Business Analyst vs System Analyst
Business Analyst and System Analyst are job roles evolved with the growth of information technology. Role of Business Analyst (BA) can be observed in many industries but more widespread in IT industry. This job requires various academic and professional qualifications depending on the job requirement. Systems analyst works in all the industries, but they should possess professional background in information management. In both the job roles, analytical skills, proper planning, team work and innovative thinking can be considered as keys to success.
The role of Business Analyst could significantly diverge depending on the industry in consideration. During the past decade, the role of BA has mostly associated with the IT industry as an important job. BA acts as a bridge between the customer and the development team. Business process and requirements are translated to functional specifications by a business analyst. The business analyst works with the development team during the entire implementation process. In software development, BA plays the role of testing the implementations done by the team to ensure that customer needs are satisfied. Business Analyst should possess the relevant functional knowledge in the area in which the job is assigned. For example, in an ERP if the development is to satisfy IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) compliance, BA should have a sound accounting background so that, he/she can map the accounting standards’ requirement with the system features. BA should develop a good confidence with the development team so that, any uncertainties are always discussed with the BA before the implementation proceeds.
System Analyst (SA) mainly works with configuring system requirements of an organization. System analyst should have a sound knowledge on computer software, hardware and networking. The academic background of a System Analyst could mainly associate with computer science, information science or management information systems. The main responsibilities include interact with end users and customers, plan the system flow, manage design considerations, and implementation while managing time-lines. SA is responsible of documenting user requests in to technical documentation. SA should always discuss with the end user of the computer system regarding the information flow and their specific requirement. System Analysts experiments with different computer system plans and try various tools and steps until they find the system is the fastest, easy to use and cost is fully optimized. In this process, analyst has to test the system and ensure that information is processed without mistakes.
What is the difference between Business Analyst and System Analyst?
Role of Business Analyst and System Analyst is mostly associated with the IT industry. Both job roles require professionals in the relevant disciplines. Members of both the job roles have to be a good team players and should accomplish organizational objectives while ensuring that the customer/end-user objectives are met. Effective communication, first-rate analytical and problem solving skills play a major part in the success of these professionals.
BA could be from any discipline and need not posses IT knowledge at all in some cases. In an ERP software development, there are BAs with Accounting, Finance, Human resource management, engineering and supply chain knowledge and background. But a SA should always possess the relevant information science/management knowledge. BA mostly collaborates with the end customer(s) of the product and with the development team. SA work with the end users of the organizations and with the IT department.
In summary, System Analyst plays a technical job role and Business Analyst focuses more on business processes and underlying concepts and practices.