Business Analysis (BA) is a profession which is helping organizations to manage business transformation in an ever-changing and complex world. Business analysts work across the business change lifecycle; they develop early understanding of business needs. Their work leads to a situation where the right projects are funded for the right reasons. As a result, the Agile philosophy and techniques are fundamental to business analyst’s work. BA ensure that the solutions are developed that meet these needs and Scrum teams work on the best product backlog.
This video shares some experience of being an agile BA in the public sector. You will learn how applying Agile principles and techniques has enabled to transform business operations and improve performance in both IT and non IT departments. This experience demonstrates that Agile approaches are not just reserved for developers but can – and should – be utilized by business analysts in the wider business context, thus paving the way for Agile development to succeed.
Business analysts are underutilized within Agile development approaches and Scrum teams need to embrace the qualities that business analysts bring in order to enhance the business benefits that IT projects deliver. Business analysis in Agile focuses on continuous discovery, collaboration, and delivering outcomes, not producing large up‑front documents. A Business Analyst (BA) helps teams understand value, refine requirements iteratively, and ensure alignment with business goals.
Common techniques used by business analysts and product owners in Agile environments include:
- User Story Mapping
- Personas & Journey Mapping
- Impact Mapping
- Value Stream Mapping
- Backlog Prioritization (MoSCoW, WSJF)
- Prototyping & Wireframing
Video producer: https://agileonthebeach.com/
Further reading: Analysis on Analysts in Agile