected and actual results
Flow Diagram
A flow diagram or flowchart is a specific type of activity diagram that communicates a sequence of actions or movements within a complex system
Scrum
Scrum is a management framework that teams use to self-organize and work towards a common goal. It describes a set of meetings, tools, and roles for efficient project delivery. Much like a sports team practicing for a big match, Scrum practices allow teams to self-manage, learn from experience, and adapt to change.
Cross functional teams
Cross functional teams are groups of people from various departments in an organization—such as marketing, product development, quality assurance, sales and finance—who work together to achieve a common goal.
