Business Analysis – Driving Business Agility Through the Covid Pandemic

"Business agility is now critical and businesses must adapt to change because the future is unpredictable.  Survival may depend on this agility"

With the UK economy stuttering, businesses are having to react and become more resilient, leaner and more efficient. We are seeing a growth in the number Business Change projects, stoking demand for Business Analysis skillset.

Many organisations, having slashed costs, implemented furloughs and /or freezing hires are now starting to move to a recovery phase, building a foundation for trading in this New Normal.

Strategies are moving to a longer-term and more future-focused discussion on COVID-19. I recently read KPMG ’s Global Recovery Framework. Their research rather succinctly notes that “Long-term thinking, patient capital mindset, and agile decision-making enable a transformational agenda across businesses; the acceleration of digital transformation and focused responsiveness to customers, actions that will determine the speed and success at which businesses can move out of Recovery and into the New Reality.” Well put!

This is where the skills of the Business Analysts really come into play, helping business leaders create agile decision-making frameworks and ensure organisations move forward despite the changes and challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Business agility is now critical and businesses must adapt to change because the future is unpredictable.  Survival may depend on this agility.

Businesses need to be constantly responsive looking for gaps, improvements, and ways to implement changes, then continuously evaluate results and look to the next change, potentially start all over again in fast decision cycles. Business Analysts to the rescue!

BAs bridge the gap between IT and the business, they speak both languages engaging with business leaders, stakeholders and IT end-users to understand, identify and recommend data-driven solutions that can add value, facilitate change and drive efficiencies. Evidence based data is the key. The best BAs combine the creative instincts of a Project Manager, an Accountant’s eye for financial feasibility, a business leaders understanding of culture and an IT experts knowledge of the technologically possible, to advise on how to improve products, hardware, software, services or processes.

In short, they help executives and stakeholders make technology and process decisions by providing, analysing and articulating data (to the extent where that data effectively makes the decision for them).

Finding the right BA, with the breadth of knowledge and experience can be tricky and with many businesses still wary of increasing headcount or cost, we have seen an increase in demand for our BAaaS, Business Analysis as a Service.

The inherent flexibility  of an ‘as a Service’ model means that whether it is the production of a business case for an IT Project, requirements gathering or data analysis to help with project implementation, BAaaS models such as Stoneseed’s can slot neatly into the business change gap.

Our BAaaS team is experienced across multiple technology solutions, sectors, and industries. Available on demand, remotely or on-site, offering rapid response resources. We also offer a full range of project services including PMO and Project delivery.

Flexibility is key and Stoneseed resources can be deployed to support just one project, multiple projects, or a full portfolio in any geographical location. You can align resources as and when you need it, on a cost-effective, full-time or part-time basis, dialling up and down IT project resources in sync with your delivery needs giving you more control over your costs.

With the help of Business Analysis professionals, businesses that become more agile will be able  to build resilience and continue to deliver value to their customers despite the challenges COVID-19 is presenting, emerging reformed, strengthened and fighting fit.  It’s time for BAs to really be appreciated for the value they add!

Source: KPMG article