Domain Knowledge – Important aspect of Business Analysis

Business Analysis Domain Knowledge

A domain is nothing but core knowledge of any particular sector, specific industry or nature of a business.  In simple words, we can say, a particular area of work or specific area to be worked upon.

Knowing the Domain thoroughly helps the Business Analyst to connect with requirements accurately along with exploring new areas for the customers. Business Analysts should be effective at learning new business domains and be able to translate that knowledge into eliciting requirements.

A domain can be generalized into 2 categories:

1. Technical Domain: This is for the technical persons to be worked upon. Multiple domains/platforms for IT professionals can be JAVA, J2EE, Dot Net, PHP, Data warehousing, Oracle, Databases, SQL etc.
2. Functional Domain: Domains for Business Analysts to be explored. For Example Banking & Finance, eCommerce, Websites, Hospitality industries, CRM, Health Care, etc.

A Business Analyst must constantly interact with the end users to comprehend the nature and extent of their business needs. If one understands the business processes associated with a particular domain, accomplishing objectives are possible.

How to Gain Domain Knowledge

Gaining domain Knowledge just means ‘Knowing More’. Best available options are:

• Exploring more and more on Google
• Talking with various persons working on the similar domains
• Experiencing the Domain area in person and knowing their operations
• Discussion with some experienced BA on this.
• Reading Articles and blogs
• Visiting different websites for e.g. In a case of E-commerce website development exploring the Amazon working will be of great help.

Domain Expertise for Business Analysts

If you are new to business analysis, you should not worry too much about the domain knowledge. But you must gain the domain knowledge as you start working as a business analyst. It is not possible to gain the domain knowledge through certification. Domain knowledge becomes important for a practicing Business Analyst. It is a measure of your knowledge in that particular area. An entry level Business Analyst cannot replace the domain expertise comes with experience.

Ways to Improve Your Domain Knowledge in Business Analysis

Here are some ways to improve your domain knowledge.

Research

Do research in the particular domain to gain knowledge. You can find more information online where you can download all the documents and read it. Enhance the knowledge in Business Analysis, understand the roles, day to day responsibilities and the functionalities of Business Analyst. Business analyst need different levels of technical proficiency based on their roles, however the additional computer skills you’ve got, the higher you’ll look as a candidate. Attend the events and seminars related to Business Analysis. The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) book may be a key resource to start understanding the tasks and techniques of a business analyst. Also to learn more about Business Analysis, you can gain knowledge through online courses. Check the link below.

Business Analyst Training for Beginners

ECBA™ Certification Training

Getting Started with Business Analysis Fundamentals

Analyze the documents and all the information collected should be examined thoroughly. Then take the information you need from that and move on.

Interview Key Stakeholders 

To learn, asking questions is important. Mostly stakeholders will be ready to help you always to provide the knowledge you need from their end, for that you should start raising questions to them. Start with open ended questions and then move on to the specific questions. Most important is you must know the basics before you meet up with stakeholders as they will get annoyed if they want to explain to you the basics. So as mentioned above first step is research and get to know the basics.

Save the Information

Saving the information collected through your research and from stakeholders is very important as it will be very helpful and useful for your reference in future. Better to create an excel and save all the information gathered about the specific domain such as definitions and acronyms related to the domain, process information, participants, facts etc in that excel.

Immerse Yourself

Immerse yourself in the domain by updating your knowledge through websites, social media, by talking to users, subscribing to newsletters etc. Always be ready to grasp the knowledge in different ways as possible.

Gain Certification

There are different certifications available for different domains.After gaining the knowledge in Business Analysis, getting certified is very important to enter into the particular domain. Certification provides validation for the third party. It helps the employer to know that you have the knowledge about Business Analysis. Some of the certifications that helps you to learn the job roles, responsibilities, functionalities etc for a Business Analyst are listed below. 

• ECBA (Entry Certificate in Business Analysis)
• CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional) from IIBA (The International Institute of Business Analysis )
• PMI-PBA is a popular Business Analysis certification from PMI.

According to your level of knowledge and experience, decide what certification you should choose. Certifications will provide deep knowledge in a specific domain.

Join Online Courses

Nowadays you have more options for online courses. Join the online course you need and gain the knowledge in the particular domain through online. Here are some online courses available for your reference. Kindly go through it.

https://www.mindsmapped.com/course-category/business-analysis/

Gain Work Experience

You can gain expertise in a volunteer role with a startup company 1st, or gain the benefit of internship opportunities. Don’t look for a higher salary. Startup company provides you more knowledge and work experience in the Business Analysis domain. If you’re already in a job with a company in different roles, volunteer to work on the projects based on business analysis. There are several transferable skills to perform your career as a business analyst, and therefore the role of a business analyst is wide-ranging. People can enter the sector either with knowledge of a specific business domain, like workflow, billing, or customer relations, or with knowledge in an industry, such as finance, telecommunications, or government. Once you’re employed as an entry-level business analyst, make sure to gain knowledge in different projects; so in future, you’ll be able to specialize in the domain or business you’re notably fascinated by.

Skills Needed in the Business Analysis Domain

Communication skills

Business analysts should work in teams, gather information and provides it to wide-ranging stakeholders in the company, translate and negotiate between parties, and also provide the solutions in an accessible approach. Business analysts should have strong communication and written skills, and feel assured during a leadership position to get approval for plans from superiors in the company.

Business knowledge and critical thinking

Business analysts should perceive several angles of the organization for whom they are working. They need to be ready to perceive the roles of various people and departments, and the way these departments interact and rely upon one another. They should also understand the single organization in a broader context of the entire industry. This knowledge will help them to build successful strategic plans in the future.

Problem solving skills

A Business Analyst should understand the problems, should be able to come up with possible solutions and determine the scope of the project. To understand the problem, you should be a good listener. You should be able to listen and absorb the source of the problem. This will help you to analyse the problem and to resolve it with the possible solutions. Also to understand and solve the problems in business, you must maintain a good relationship with your stakeholders.

Technical skills

Business analysts could use a large variety of technical programs,  including programs in diagramming, data crunching, wire framing, management of requirements, and for presentation of results. A lot of business analysts are increasing their technical proficiency with knowledge of computer programming, big data mining techniques, database management, and systems engineering.

Methodology skills

There are different methodologies in Business Analysis. For example, Six Sigma, Agile Business Analysis, Business Process Modeling Notation etc. You can choose and get specified in it or if you have the knowledge in more than one specific methodology, it is your great advantage while searching for a job. 

How to start working in a new domain as a BA?

It is best to consider the following points when you start working as a Business Analyst on a new domain.

Thinking like a business user

When a professional starts working in the specific domain, it is advisable to align one’s thought patterns in line with the users.

Act like a business user

It is best for a Business Analyst to get involved with the application in question as much as possible. All eventualities that the customer could encounter should be in your thoughts.

Empathize with business users

In order to relate to a user on their level one as a Business Analyst must raise queries, establish wherever the pain points lie and empathize with the business users with reference to the system limitations that the users face. 

Ask questions and keep a log

Asking queries may be a good move, it’s additionally vital to record all queries that are queried, the responses that are received.