The Business Analysis Function Within The Organizational Structure
The role of Business Analysis can exist in a variety of structures within an organizational framework. Because Business Analysts typically act as a liaison between the business and technology functions of a company, the role can be often successful either aligned to a line of business, within IT or sometimes both.
- Business Alignment
- When Business Analysts report up through the business side, they are often subject matter experts for a specific line of business. These Business Analysts typically work solely on project work for a particular business, pulling in Business Analysts from other areas for cross-functional projects. In this case, there are usually Business Systems Analysts on the IT side to focus on more technical requirements.
- IT alignment
- In many cases, Business Analysts live solely within IT and they focus on both business and systems requirements for a project, consulting with various SMEs to ensure thorough understanding. Depending on the organizational structure, Business Analysts may be aligned to a specific development lab or they might be grouped together in a resource pool and allocated to various projects based on availability and expertise. The former builds specific subject matter expertise while the latter provides the ability to acquire cross-functional knowledge.
- Business analysis center of excellence
- Whether business analysts are grouped together or are dispersed in terms of reporting structure, many companies have created business analysis centers of excellence. A center of excellence provides a framework by which all business analysts in an organization conduct their work, usually consisting of processes, procedures, templates and best practices. In additional to providing guidelines and deliverables, it also provides a forum to focus on continuous improvement for the business analysis function.
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