As a contract business analyst (BA) you get used to moving around, joining new teams, new companies and new projects but no two are ever the same and the experience always differs to some extent. That said I’ve always felt one of the key skills needed is the ability to integrate quickly and to the best of your abilities, hit the ground running. There will always be a learning curve – it’s something that’s unavoidable but joining the Learning Hub Service Team has certainly been one of the more enjoyable processes; thanks to a great blend of people and a positive welcoming atmosphere.
Since coming onboard in January I’ve certainly not been short of work, the project is in full flow with a real focus on Public Beta. Primarily I’m here to bring the BA skillset (analysis, documentation, process mapping etc) to the team, picking up the excellent work the team has done without a dedicated BA. I’m currently doing a lot of investigation which in turn flows into a lot of documentation, primarily building specifications and process flows for key areas on the project. The flow of work from design to development requires the creation of multiple specification documents and these specs outline and detail the design (based on the user stories). This is then married with the technical detail needed to produce those designs by the development team. A lot of my time so far has been reviewing, contributing to and pulling these documents together with other members of the team.
The role of the BA often varies but I’m onboard to help add value where I can to the design sessions, digging into my past experience across multiple sectors (banking, higher education, sales) to help define the minimum viable product (MVP) and beyond. The open flowing discussion format of the meetings allows all parties to express and debate the merits of the design we are reviewing and forge a way forward. Quite often this goes full circle and requires several us to feedback into the spec either from a UX, technical or BA perspective.
No doubt as the project progresses there will be more opportunity to analyse and research new ways to improve the content that is provided under the banner of learning as well as the solution as a whole but for now we’ve got plenty to deliver for MVP!
For more information about the Learning Hub visit www.hee.nhs.uk/tel and follow us on Twitter: @HEE_TEL.