Hi, My name is Yamamura. I am working as a BA (business analyst) in Asian Tech.

Do you know about the position of “business analyst”? Isn’t it a job that you are not familiar with in Japan? I had never heard of it before I actually started to work here. I will talk about what a BA is and what the roles of a BA at Asian Tech.

About the development system of Asian Tech

We receive development requests from customers of various sizes and industries. Web and mobile applications are mainly specialised in software development.

As a flow to the start of development, the development team is formed first after we receive development requests. Basically, it consists of PM, QC, PG, communicator and BA.

PM : project manager manages development team

QC : quality control team tests a product in test environment

PG : programmers develop the product 

Communicator : translate document and build bridge between Vietnamese speakers and Japanese speakers

BA : business analysis

What is a BA (Business Analyst)

So what exactly is the role of BA in this development team?

A “business analyst” is a person who performs “business analysis”. According to IIBA, a non-profit organization that enlightens business analysis.
 

Business analysis is a specialized activity that enables you to trigger change in the enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders.

※reference：https://www.iiba.org/
In other words, “business analyst” is a specialized person who analyzes what the client needs for their business and defines the requirements, and appropriately communicates t to the development team and have team execute it.

BA work at Asian Tech

I will talk about BA work at Asian Tech in two points. 

① Client interface (specification analysis / requirements definition)

BA is in charge of development team and communicate with clients  using tools such as Zoom and Slack in Japanese. The first step is to accurately capture the app and website features that the client wants to create. Then, based on point of view of the PG, we will scrutinize possible requirements and document them in the design. In addition, in order to progress projects smoothly, we frequently share the progress of development and issues raised by the development team with clients, and improve the workflow etc. as needed.
Despite the development of remote communication tools, there are those who feel uneasy about the geographical distance between Danang and Japan, and the differences in culture. Therefore, BA members keep close communication with clients to produce proper and effective interpersonal communication and eliminate cultural gap and misunderstanding of business practices.

② Team Communication 

As the members of the development team are Vietnamese, we communicate mainly in English. Depending on needs, we may also have a communicator. It is important to clearly communicate with the team members about the specifications and questions from clients. Sometimes we need to explain to them about services and business practices that are not familiar in Vietnam, in that we also plays a role in eliminating the cultural gap between Japan and Vietnam to the deliver complete quality product. In particular, cooperation with project manager is significantly required in terms of project management for developing progress and treating team motivation. The BA also plays a role like PM assistance to manage the entire  team to optimise development system to achieve an efficient process and comfortable working circumstance.

As mentioned above, I have explained two points roughly, but it is also a fact that an appropriate and flexible response is required depending on the situation of the project.

BA’s One Day ~ Daily Routine ~

So how does BA work in a real project? I introduce the schedule of a day for a certain BA!

・ 8:00 check Slack message, mail and schedule

・ 8:30 Progress confirmation meeting with team members

　There are many teams that hold a stand-up meeting for about 10 to 15 minutes in the name of “morning meeting”!

・ 9:00 Organize the progress confirmed at the meeting and share it with clients on Slack

・ 10:00 check the requirements directly with client in the video call since they requested new addition of application functions and technical investigation, 

・ 12:00 to 13:30 lunch break

・ 14:00 Summarize the requirements in English and deploy it to team members with Slack

・ 15:00 meeting with PM about contents of survey request in English

・ 16:00 Report the findings to the client on Slack

・ 17:30 closing work
After the work, we go to have a dinner with the members as a team building sometimes.

This schedule is just one example of a BA day. I think you could see that BA spend a lot of time communicating with people.

Summary

BA’s work requires a flexible response. The scope of work also varies. In the case of Asian Tech, there are also cultural differences between Vietnam and Japan. In such a situation, we have to think about how we can have efficient communicate and proceed smoothly with our work to achieve involved projects.

But I think it’s difficult but  it’s a very interesting part too!

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Currently, Asian Tech is looking for members! Please click the “I would like to hear from you” button at Wantedly if you are interested in the job type of BA.

For recruitment requirements, click the link below.

Wantedly Asian Tech open positions

We also welcome requests for mobile and web application development .

sales@asiantech.vn