In the IT sector, a business analyst’s job is to make sure that all of the client’s needs are recorded and analyzed. He should first identify the client’s main problems and pain spots, and then suggest the best solution for the client’s business to fulfill its goals. To measure the tasks done by the team, the Business Analysts typically make use of a yardstick called known as KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to determine its success or failure.
Putting it differently, KPIs are a set of criteria used to assess a team member’s performance in a company. In this article, we will be looking at the best KPIs to use for the various tasks that a Business Analyst performs. Some of these tasks include:
- Document all requirements and the business solution so that stakeholders, the development team, and the test team all have a clear understanding of what is expected of them.
- Evaluate the solution’s impact on various stakeholders
- Evaluate the recommended solution’s viability from a business standpoint.
- Ascertain that the solution development team is aware of both the issue and the proposed solution.
- Manage changes to business requirements and perform a risk assessment.
- During the testing phase, collaborate with the test team to ensure the solution is accurate and free of bugs and issues.
- Collaborate with end-users to help them understand the changes and implement the new solution.
- Assist the client in managing the solution so that resistance to organizational changes caused by the newly implemented solution is minimal.
As a rule of thumb, KPIs are established after determining each team member’s Key Result Areas (KRAs). Tasks such as capturing requirements, eliciting important problems, offering solutions, ensuring that the solution is appropriate for the client’s challenges, and so on are some of the key areas of work and achievement for a Business Analyst.
Setting effective KPIs. For a business analyst, effective KPIs must be particular to his or her function, measurable, achievable, and important to project performance, as well as adhere to a predetermined timetable. If the used KPIs aren’t suitable for the task, team members may be demoralized or demotivated.
Now, let’s discuss some KPIs that should be defined for business analysts to evaluate their performance fairly and effectively, based on the preceding concerns.
KPIs that a Business Analyst uses
KPIs can be defined in a negative or positive light. In a negative light, the following questions can be asked.
-Could we use escalations as a metric?
-How many times has a BA task been refused and sent back to be reworked?
Conversely, KPIs can be done in a positive measure by asking questions such as:
-How satisfied are BA developers and businesspeople?
-How often do stakeholders thank a business analyst?
You can get a deeper understanding of these concepts in a business analysis course or business analysis training.
Now you have a decent understanding of KPIs, let’s see what a good KPI should be made up of.
Characteristics of a good business analyst KPIs?
The following characteristics should be present in a good KPI:
- Agreement – the business analysts’ KPIs should be agreed upon by all parties. “Agreement” KPI here refers to a “Communication” KPI that has received feedback and a consensus on its definition.
- Calibration – scaled in accordance with expectations, scope, and objectives.
- Relevant to the Assessment Goal– A KPI goal purpose that is relevant to the assessment purpose should be clearly specified – to predict (set leading indicators) or track (set lagging indicators) the business analysts’ activity. The term “leading indicators” refers to indications that forecast the future.
- Weighted – Each KPI should be given its weight depending on how important the task is. Priority should not be given equal weight.
Important KPIs used by Business Analysts
1. Planning and communication
Departure from BA estimations as a percentage.
-The number of processes that were affected but were not modified (Any existing process that should have been enhanced as part of the change that BA worked on).
-Some organizational standards aren’t being followed.
2. Management of Specifications
-Number of affected processes that haven’t been altered (Any existing process that should have been enhanced as part of the change that BA worked on)
-There are a large number of organizational standards that aren’t adhered to.
-Iteration count on average (compared to predefined standards)
-Have the BA’s prerequisites been prioritized? – Yes/No
-Prioritization of Requirements
Prioritized requirements as a percentage of all requirements
Knowledge and abilities of a BA
-How many BA approaches and tools were used?
What is the success rate of the tools and techniques?
Is the BA able to offer advice? – Yes/No
The BA raised a certain percentage of accepted improvement ideas.
3. Knowledge and abilities of a BA
These questions often come up in this case, such as;
-How many BA approaches and tools were used?
-What is the success rate of the tools and techniques?
-Is the BA able to offer advice? – Yes/No
But then, the BA raised a certain percentage of accepted improvement ideas.
-Is the BA a lifelong learner who is constantly striving to better his abilities?
-Number of hours spent learning, ideally linked to learning outcomes
Number of hours of training (knowledge transfer), preferably linked to training outcomes
-Number of hours spent on self-improvement, ideally linked to training results
-Is the BA putting the knowledge he or she has gained to good use? (or does the same errors over and over again)
Count of needs that have been logged as reusable.
4. Controlling Change
(This KPI would measure missed requirements, stakeholders, systems that have an impact from the change)
Faults in requirements bugs (number of defects)
5. Effectiveness Contribution
– The value of the advantages gained by the BA as a result of his changes.
– BAs have made any innovations? -Is the BA able to stick to the budget and needs (in terms of process and organization of work)? (Avoid Plating with Gold)
– Velocity of execution is a key performance indicator that measures the speed with which a BA team’s BA skills and expertise are applied.
Conclusion
In this article, you have learned what KPIs are and how to identify a good KPI. You also discovered some KPIs used by Business Analysts. To have a more robust understanding of this, it is advisable that a business analyst consider enrolling in a certified business analysis course.
