For any new piece of work a BA (business analyst) needs to know

who are the key stakeholders (i.e. those who can kill the project)
what are the key stakeholders specific and measurable measures of success (i.e.
their objectives) and what VALUE for each objective MUST be achieved in order for
the project to be considered a success (e.g. increase sales per order value by 5%)
what are the key stakeholders unmeasured measures of success (i.e. their principles
that they would like to see happen but aren't going to measure and so the project
cannot be assessed by them - e.g. an intuitive solution)
what are the key stakeholders high level requirements (i.e. what capabilities do they
expect the solution to deliver - e.g. the ability to offer add-on sales during the order
taking process)
what is in scope of the work in terms of processes, organization units, locations,
data, applications, technology
what is the scope of the work in terms of time, money, project resources (people and
materials)
who will the stakeholders nominate for determining further high level requirements
and detailed requirements (e.g. subject or domain experts, middle management of
operational teams, etc)

What is a swimlane diagram?

A swimlane diagram (also sometime called a cross-functional diagram) documents the steps
or activities of a process flow or workflow. More specifically, a swimlane diagram groups
these activities into swimlanes which are horizontal or vertical columns that contain all of
the activities which fit into the category represented by that swimlane. Swimlanes can
represent many categories of information such as actors which perform the activities (i.e.,
role or department), the stage of the process in which the activity takes place, or whatever
else the creator of the document feels should be emphasized and communicated by the
swimlane diagram. The term swimlane was adopted due to the visual similarity between
the horizontal rows of the diagram to that of the swimlanes found within a swiming pool.

A process flow or workflow diagram does not have to use swimlanes. However, since
swimlanes communicate additional information about who performs the activity or when it
takes place, its typically a preferred best practice to include them. Similarly, a swimlane
diagram can use only one set of swimlanes (either vertical swimlanes or horizontal
swimlanes). In BPMN standards, a process flow is typically shown flowing from left to right.
If only one set of swimlanes is used, horizontal swimlanes are most commonly used to
group activities. In the UML standard, the activity diagram flows from top to bottom and
veritcal swimlanes are most commonly used.
One of the more common choices used by creators of swimlane diagrams is to define the
roles which perform each activity within horizontal swimlanes and define the process stages
in which the activity occurs within vertical swimlanes.
What is a case point or function point?
Use Case Points are similar to Function Points in many ways as they are used to size and
estimate the cost of work on systems. Use Case Points are a normalized unit of measure
used to:

Quantify the amount of business functionality a system provides business users

Estimate the cost to develop a system or set of features based on the number of use
case points it supports
Determine how costly a system is to maintain based on the number of use case
points it supports

The number of Use Case Points is derived from factors such as:

The number of system use cases and the complexity of the use cases
The number of system actors
Non-functional requirements that are not captured as use cases but that have an
overall impact on system complexity
The project environment including the architectural framework, programming
language, team structure and efficiency, etc

Questions to ask in an interview.

Can you tell me which project phases BAs are involved with?. If they answer that BAs are
only ever involved in requirements, then this suggests that they are looking for a specialist
Requirements Analyst. This might not suit a BA who is looking to experience the breadth of
the BA role, so its best to know this up front.
2. How is systems analysis handled, do you have dedicated systems analysts?. Some
employers advertise for a BA when they are really looking for a combined BA/Systems
Analyst. This suits some people but not others, and asking this question will help to uncover
this.
3. Do BAs in your organisation get involved in business change/process improvement
projects? Or just IT change projects. This question helps to uncover the breadth of the BA
remit. Some organisations use BAs only on IT projects, whereas others will utilise their skills
on all projects.
4. Is the BA team part of IT, part of the Business, or part of a separate Change function?
5. Is there a central BA team (a centre of excellence) or do all functions have their own BA
team?. Having a central team allows pooling of knowledge, and this can be incredibly
beneficial.
Whilst there are no right or wrong answers to these questions, my personal view is that
a BA will get exposure to more varied projects if the breadth of the role is wider. I would be
looking for an organisation that utilises its BA capability throughout the project lifecycle, for
IT and Business projects. Id also be looking for an organisation that has a central BA
function, or a matrix BA function with strong links across the departments to allow sharing
of knowledge. However, whether this is right for you will depend on your current career
aspirations!

A Business Analyst is responsible for a host of processes and activities which are
elaborated as follows:
a) At the Project Initiation process, its the responsibility of the Business Analyst to
cover the high level scope and objectives of the project and establish communication
channels
b)Understanding the business processes of a section or whole of the organization in a
very clear cut manner so as to implement that knowledge in any required manner.
c) Clear Understanding and communication of Requirements is a very important aspect
of a Business Analyst as it ensures that there is minimum gap between the expectations of
the end users and the final deliverable from the technical team.
d) Analysis and Documentation should be very precise and clearly understandable so
that starting from the end users or stakeholders to the developers can understand the
underlying stated expectations in the requirement documents.
d) Solution assessment and validation is one of the main roles of a business analyst as
it should be ensured that there are no gaps in the requirement process to the development
stages.
e) Regular interactions by the business analyst with the developers and the module leads
is essential as the knowledge transfer of the user expectations should be made clearly
f) The business analyst has a major role to play in the testing phase where he can
actually take part in the systems testing phase and also provide support during the
acceptance testing phase.
g) After the implementation of the software system, the business analyst also may need
to handle the change management process if there are any new requirements or changes
proposed.
The business analyst profile actually encompasses different roles like that of a process
analyst, system analyst, project manager, application support, data analyst and tester.
Gaining all round knowledge in all these different role types will definitely give the Business
Analyst an edge and will enable him to overview the project from all angles.

Implementation of such responsibilities will help the Business Analyst become the interface
between the users and the technical team. The organization should also be responsible for
guiding the Business Analyst through his correct responsibilities for the better advancement
of the individual as well as the company as a whole.
What is SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)?
SDLC or Software Development Life Cycle is the life cycle literally of the development of a
system or software. This life cycle details all the processes that a system undergoes while it
is being designed. That is the basic layman understanding of what SDLC stands for.
The steps of the System Development Life Cycle are detailed as below. They show the
detailed working of how a system is developed for a particular project.
The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) starts when a client expresses the need to
start a new project. Once the project is in hand, the steps of the SDLC work as:
Project Planning: Planning is the core of every process and only effective planning can
make a Business Analyst realize if the intended system can really be developed or not. A
feasibility study is conducted in this stage to determine if the actual system intended is
indeed possible to work upon or not.
System Analysis and Requirements Definition: Here, the requirements of the client in the
system to be developed are properly analyzed and then a final requirement definition is
written by the Business Analyst in consultation with the client, who will be the end- user of
the project. This requirements definition is used by the software team of programmers and
developers to start the project.
System Design: This is the process of SDLC where the system is actually designed as per
the requirements. The process of database design, structure design, nuances of the
client/server technology, defining tiers of package architecture are all defined properly in
this phase.
System Development: This is the phase where the actual project is made. The systems
software is coded in this phase. Code generation makes the system machine-readable. The
code is generated by the technical team of software developers and programmers. The code
is generated with the help of languages like C, C++, Java, VB, SQL and tools like debuggers
and compilers.
System Implementation Here, the system developed is incorporated in the design of the
project. The developers assemble their creations in the previous phases of the SDLC.
System Integration and Testing The system generated is now checked for errors and bugs
so to as to ascertain how workable the system developed really is. The System Testing
phase shows whether the timelines of the project can be adhered to or how much work is
still pending, depending on the number of errors and bugs found.

System Acceptance and Installation Testing in live conditions is an acid test for the
systems success. Testing the project in a replica of live environment will enable the
software developing team to ascertain whether the software developed will actually work in
live conditions and as per how it was envisioned to work.
System Maintenance - Once system is implemented in live conditions, it has to be
maintained properly. The software developed may face some changes due to some
unexpected inputs or changes due to new personnel in the organization. Hence any
problems arising need to be fixed to maintain the system well.
What is the importance of a flow chart???
Flow chart is graphical representation of the process which makes the system simple to
understand for all the persons who belongs to the development of the project.
What is a use case model? Explain in brief ?
Use case diagram:
Use case diagrams describe the business environment. It is a series of events / flow of
actions related to a process that are performed by an actor.
What is called an UML modeling?
UML means unified modeling language. It is the standard language for constructing,
visualizing and documenting the components of a system.
What is the importance of an Activity diagram?
The main use of an activity diagram is to show the work flow of the business and to show
the activities happening in the business system and actions completed. In a companies
there may be different sections like medical, accounting, HR etc..and each department has
different privileges to the system. I.e medical dept can access only medical related screens
and HR dept to only HR screens etc..So this activity diagrams shows the activities of
different departments with their relation. This will be useful to the developers while
designing and coding.
How many types of diagrams and what you know about them ?
Use case diagram &
Collaboration diagram.
What is meant by alternate flow in use case?
It is a flow that will come into picture when there is a failure in the system and expected
results did not come.
What do you mean by exception flow in a use case?
It is basically any unexpected situations or unusual results in an application.

These exceptions are handles in different ways.

What do you mean by extends and includes in a use case?
Extend means when there is a specific action must take place. And include means the action
may or may not take place.
What are different documents that relate to a use cases ?
There are 2 docs.
FRD (functional requirement document)
SDD (system design document) / TRS (Technical requirements specifications)

What is a Business Analyst Roles and responsibilities?

Ans:

What is the difference between Business Analyst & System Analyst?

Ans:

Can you tell me difference between Business Analyst and Business Analysis?
Ans:

What are the common tools that are used by a business Analyst?
Ans: Rational tools, MS Visio, MS word, MS Excel, Power point, Quality center/test director
MS Project, And there may be some tools which are project and client specific which you do
not have to worry. etc..

What are the documents that a Business Analyst needs to deliver?

Ans: Well there are some important documents such as "functional specification documents,
technical specification documents, Requirements traceability, BRD (business requirements
document), Use case diagrams, Business flow, etc..

Can you tell me what a use case diagram is?

Ans: First of all a use case diagram is a part of UML and it is a behavioral digram which is
created from a use case analysis. The main reason or use of this use case diagram is it
defines the functions of the module or system and the role of each actor associated to that
function.
For Eg: "Order Management" is a main function, and the person who receives the order in
the office is an actor.

How do you normally gather Requirements from end user?

Ans:

When do a Business Analyst needs to contact developers?

Ans:

What is BA role in project implementation/deployment?

Ans:
Business Analyst interview questions set 1

Business Analyst jobs are in huge demand nowadays with each and every industry turning
to such professionals as to whether they can analyze the companys business processes and
guide the organization towards it business and strategic objectives. So, with such a market
open for business analysts and jobs mushrooming all over the place, you as a business
analyst should be well prepared for landing the best job out there. To help you do so, we
have here a collation of interview questions which should be like a handbook interview guide
to the business analysts out there. There are several categories of the interview questions
depending on the type of questions

General Management Skills

1.

What do you think are your strengths as a Business Analyst?

I think that I have following strengths in my past profile as a business analyst:

The right mix of functional and technical knowledge

Ability to communicate effectively between the development (whether internal

or third party vendors) team and the end users.

2.

Strong levels of persistency and quick learning capability

Adaptability to the work environment as desired.

What do you think are your weaknesses as a Business Analyst?

I believe in turning my weaknesses into strengths, so I strive towards having a calm

and cool attitude. Also, I would like to at par with the latest technology in the market
but its not always possible.
3.

What can you do for us that other prospective candidates cannot?

I am confident on being the best fit for this role as my principles are I believe to be
in line with the company vision and mission. I will bring to the organization my
technical know-how as well as my functional expertise, striving to achieve success
for the company

BUSINESS ANALYST INTERVIEW QUESTIONS SET 2

What are your goals?

I want to go for the professional Business Analysis certifications such as ISEB and in
the near future will be striving for the PRINCE 2 certification also, which will enable
me to grow in the Business Analyst career path
2.

Why do you want to work here?

This is quite a well known company and its principles are in line with my principles. I
believe that the organization will give me the best available platform available with
the right amount of support and motivation

3.

What is the motivating factor which you expect from your job?
Believing that the work done by me is contributing in the organizational growth and
success is my utmost motivation. Its a feeling of knowing that the work done by me
has contributed towards the companys good results, and being a part of that
achievement, howsoever small my part might have been gives me great pleasure. I
know for sure that if the company is performing well, then it will definitely down the
line look after it main resources its employees and I would be a proud party to
that!

4.

What Part of Your Job Do you like The Most?

The ability to analyze and research the various aspects and arriving at the solution or
way forward so as to benefit the organization or at least at the project level gives me
great satisfaction.
5.

What Part Of Your Job Do You Dislike The Most?

There is currently no part of my job that I dislike, and I am glad that I have chosen
this career path.

BUSINESS ANALYST INTERVIEW QUESTIONS SET 3

What Made You Apply For This Job And Why Do You Want It?
I have the right mix of educational background; technical and functional skills. The
job role is as per my expectations and can be described as a best fit. I can add value
to this role and contribute towards the success of the organization.

Business Analyst Related Questions

1.

Are you aware of the various software methodologies? Name a few

There are various SDLC methodologies which are available and used by the majority
of the organizations for their software development projects. Some of these software
development methodologies are:
a) Waterfall method this is one of the most widely used systems development
process
b) Agile methodologies like RUP (Rational Unified process), RAD (Rapid Application
development), JAD (Joint Application development) .
c) Prototyping Model involves the presentation of a simplified prototype of the
system based on the requirements
d) Spiral model hybrid of the waterfall and the prototyping method

2.

What are the various testing stages in a software project life cycle?
The major testing stages in a software development life cycle are:
a)

Unit Testing this is usually done by the developers who have coded the unit

b)

Integration testing this is done by the QA team (quality assurance) and /or
the business analysts to test that the integration of the units is working fine

c)

System testing is done by the QA team or the Business Analysts to see

whether the system is working as a whole or not

d)

Regression testing is done to test whether the current parts and the new
development are synchronized and there is no impact on any other system. This
testing is done by the analysts.

e)

User acceptance testing is covered by the end users in order to test that the
requirements given for the system are in line with the developed application

f)

Stress and/or Load Testing is done by the technical team to test whether the
system can sustain heavy load and usage etc.

3.

What are some of the challenges you have faced as a Business Analyst

As a business Analyst, one has to be an interface between the users and the technical team
and provide regular support. Some of the major challenges which a business analyst has to
face in his profile are:

There should be clarity regarding the requirements as they lay the

foundation of the project. In case of any gaps, there can be huge
repercussions.

There are several software methodologies, technologies, documentation

standards in the market and they keep on evolving. The business analyst has
to be on top of such methodologies and trends to be successful in the profile.

The business analyst Is regarded as the knowledge house regarding

domain knowledge and has to keep on updating himself with the industry and
company know-how to keep himself at par.

Business Analyst interview questions set 4

What are the documentations which you have completed in your experience?
Explain in detail.

A business analyst is expected to document the following:

Feasibility Study

Scope of the project

Business Requirement Documentation

Functional specifications
o

Main content

UML Diagrams

2.

Prototypes(in HTML/Excel etc)

Non Functional specifications

Test plan, scenarios and cases

What is UML? What are the tools which are generally used by business
analysts for UML diagrams?
UML is Unified Modeling Language and is a worldwide standard for diagram-based
object-oriented modeling. Class diagrams, Use case diagrams and Activity diagrams
are usually used by business analysts during their functional documentation and
requirements analysis process.
Usually, business analysts use any of the following tools for UML diagrams:

3.

MS Visio

Rational Rose

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect

What are non functional requirements?

Non Functional requirements include the following:

Performance Characteristics of the system speed, response time,

capacity constraints

Error and exception handling systems logs, error logging

External Interfaces & Integration data integration, data feed schedules.

Security of the system user profiles, administrator, privileges

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Plan system back ups

User and Training requirements for users and technical team

Questions which can be asked to the interviewer by the candidate!

1. What are the measures used to judge how successful I am in the role?
2. What can I expect from you in terms of development and support?
3. Where will the job fit into the team structure?
4. What is the main thing the organization expects from its employees?
5. Are there any plans for expansion?
Business analyst interview questions A

Version control and configuration management are terms used widely in the
business industry, write short notes about the terms.
By definition, version control is essentially a subset of configuration management. It is
usually concerned with the handling changes arising in previous documents as opposed to
configuration management which essentially handles the individual components.

Good documentation management systems are highly recommended in system

development; briefly describe the factors that contribute to a good documentation
management system.
For a documentation system to be considered good, the following factors should be
prevalent in it: It should be made in such a way that it can accommodate future changes,
including version changes, bearing system security features such as providing access only to
the allowed users, i.e. have good authentication features. In general, one should take in
data as well as information security measures in place, putting in mind that the
documentation should also be able to bend to the changing needs of its users as well as the
market conditions.

State the different software methodologies.

The term software methodology, software development methodology and software process
mean almost the same thing in computer software or system development, i.e. the activities
carried out by computer system engineers or computer software engineers in an attempt to
procure particular computer software that servers a certain function or purpose. This
includes the framework adopted, structure, plan as well as the control of the resources
engaged in the software or system development process.

There are so many software methodologies and the choice as to which one to adopt is
usually dependant on so many other factors such as the purpose of the given software, the
prevailing conditions regarding the software development environment and the will of the
company or the client procuring or intending to use the final software as some clients even
look into the software or system engineers methodology to as one of the factors
determining whether to contract him or not.

Regarding the purpose of the software, lets look at the following, example is a situation of a
safety critical system such as an aircraft navigation system and a business system, one
would find that in a business system, one can have its prototype done and users start using
it as they identify its weaknesses and tell the engineers to rectify whereas in an aircraft
navigation system, no weakness would be allowed at all for it can cause huge loss of
property and life thus all the possible identifiable weaknesses are eliminated first before that
system comes into operation. Much stories and arguments apart, the following are the
available software methodologies:

i)

SLDC- Software Development Life Cycle, also understood as System

Development Life Cycle which encompasses activities such as Analysis, Design,
Implementation, Testing, Inauguration and Maintenance in that order and then
back to Analysis, note that it is a cycle hence once we get to the last stage, i.e.
the maintenance we still go back to the analysis stage and move along to the
maintenance once more iteratively

ii)

The RUP The Rational Unified Process, which when looked into
intuitively is an iterative software development process framework that was
created by the Rational Software Corporation in the US which is a division of the
IBM (International Business Machine). However, this process is usually not
considered as a single prescriptive framework yet as an adaptable process which
can be tailored by the development team or organization selectively in order to
end up with their respective results depending on the needs prevailing either on
the clients side, the industry standards or even the development constraints
which involve time, scope as well as the budget, Intuitively, this process has
characteristics overlapping with other development processes and methodology
as will be seen when considering the other methodologies below.

iii)

The iterative process

iv)

The waterfall model

v)

vi)

The agile software development methodology

The XP (Extreme programming)

vii)

The ISO 9000 methodology provided by the International Standards

Organization

viii)

The ISO 15504 model also provided by the International Standards

organization

ix)

The Capability Maturing Model Integration (CMMI) which replaced the

former Capability Maturing Model (CMM)

x)

xi)

The Six Sigma methodology

The Test Driven Development (TDD)

Describe the abbreviation OOAD as used in Object Oriented Programming.

The term OOAD is an abbreviation of the phrase Object Oriented Analysis and Design.
Contrary to the traditional programming, also called procedural programming whereby the
entire code of a given program is written line by line, from scratch. There is a new more
powerful approach to software development or simply programming referred to as the
Object Technology where predefined objects pertaining to particular situations are predesigned by experienced software engineers and then the programmers just call them into
their code in order to implement a given function in their code.

Just the way experienced civil engineers design building blocks for particular situations in a
particular house so that the inexperienced mason just lays them appropriately in order to
end up with a nice house is the way experienced software engineers make these objects.

This helps even novice programmers to use the objects to build nice computer software or a
program. It is the analysis and design of these objects with intention to make good software
that is referred to as Object Oriented Analysis and Design, the OOAD. Programming
languages that use the Object Technology include C++, JAVA, and the PHP among others.

Describe the meaning of the term data mapping.

By definition, the term data mapping is the process by which a system developer creates
data element mappings that relates two models of data (databases) in order to assist in
data integration. This usually assists in the following manner:

Data mediation or transformation between the source and the destination

of data
Assisting in data lineage analysis by identifying the data relationships
Assists in data masking by discovering sensitive data
Assists in data de-identification process
Assists in consolidating multiple databases into one thus identification of
redundant columns and advising the developers for consideration or even
elimination.

Describe the term black box testing.

Black box testing is the type of testing whereby the entire unit is tested as a whole without
considering the contents or even how the inner components of the unit under test work, the
testers only consideration is to enter a known input signal and check whether the output
behavior is the one expected out of that unit given his input signal.
Give the importance of using a flowchart.
It is easier to interpret as it is graphical in nature and thus all persons involved in the
project development can understand it with ease.
Briefly explain the use case model.
This is a model used by software engineers to describe the business environment of a given
project. It encompasses of a series of workflow that are pertained to a particular actor.
What do you understand by the term UML?
The term UML is an abbreviation of the term Unified Modeling Language which is the
standard language used in construction of as well as visualization and documentation of

varied system components. It has a collection of graphical notation techniques used in the
development of abstract models for certain specific systems.
Describe the importance of an activity diagram.
This is the diagram used in a business system to show the workflow involved, activities
happening as well as the completed actions. In a company comprising of several
departments e.g. the medical department, accounting department, and even the human
resource department, usually each department has its own peculiar privileges to the
system, for instance the medical department can only be allowed to access the screens
related to their activities such as medical records while the human resource department will
be allowed to view only the screens which are relevant to them too, thus these activity
diagrams assist in showing the relationship between particular activities with their relevant
and related departments so that during coding, the coders may refer to them to implement
the discrepancies accordingly. Designers too can be guided by these activity diagrams.
How many types of diagrams do you know and what do you know about them?
Am aware of two types of diagrams namely the use case diagram and the collaboration
diagram, the use case diagram has been discussed above and as a result I will only talk
about the collaboration diagram here, these are diagrams put into being by modeling the
objects of a given systems and then representing the prevalent associations between the
objects in questions with the use of links.
Describe your understanding regarding the so called alternate flow in use case.
These are the contingent flows that arise when a system fails to curb an encountered
situation and thus the system doesnt result in the expected results. When the system
resorts to the alternate flow under this circumstance, it may still end up yielding the
expected results.
Describe your understanding regarding the exception flow in use case.
This is generally unpredicted situation that may lead to undesired result under normal
circumstance in a system; several methodologies called exception handlers are available to
help control such situation

Describe the meaning of the following words as used in the use case scenario:
i)

Extends

ii)

Includes

In the use case scenario, the term extends is used to imply that a certain action needs to
have taken place in order for the other to take place too whereas includes implies that it is
not important, as in the action may take place or as well may fail to take place but the other
will still take place.
What are the documents related to the use case?
There are two documents related, namely the FRD (Functional Requirement Document) and
the SSD (System Design Document) or the TRS (Technical Requirement Specifications).
Describe your understanding regarding logical data model.
It is the data model, which is not actually physical and describes how data is physically
stored in the given database.
Describe your understanding regarding high level and low level use cases.
The high level use case usually refers to the entire business process whereas when it is
divided into smaller units, the outcome or the sub units are what are then referred to as the
low level use case
Describe your understanding regarding the SDD.
This is the abbreviation of the term System Design Document; it acts as the mediator
between business users and the system developers so as the system developers may
understand the business requirements of the system they are developing in order to know
where to put emphasis and end up with a quality and objective based system.
Describe your understanding regarding the following terms
i)
ii)

URS
FS

The URS is the User Requirement Specification whilst the FS is the Functional Specification;
traceability matrix is usually used to keep track of these requirements. TEST DIRECTOR can
be used to do the traceability of the given requirements during the testing phase.

How is use case prepared?

It is prepared using drawing application software such as the Microsoft Visio and the also
the Rational rose.

Describe how you would participate in testing as a BA (Business Analyst).

As a Business Analyst, I would participate by reviewing the test cases to ensure that all the
stipulated requirements have been met by the system in question.

Describe the main qualities of a good requirement.

There are several qualities regarding a good requirement but the most outstanding ones
include the:

Clarity the requirement should be clear enough to be understood by its users.

Understandable the requirements should be put in a manner easy to understand by
users of all levels.
Consistent the requirement should be such that it doesnt contradict itself, it is important
noting that during system development, all users need to be consulted, including the
managers as well as the junior staff, one would find that the managers would like a wider
control of the system so as to monitor the junior staff to the date whereas the junior staff
are objecting these view, hence a contradiction. When this issue is not considered carefully,
usually through consultation or negotiation either the managers or junior staff may resent
the system thus by this, once the users resent the system, obviously it will not be exploited
to the maximum thus lowering the benefits the organization derives from it thus consistency
must always be considered in the system development requirements.
Verifiable The requirements of a given system should always be verifiable as in they
should be put in a manner that can be checked across in future so as one can clearly
identify whether the particular requirement has been met or not, it is usually advised that
the requirements are put in a manner that during verification, the answer is either true or
false and nothing vague as it is during this stage that legal action can be taken by the either
the contractor or client if at all the answer is no and always with the law, matters of doubt
are generally not recommended.
What is the meaning of the word UML?
This usually is the abbreviation of the Unified Modeling Language, a standard language in
the system development used to implement the understanding, documentation and
construction of varied system components

Describe the diagrams which should be known by the Business Analyst (BA).
The Business Analyst (BA) is expected to be conversant with the following diagrams:

i)

Use case Diagram: this is the diagram which gives the details concerning
the given business environment, this entails the series of action usually
performed by given actors such as analyzing the procurement portfolio, giving
out an order to a certain supplier, acknowledging the reception of the goods,
processing them as appropriate, doing the relevant marketing, handing the goods
to the hands of a customer at a profit, receiving payments, either by cheque or
cash, printing a receipt, and entering the transactions into relevant accounts,
making payrolls, preparing final accounts including the balance sheets as well as
the profits and loss accounts.

ii)

Activity Diagram: this is the diagram which is usually employed in early

analysis stages to describe the involved components.

iii)

Sequence diagram: This is the type of diagram used to tell the way
particular objects interact with other objects in a manner arranged in both time
and sequences. This is usually very useful for system developers as well as the
system testers as it enhances the level at which a given system can be
understood.

Explain where you would use the rational rose and the requisite pro.
In a situation whereby different modules of a given requirements have been created for
varied functions, then collected together and made into a single document, the requisite pro
is the one which comes in handy. The other one, the rational rose, is used to create the
business model as a visual representation. It is helpful in creating high level and low level
use cases, activity diagrams, state diagrams, collaboration diagrams, sequence diagrams
etc.
Business analyst interview questions 2

What is mean by logical data model?

Data model tells clear details about the data and how the data is stored physically in a
database.
What do u mean by high level & low level use case?

A broad view of a business process is called a high level use case. And if we divide the big
view into different small sub use cases, then it is called low level use case.
What do you know about SDD ?
It is also called system design document. My role as a BA is just a mediator or a middle
layer between business users and developers and we make developers to understand the
business requirements.
What do understand by URS & FS ?
User requirement specifications and Functional specifications. To keep track of these
requirements, we generally use Traceability matrix.
By using Test director we can do traceability of requirements n testing phase.
How do you prepare use cases?
BY using MS Visio and Rational rose.
How do you participate in testing as a BA?
I participate mainly in reviewing the test cases to see if all the requirements have been met.
What is the main quality of a good requirement?
The requirement should be good, clear, understandable, and consistent and should be easily
verifiable.
What do u understand by UML ?
UML is basically Unified Modeling Language. This is the standard language used in the
system to understand, document, construct different components in the system.
What are different diagrams to be known by a BA?
Entity relationship diagram, data flow diagram, use case diagram, class diagram, activity
diagram, state chart diagram, sequence diagram, collaboration diagram, component
diagrams, deployment diagrams etc..
Use case diagram: basically explains the business environment. Series of all related
actions performed by actor.
Activity diagram: Used in the early stage of analysis and designing level. It describes each
individual component.

Sequence diagram: It tells the objects interactions with each others arranged in time
sequence. Very useful for developers and testers to understand the system better.
Where did u use rational rose & requisite pro ?
When we created different modules of requirements for different functions, and finally
collected all together and made a single requirement document, we used requisite pro to do
this.
And we used rational rose to create the business model as a visual representation.
Created High level & low level use cases.
Activity diagrams
State diagrams
Collaboration diagrams
Sequence diagrams
Business analyst interview questions 3

What do understand by version control & configuration management ?

Basically version control is a part of configuration management. Mainly it handles when the
previous document changes. Where as configuration management handles the individual
component.
What is meant by good documentation management system ?
Should allow to make any changes if required.
Good security features.
Should be able to change versions.
Authorizations to only required people. (renditioning capability)
Hide imp information from others. (redaction capable)
What are different software methodologies.?

SDLC, RUP, SEI-CMM, Six sigma, SWOT, Cost benefit analysis, Risk analysis, Gap analysis.
What is OOAD ?
Object oriented analysis and designing. Used in coding od object oriented languages like
c++, Java, and SAP Badis etc.
What is UAT ?
User acceptance testing.
If the UAT fails, BA did not understand the requirements properly.
What do u mean by Data mapping ?
It is the mapping of data from source system to a destination system.
What is black box testing?
It is completely a functional testing. i.e the tester need not know how it works technically.
He only bothers what input he is giving and what output he is getting.
What do u mean by white box testing?
It requires slight programming knowledge to examine the outputs.
What is bug?
Mainly used to see the performance issues and system hangs.
How do u measure the quality of a product?
We do it by seeing min bugs in the product according to standards maintained by company.
What is RAD ?
It is called as rapid application development.
It is a development process that is used to build applications in smaller periods like 50-70
days i.e with some compromises.
What is ETL ?
Extraction

Transformation and loading. Used mainly in data warehousing.

Types of testing ?

Unit testing
Black box testing
Ad hoc testing

: by developer
: Functional and module level.
: Random testing..no particular pocess.

White box testing

: Very detailed..into the code.

Exploratory

: ad hoc testing with some purpose/ goal.

Front end

: for web based applications.

Back end

: database level

Regression

: Testing again and again the same application.

UAT

: User acceptamce testing

Integration

: testing the interaction of 2 or more than 2 modules at a time.

System testing

: Testing all the modules together.

Business analyst interview questions 4

Why is winrunner ?
Winrunner is used For regression testing.
Why is load runner ?
Loadrunner is used for Performance testing
What is a business process?
Its a collection of related structural activities in a system.
How to identify risks in any business process?
Have to examine all sources of risk from perspective of stakeholders by brainstorming flow
charting, system design review, system analysis and a proper judgement.
Difference between SDLC & RUP ?

SDLC
Initiation stage

: problem definition, project plan, roles

Feasibility stage

: feasibility report, user requirement, concept, design

General design stage

: Functional specs and design plan

Development

: coding

Implementation

: project completion, notice for approval

Post installation

: post installation data & evaluation report.

RUP
Inception phase

: Project plan, BRD, High level use case

Elaboration

: UML diagrams, change management, configuration mgmt

Construction
Transition

: System code, QA test cases / test scripts, A test plan., use cases
: Product delivery, Project documentation., data base integrity

User interfacing ? its uses ? ur experience?

Mostly done while prototyping.
Advtgs:

Requirement validations.
Filling communication gap between developers and business users.
Demonstrating a working system.
User training
Testing the final system
Lower development cost
Easy maintenance

How to categorize the requirements?

Performance Business.
System
Global business
Functional / non functional

How to analyze the requirements?

Interview. Document analysis . prototyping, usecases.
Role of SA, DBA, & PM.?
Discuss the business requirements and get feed back from them.
Your Role after implementation ?
Integration testing, acceptance and maintenance.
Explain BRD & FRD ?
BRD tells what is required for the product. And FRD explains BRD in detail.
Resume writing tips for business analyst

Resume Writing Tips for a business analyst:

Resume This carefully crafted piece of artwork is actually your ticket to land in your dream
job. In fact one of the reasons you receive a call for an interview, is because you have
marketed your skills enough to get the attention of the employer. A good resume is not a
tool for the interviewer, it is in fact a tool for you a means to make it clear to the target
company as to how you would be a perfect fit for the organization and what is it in you that
gives you an edge over other potential candidates for especially a business analyst role.
Start with a precise and impressive objective in your resume. It has been proven that most
employers take 1-2 minutes to read your resume. It is that initial screening, where they
decide whether to continue further or not. When we read a document, we start at the top
and go down and as our interest is lost, we dont read later down in the document. Your
objective or summary should capture all important points like years of experience, key
functional and technical skills, and key educational components, significant
accomplishments that would be beneficial for the position you are applying for and yet
should be as crisp as possible. The whole purpose of an impressive objective is to generate
interest among the employers to read further and consider you as an ideal candidate as a
business analyst for the organization.

Educational components are a key area in your resume. Education does not have to be
listed specifically with your degrees. It might be better marketing to have that section as
Education and Training or Education and Professional Development. You can also include
any professional training or certifications like PRINCE2 or ISEB that you have done. In short
it can be a section listing all the training you have undergone that will help you market
yourself to the goal.
Highlighting accomplishments in your role as a business analyst for any software projects
or products, requires you to first have a comprehensive knowledge of what your objectives
are. The Accomplishments section should give a brief about the kind of work in your
previous organization if you are an experienced business analyst. While if you are a student
it should detail the projects done as part of the curriculum. This should be followed by your
role in the project, and the responsibilities that you took as the BA for the successful
completion of the different phases of the software lifecycle. You can also mention the
achieved results and TAT (turnaround time), and how it helped both you and the
organization benefit in terms of achieved versus desired results. It is important that you
bring out your key traits that will give the employer an outline of your personality. It would
be worth mentioning about your personal qualities that fueled your success in the project,
for example your self-learning abilities, your capacity to work in a team, motivate other
team member, self-management skills etc. Your needs, goals and priorities would decide
what to include and what not to include in the resume.
Last but not the least, be original. Ensure that all the data and facts given in your resume
(as a Business Analyst) are true because every company do have their systems in place to
perform background checks!!

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General business analyst interview questions

General Business Analyst Q & A....

What do you consider is your greatest strength as a Business Analyst?

I think the biggest strength is the domain and the technical experience that I have had over
the years as a business analyst. I have the right communication and leadership skills
required to excel in this role.
What do you consider is your biggest weakness as a Business Analyst?
I would like to think that my weaknesses are like my stepping stones towards success. At
present I would like to fine tune my technical abilities to the constantly changing
technologies available in the market.
What are the methods you use for gathering requirements ?
As a business analyst, we not only have to gather the requirements but also provide
solutions often with the help of the technical team

Requirement gathering with Zachman framework - Use the famous 5W + 1H formula

(Who What When Where Why + How). Keep asking about the problem with
this formula to find the principle requirements

Implicit requirements we should not forget about these as they can make or break
the whole project

Prototyping and process flows these tools help in illustrating the requirements to
the end users and confirm whether the Business analyst has done the requirement
analysis correctly

What is the difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control and how are
they related to the Business Analyst profile ?
Quality Assurance focuses on the process: is the method chosen able to produce the
product or is the deliverable free from errors and/or defects. Quality Control speaks about

the products or deliverables themselves: the final examination of the product or deliverable
to ensure they stand to the specifications and theyre free from error of defect.
A business analyst has to take care of Quality Assurance as well as control is in place in the
final product which is delivered.
What are the challenges which you would face as a business analyst?
A balance between technology constraints and business needs should be maintained at all
times. Technology is used to help fulfilling business need, so its usually close to the need.
You also have to keep an open mind as to how a process works effectively and accurately
produce the required product. Then, you must make sure that the written specifications are
written properly to avoid misinterpretations.
How did you handle a requirement/enhancement that was not feasible?
I know that even if I think a requirement was not feasible, I have a responsibility to
explain why it was not feasible to the business representatives. So first Id clarify the
requirement, what was the true requirement there. Then, Id explain the technical
limitations in non-technical language to them as to why the requirements couldnt be
accommodated at the same time. Most of the times, the reason was not feasible because
its not affordable. After I present the business representatives with the estimated cost,
they would decide whether or not the requirement was really needed. Whichever the
outcome was, the business representatives would feel that theyre in command and
theyre involved in the decision making process.