Business Analyst Job Interview

IT BUSINESS ANALYST
GET YOUR JOB OF

IT BUSINESS ANALYST
 BUSINESSANALYSTJOBDESCRIPTION
 BUSINESSANALYSTSKILLS
 USESANDBENEFITSOFBUSINESSANALYTICS
 APPLICATIONSOFBUSINESSANALYTICS
 BUSINESSANALYSTCASESTUDIES
 TECHNICALINTERVIEWQUESTION&ANSWERS
 HRINTERVIEWQUESTIONANDANSWERS

BUSINESS ANALYST JOBDESCRIPTION
• IT business analysts are experts in both business administration and information technology. Their
primary responsibilities include liaising between IT and the executive branch, improving the quality
of IT services, and analyzing business needs.
• IT business analysts are responsible for enhancing the quality of IT products and services,
analyzing data to inform business decisions, and finding technological solutions to business needs,
among other duties.
• The best IT business analysts have exceptional interpersonal skills as they need to act as a
communication link between the IT and Executive branches.
• Business Analytics refers to the study of data through statistical analysis, forming predictive
models, applying relevant optimization techniques and further communicating these derived results
to customers, business partners, and college executives. It adopts quantitative methods and
evidence is required for data to build certain models for businesses and make profitable
decisions. Thus, Business Analytics majorly depends on and uses Big Data.

BUSINESS ANALYST JOBDESCRIPTION

BUSINESS ANALYST SKILLS
Understanding the Business Objective
 A business analyst should be able to comprehend an organization’s goals and
problems.
 It requires them to recognize business problems and come up with the most suited
solution.
 It is good if business analysts have domain knowledge in the organization they are
working in. This will help them with the required deliverables.
 In most cases, business analysts work towards enabling a change with the motive of
increasing sales, scale-up production, improving revenue streams, etc.
 Understanding the business motive is the first step in a business analyst’s life; it is a
special skill by itself. Now, let’s proceed to the next set of business analyst skills.

Analytical and Critical Thinking
 As the famous quote by Thomas Alva. Edison goes: “Five percent of the people think;
 ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would
 rather die than think.”
 This shows that, although thinking sounds basic, it is an underrated ability. Analytical and
critical thinking is one of the core business analyst skills.
 A business analyst must analyze and translate the client’s requirements distinctly.
 Business analysts focus on gathering and understanding the client’s needs. Critical thinking
enables them to prioritize business requirements.
 A good analytical bend of mind will help a business analyst reach the stated goals even
when there is a limitation in the resources and the conditions are non-ideal.

Communication and Interpersonal Skills
 The next skill in our list of business analyst skills are commonly heard of skills -
communication and interpersonal skills.
 Being understood is as important as understanding. You should have the ability to
communicate concisely with the stakeholders and clients with regard to the requirements.
 A business analyst uses communication and interpersonal skills at different phases, for
example: when a project is being launched, while collecting requirements, when
collaborating with stakeholders, while validating the final solution, and so on.
 Business Analysts use verbal and written communication to convey ideas, facts, and
opinions to stakeholders.
 Good communication and interpersonal skills will give confidence to a business analyst
while facilitating meetings.

Negotiation and Cost-Benefit Analysis
 Needless to say, negotiation is a crucial skill every business analyst must-have. The next skill on our
list of business analyst skills is the negotiation and cost-benefit analysis.
 Business analysts negotiate at every project phase. At the initial stage of a project, negotiation skills
are used to decide what they must include in the project's vision.
 Business analysts then use their negotiation skills to determine which requests turn into requirements
and their priority levels.
 As the project progresses, negotiation skills play a significant role in deciding the functional design
that fulfills the requirements. Negotiation skills are also used to make technical decisions.
 Business analysts carry out a cost-benefit analysis to assess the costs and benefits expected in a
project. When organizations undertake new projects, business analysts make use of cost-benefit
analysis to establish if they should embark on those particular projects.

Decision-Making Skills
 At number five, we have another non-technical skill, and that is decision-making skills.
 The decisions made by a business analyst has a direct and indirect impact on the company's
business. Hence, they should think of all the aspects before presenting their decision.
 Before making a decision, a business analyst interprets the problem and finds alternative
business approaches.
 They then test all the alternative approaches and make a decision based on their thoughts
regarding these approaches. They finally test and implement the solution.
 Business analysts also take the last call in ensuring that a particular technical design conforms
to the discussed business requirements or not.
 We will now take you through a few technical skills in our list of business analyst skills.

Programming Languages
 Business analysts should have hands-on programming knowledge in order to perform
quicker and better data analysis.
 Knowledge of R and Python is extremely beneficial. Complex problems can be solved by
writing efficient codes.
 R and Python comprise several libraries and packages for data wrangling, data
manipulation, data visualization, and analytics. Additionally, a sound understanding of
statistical software like SAS and SPSS is recommended.
 With the help of the above programming languages, massive data can be analyzed and
visualized finely. Also, business models can be created for making business predictions

Creation of Reports and Dashboards
The next vital skill we have is the creation of reports and dashboards.
Business analysts must be proficient in using various business intelligence tools for
creating reports and dashboards.
Business analysts develop general reports and dashboard reports to solve
decision-making problems.
Sound knowledge of Tableau, QlikView, and Power BI is necessary to make
different reports based on the business requirements.

Database and SQL
 The next skill every business analyst should have is the knowledge of database and SQL.
 Business analysts most often work with structured data. In order to store and process this
heavy data, they should have a sound understanding of relational databases like
Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL database, Oracle DB, as well as NoSQL databases.
 Every business analyst must carry hands-on experience with SQL. This will help them
access, retrieve, manipulate, and analyze data.
 They must write data definition and data manipulation commands like create, delete,
select, update, insert, etc.

Microsoft Excel
 Next, in our list of business analyst skills is knowledge of Microsoft Excel. This is a fundamental skill
that every business analyst must-have.
 Excel is one of the oldest and strongest analytics and reporting tools; business analysts use it to
perform several calculations, data, and budget analysis to unravel business patterns.
 They summarize data by creating pivot tables. They make different charts using Excel to generate
dynamic reports related to a business problem.
 Excel is used to create revenue growth models for new products based on recent customer forecasts,
plan an editorial calendar, list expenses for products, and create charts to show how close the
product is to budget across each category.
 Business analysts use Excel to calculate customer discounts based on monthly purchase volume by
product. They even summarize customer revenue by product to find areas where there is a need to
build stronger customer relationships.

Documentation and Presentation
 Last, in the list of business analyst skills, we have documentation and presentation.
 A business analyst should document their project teachings and results very well, clearly,
and concisely.
 They should confidently present their project findings and outcomes in front of the
stakeholders and clients. With the help of organized documentation, business analysts can
communicate technical concepts easily to non-technical employees.
 Jotting down project lessons is vital, as this will help them make better decisions in the
future.
 Later, if similar problems crop up, business analysts can use the previous solutions, thereby
saving time and preventing unwanted issues.

USESAND BENEFITS OFBUSINESS ANALYTICS
 Business Analytics is adopted by companies to facilitate data-driven decisions. The insight
that is arrived at with the help of business analytics enables companies to optimize their
various processes to provide even better results and thus achieve a competitive advantage
over others.
 To carry out data mining and exploring new data to find new patterns and relationships.
 To carry out statistical and quantitative analysis to provide explanations for certain
occurrences.
 Test previous decisions are taken with the help of A/B testing and multivariate testing.
 Deploy predictive modeling to predict future outcomes.

Three of the most important goals that companies acknowledged with the adoption
of data analytics were the ability to reduce costs, increase profitability and
improved risk management.

Identifying Business Opportunities
 It is true that analyzing data increases productivity and efficiency, but also lends to finding new
opportunities which could have been otherwise overlooked. Thus, businesses unknowingly rely on
intelligence for their potential growth. Models are based on data analytics which gives an insight into
the customer’s buying behavior and pattern which can help in devising strategies for the company.
 Based on this, analytics can help to identify and thus rectify areas of concern based on the derived
reading of the data. Nowadays, Big Data is also being used in HR to recruit candidates that fit into
the respective company’s culture and workplace. This is possible due to a careful assessment of the
candidate through the collected data.

Improved Customer Targeting Strategies
• There is a lot of information available on the web that can be used for predictive
analytics which can identify a customer’s experience and importance with a
particular brand or company. Buyer instincts and patterns can help the company
delve into the minds of their customers through examining buying behaviors, internet
browsing habits and incorporating that information as well as implementing them into
your strategies.

Improved Internal Processes
A company or business can have an insight and a clear view of their own system and
identify what they are doing efficiently and what can be improved within their
organizations. After identifying a problem, analysts can provide answers to essential
questions like:
What caused the problem? – through Reports
Why did it happen? – through Diagnosis
What can be expected in the future? – through Predictions
What steps to take ahead? – through Recommendations

APPLICATIONS OF BUSINESS ANALYTICS
Finance
BA is of utmost importance to the finance sector. Data Scientists are in high demand
in investment banking, portfolio management, financial planning, budgeting,
forecasting, etc.
For example: Companies these days have a large amount of financial data. Use of
intelligent Business Analytics tools can help use this data to determine the products’
prices. Also, on the basis of historical information Business Analysts can study the trends
on the performance of a particular stock and advise the client on whether to retain it or
sell it.

Marketing
Studying buying patterns of consumer behaviour, analysing trends, help in
identifying the target audience, employing advertising techniques that can appeal to
the consumers, forecast supply requirements, etc.
For example: Use Business Analytics to gauge the effectiveness and impact of a
marketing strategy on the customers. Data can be used to build loyal customers by
giving them exactly what they want as per their specifications.

HR Professionals
HR professionals can make use of data to find information about educational
background of high performing candidates, employee attrition rate, number of
years of service of employees, age, gender, etc. This information can play a pivotal
role in the selection procedure of a candidate.
For example: HR manager can predict the employee retention rate on the basis of
data given by Business Analytics.

CRM
Business Analytics helps one analyse the key performance indicators, which further
helps in decision making and make strategies to boost the relationship with the
consumers. The demographics, and data about other socio-economic factors,
purchasing patterns, lifestyle, etc., are of prime importance to the CRM department.
For example: The company wants to improve its service in a particular geographical
segment. With data analytics, one can predict the customer’s preferences in that
particular segment, what appeals to them, and accordingly improve relations with
customers.

Manufacturing
Business Analytics can help you in supply chain management, inventory management,
measure performance of targets, risk mitigation plans, improve efficiency in the basis
of product data, etc.
For example: The Manager wants information on performance of a machinery which
has been used past 10 years. The historical data will help evaluate the performance of
the machinery and decide whether costs of maintaining the machine will exceed the cost
of buying a new machinery.

Credit Card Companies
Credit card transactions of a customer can determine many factors: financial health,
life style, preferences of purchases, behavioral trends, etc.
For example: Credit card companies can help the retail sector by locating the target
audience. According to the transactions reports, retail companies can predict the choices
of the consumers, their spending pattern, preference over buying competitor’s products,
etc. This historical as well as real-time information helps them direct their marketing
strategies in such a way that it hits the dart and reaches the right audienc

BUSINESS ANALYST INTERVIEW CASESTUDIES
Q: As a business analyst you have to work with all types of people in different positions throughout a
company. How would you deal with a difficult stakeholder?
A: You have to be able to navigate different personalities and positions as a business analyst. A candidate who
knows how to deal with all types of people at all levels of business is the key to success.
• Problem skills
• Communication skills
• Ability to diffuse difficult situations
Example:
“First I’d try to determine why they were upset or being difficult; once you know what the problem is you can
better tackle the issue. Once I had an understanding of what their concerns were when the opportunity arose, I’d
seek to address their issues with a measured, reasoned response backed up with the necessary data to bolster
the points I’m addressing.”

Q: A client has a Christmas-themed e-commerce shop that sells five items. What are some
potential problems you foresee with their revenue streams?
A: A business analyst needs to be able to evaluate a situation and diagnose the problem and solution
for clients. This question gives insight on how the candidate tackles common business problems a client
may have.
• Showcases business analyst skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Assessment abilities
Example:
“First I’d try to determine why they were upset or being difficult; once you know what the problem is you
can better tackle the issue. Once I had an understanding of what their concerns were when the opportunity
arose, I’d seek to address their issues with a measured, reasoned response backed up with the necessary
data to bolster the points I’m addressing.”

Q: Are you are familiar with SQL queries? What are the different parts of an SQL Statement?
A: It isn’t necessary for a business analyst to have advanced technical skills, but it helps if they have
skills in SQL and relational database technology. This question shows their familiarity with and
understanding of SQL.
• Technical skills
• Understanding SQL documents
• Advanced analysis skills
• Example:
“An SQL statement has three parts. There is the Data Definition Language or DDL, the Data
Manipulation Language or DML, and the Data Control Language or DCL.”
•

Q: In your experience as a business analyst, what is the most important aspect of analytical
reporting?
A: Candidate should understand the importance of analytical reporting, its limitations and how it
relates to the work they do. This question has them explain why and how they believe analytical
reporting is important.
• Ability to think critically
• Understanding of business analysis
• Shows analysis skills
Example:
“The ability to solve problems or make decisions based on evidence instead of guesses and
assumptions is the most important aspect of analytical reporting. Data alone won’t solve problems, but
it gives you the tools to make well-reasoned decisions that you can explain and justify even if the
decision itself doesn’t work out the way you expected.”

Q: Can you describe a time when you had to steer a client toward a different course of action than the
one they were set on taking?
A: Being a business analyst isn’t about telling a client what they want – it is about telling a client what is
best for their business. This question shows how a candidate handles telling a client something they may not
want to hear.
• Problem-solving ability
• Ability to handle difficult situations
• Business analysis ability
Example:
“I once had a client who wanted to expand a product line for their store, yet they were struggling to sell
many of the products they already carried. Using detailed sales analysis as well as their current profit and
loss statement, I explained to them exactly why they should not expand their current line of products, and
that they would need to drastically reduce what they were currently selling because only 20 percent of it
was profitable for the business.”

Q: Name three types of diagrams or charts that business analysts use, and explain why they are
important.
A: Business analysts use numerous charts, diagrams and other documents. You want to ensure the
candidate is familiar with these documents and understands how to apply them to clients’ cases.
• Visual modeling
• Understanding basic business analyst charts
• Understand how to implement those charts
Example:
“First there are flowcharts. They are essential because they provide a visual representation of a
system, which is easy for clients to understand. There are also Activity Diagrams, and their purpose is
to showcase the diverse activities occurring in different departments. And then there are Use Case
Diagrams that show who interacts with a system and what primary goals they achieve with it.”

Q: How do you explain highly technical information to stakeholders and decision-
makers?
A: Business analysts play a key role in guiding cohesive decision-making at their clients'
business. Successful business analysts must be able to use persuasion and negotiation skills to
influence various stakeholders and convince them to agree on a project's specifications. This
question assesses a candidate's ability to apply their soft skills to a challenging situation and
achieve unity on a project.
• A strong response should include:
• Strategic reasoning tactics
• Experience gaining support from others
• Emphasis on data and research

Q: How do you explain highly technical information to stakeholders and
decision-makers?
A: Here's an example answer:
Example: "Stakeholder buy-in is critical to the success of any project, so I would be
sure to front-load discussions about their expectations before getting too deep into a
project. I'd priorities, allowing me to emphasize parts of the project that will meet
their goals. Next, I'd summarize the critical aspects of our market research and risk
analysis so that my reasoning would be clear to all stakeholders involved, then use
the STAR method to outline my suggested response to the client's problems."

TECHNICAL INTERVIEW QUESTION&ANSWERS
• Who is a Business Analyst?
A business analyst is a person who analyzes an organization or business domain
(real or hypothetical) and documents its business, processes, or systems, assessing the
business model or its integration with technology. However, organizational titles vary
such as analyst, business analyst, business systems analyst or maybe systems analyst.

• What is a flowchart?
Flowcharts are used to show the complete flow of systems through symbols and
diagrams. It shows that what information is needed in a process and where it is
stored, and how it moves through a system to accomplish an objective. A flowchart is
used to solve the problem.

• What is the importance of the flowchart?
The flowchart is essential because it makes the system easy to understand for the
developers and all concerned people.

• What is SDLC?
SDLC is an acronym stands for Software Development Life Cycle. Sometimes, it is
also called System Development Life Cycle or Application Development Life Cycle.
It is used to describe the process of planning, creating, testing and deploying an
information system. The SDLC process includes five phases:
 Planning
 Analysis
 Design
 Implementation
 Maintenance

• What is project management? Can you explain?
Project management is the process of planning, organizing, motivating and
controlling resources, procedures, and protocols to achieve a specific goal. It is used
to coordinate scientific and daily problems. The primary challenge to project
management is to meet all the project goals. These are time, quality, scope, budget,
etc.
•

• What are the different types of SDLC models?
Following are the different SDLC models:
• Waterfall Model
• Iterative Model
• V-Model
• Spiral Model
• Prototype model, etc.

• What do you know about Risk and Issue?
Risk: Risk is something which you can forecast and can handle by formulating
mitigation plans.
Issue: Risk which happened is known as Issue. Once the problem has occurred, it is
solved by contingency management or Issue management. Generally, issues are not
resolved, but you can get a lesson from there for other projects.

• What is SDD?
SDD stands for System Design Document. It is a middle step dividing between
business users and developers

• What is a use case diagram?
A use case diagram is a tool. It is used to explain the entire business environment. It
shows many related events or actions that are performed by a single actor.

• What are the essential phases of SDLC?
Following are the essential phases of SDLC:
• Planning Stage
• Defining Stage
• Designing Stage
• Building Stage
• Testing Stage
• Deployment

• In your previous experience, what kind of documents you have created?
I have worked on, Functional Specification Documents, Technical Specification
Documents, Business Requirements Documents, Use Case Diagram, etc.

• What is SaaS?
SaaS refers to Software as a Service. It is related to cloud computing. It is different
from other software bundles as you don't need this type of software to be installed
on your machine. All you need is an Internet connection and a Web Browser to use it.

• What is OLTP Systems?
OLTP refers to On-Line Transaction Processing. Such systems are capable of
performing database transactions and are meant to provide excellent speed for
database transactions. These systems are mainly used for data entry and retrieving
data from the database

• What is INVEST?
INVEST is an abbreviation of Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Sized
appropriately, and Testable. This term is used by business analysts and project
managers to deliver quality services and products.

TECHNICAL INTERVIEW QUESTION & ANSWERS
(ADVANCED)
• Explain your typical work tactic for a project?
Firstly, you must clarify your role and determine the stakeholder's perspective in the project. You
should define primary objectives along with reconciling the expectations conflict among stakeholders.
• Create a work plan listing steps, timelines, and deliverables.
• Define actionable and concise requirements.
• Ensure technical implementation, as many solutions require the support of IT teams.
• Create documentation and train end-users to implement the solution.
• Finally, assess the value of the project. Did it work, or any follow-ups are needed?
• You should focus on your experience to describe your skills and explain the customized tactics you
use.

(ADVANCED)
Explain the business analysis process flow.
• Information gathering
• Identify the key stakeholders
• Identify the business objective
• Determine the available options
• Scope the definition
• Define the delivery plan
• Define the requirements of the project
• Implementation and evaluation

(ADVANCED)
• How do you perform risk management in your project?
A risk is defined as an uncertain event that causes a threat to the existing business,
which can cause an impact on revenue or sometimes on the profits of a business. Risk-
management techniques such as risk avoidance, reduction, transfer, and acceptance
can be used. We have to identify, analyze, evaluate, and control the risk in a
business.

(ADVANCED)

(ADVANCED)
• How do you perform risk management in your project?

(ADVANCED)
Sl. No. Software Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
Project Life Cycle (PLC)
1 Used for developing particular
software products
Used for developing a new
product in the business
2 Mostly involves single software
across different phases
Involves multiple software in a
single customer scenario
3 SDLC phases include requirement
gathering, design, coding,
documentation, operations, and
maintenance
PLC phases include Idea
generation, screening,
research, development, testing,
and analysis

HR INTERVIEW QUESTION AND ANSWERS

The HR interview rounds can make or break your opportunity to join your dream company.
Hence it is best to keep some tips in mind to ace this interview.
• Do not fake! Be yourself. Bluffing during the HR interview should be avoided at all costs.
• Answer to the point and while answering, be honest and truthful.
• Wear comfortable but formal clothes. Keep accessories to a bare minimum.
• Reach the venue on time. If the interview is scheduled online, then log in at least 10-15
minutes earlier than the scheduled time and ensure that your connection set up is alright.
• Do not sound dull while answering. Be enthusiastic and interactive with the hiring managers.
In case the interview is online, then remember to keep your video on.
• Lastly, have a smile on your face.

Tell me about yourself.
• This is the universal question asked at the very first of any interview. It sounds easy,
right? But this is the most important question where the candidates fail to create an
impression with the interviewer as most of the time they are not aware of what
exactly needs to be said.

Tell me about yourself. Some tips to answer this question:
• Do not ask the interviewer what he wants to know about you. You may be asking genuinely, but that
just sounds rude.
• Do not speak what is already there in the resume. The interviewer wants to know what they have not
seen on the resume. And do not speak about anything personal.
• Introduce yourself by including certain adjectives like problem-solving, innovation and tech-savvy,
creative, quick learner, etc. that best describe you in your professional life to boost your chances.
• Cover what you have accomplished in your career and what work you have done in the past which
can help you excel in the position that you are being interviewed for.
• You can also tell why you want the position and how the job is going to be perfect for you.
• Focus only on your strengths that are relatable to the work.

Sample answer could be:
• This is an energetic person, an effective communicator, and a quick learner. I
had did MBA in HR and Marketing and have B.E degree in the Computer Science
domain. I worked on various projects related to the IT domain which provided
me a great deal of technical exposure along with the importance of working in
a team and the value of client satisfaction. I have worked on various enterprise-
level Analytical applications for helping companies solve problems like
ensuring business continuity, market research analysis, etc. So, I believe I am a
good fit for technology-centric roles in your company.

Why do you want to work for our company?
• Another popular question asked by the interviewer to make sure that the candidate has
understood the job requirements and help the interviewer understand the reason behind
choosing their company for that job. You should answer in such a way that the interviewer
gets convinced that you are a great fit for the role.
• Some tips to answer this question:
• Talk about the past projects that you had worked on that matches the requirements of the
current role.
• Talk about your career aspirations that are associated with this job role.
• Have the knowledge in hand about the company’s vision, mission, and the work it has done
in recent years that inspired you to join the organization.

Sample answer:
I feel that with my current skill sets and my experience in the Business Analytics
domain, the job requirements this role presented are a perfect match for me. I
could visualize myself in that role as it aligned with my career aspirations, skills,
and expertise. Besides, I have researched your company and found that it has
impressive and promising projections which made me excited to be a part of the
amazing future. I would take pride in working under the great leadership of this
company and I found this place to be a perfect fit for utilizing my expertise along
with the promising aspect of personal growth.

Why are you looking for a change?
Yet another commonly asked question for experienced candidates, the interviewer wants to
understand what made you look for different opportunities and identify if there are any red flags.
Whatever is the reason for changing your job, do not talk negatively about the current employer.
Do not divulge information about how bad the work environment was, how poor the salary was
as these are of no concern to the interviewer. Keep the answer professional without sharing your
woes.
Sample answer:
The reason I am looking for change is that I feel like now is the time to expand my horizon. I have
worked in my current company for quite a long time and while I am grateful for all the
opportunities that were presented to me there, I want to go beyond my current role here, explore
different avenues and take up challenging roles and I believe that your company will be the
perfect place for me to push and grow myself as an individual.

What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
• HR asks this question to get to know more about your characteristics and your
suitability for the job. It is also one of the standards and most commonly asked
questions.
• Sample answer:
I think one of my greatest strengths is that I am a great team player. I am also a self-
motivated and quick learning individual. Whatever task that I set to do, I always give my
best and complete it diligently well in advance. My weakness would be that I am
learning to master people skills while meeting new individuals. I get nervous while
talking to new people. I have been working on this for quite a long time and I can say
with utmost confidence that I have come a long way.

What is your current salary?
• This question is asked to make sure that the money that you make in your current position
falls within the budget that the interviewers want to provide you with.
• Try your best to avoid telling your current salary.
• In the current hiring market, companies do not add anything more than 35%-40% of the
current salary.
• Only in some cases where you are found to be the most perfect fit after excelling in all the rounds of
the interview, the companies would be willing to offer you more hikes.
• Some companies have a specified range dedicated to a particular position.
• However, the job of the recruiter is to hire a candidate who can do more at less cost. Hence,
disclosing your current income might land you in an unfavorable position.

What to expect salary ?
• These kinds of questions are asked to find out if the interviewers can afford to hire
you based on their budget and the range that they wish to offer. They want to
ensure that your expectations and the range provided by the company are aligned
and you are satisfied with it. It is very important to know and realize yourself
worthwhile answering these questions especially when your expectations are more
than what they are expecting to provide.
• You do not want to come across as a money-minded person nor do you want to
come across as a saint who is happy with being underpaid. Also, this is the part
where your negotiation skills also come into play.

BUSINESS ANALYST MOCK INTERVIEW
• What is a flowchart?
• Ans:-Flowchart displays the comprehensive flow of the system through signs and
diagrams. It is important since it makes the system simple to recognize for
developers and all concerned individuals.
• Explain the meaning of an activity diagram.
• Ans:-An activity diagram is an easy and instinctive type of flow chart which permits
experts to present a strong and simple graphical workflow of a professional use
case. The goal of an activity figure is to display numerous events taking place in an
association in diverse sections.

• Explain what is the meaning of a requirement?
• Ans:-A requirement is a capability influenced by a solution to resolve a trick or
attain an objective. Necessities are a contribution to numerous stages of SDLC and
must be correctly documented and authenticated by occupational users/investors.
• What is PaaS?
• Ans:-PaaS is one of the categories of cloud computing that provides a platform and
environment to let the developers build apps and services over the internet. PaaS
services are hosted in the cloud and are accessed by users simply through their web
browsers.

• What is SaaS?
• Ans:-Software as a service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in which a third-
party provider hosts applications and makes them accessible to customers over the
Internet.
• What is IaaS?
• Ans:-Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a form of cloud computing that provides for
virtualized computing resources over the internet itself.
• What is CaaS?
• Ans:-Communications as a Service (CaaS) is an outsourced scheme interactions
solution that can be leased from a single vendor over the web.

• Explain the significance of a flow chart?
• Ans:-A flow chart is a means that delivers a graphical picture of a process. This
diagram will make an organization simple to comprehend for everybody that is
intricate with the scheme that is happening. If you have a huge and multifaceted
development with many units, information, data sources, data end, and procedures
involved, a data flow chart is one of the most real ways of making logic of all that
statistics. The flowchart typically apprehends itself with the flow of information
through the organization. It is commonly used in Structured Systems Examination and
Design.

• What is meant by Benchmarking?
• Ans:-The entire process of measuring the quality of policies, programs, products,
rules, and many other measures of a company against the standard measures set
for those attributes or against the other similar companies is termed as
benchmarking in BA.
• What are the documents that are used by a BA in a Project?
• Ans:-As a Business Analyst, various documents used by a BA in a project include a
Functional Specification document, Technical Specification document, Business
requirement document, Use case diagram, Requirement Traceability Matrix, etc.

• What is a Use Case?
• Ans:-A use case is the diagrammatic representation of the system that describes how a user
is connected with the system to achieve a particular goal. It is an integrated part of
software engineering that defines the targeted features and resolution of errors that may
be encountered by a user.
• What is UML modeling?
• Ans:-UML is a Unified Modelling Language. UML is normal for the business practices for
envisaging, recording, and building numerous components of a system. It is a modelling
standard cast-off mainly for software development, but can also be used for additional
theoretical models such as relating job roles, occupational procedures, and administrative
functions.

• What is SRS (System Requirement Specifications)?
• Ans:-An SRS is a document or a set of documents that explains the features of a
system or a software application. It includes a set of elements with intended facilities
required by customers or stakeholders to satisfy end-users. Additionally, SRS gives
high-level
• What is scope creep?
• Ans:-The scope creep or requirements creep means uncontrolled changes in the
project’s scope within the same schedule or budget. It is an example of poor project
management that leads to project failure later.
• abstraction of a system and its behavior.

What are the causes of scope creep?
Ans:- The possible causes of scope creep within a project scope can be given as:
• No healthy communication among different stakeholders.
• The project requirements are not documented as well as expected.
How to avoid scope creep?
Ans:-Here are a few ways how to avoid the scope creep issues:
• Project requirements should be communicated clearly.
• Proper change management should be followed.
• Proper intimation should be sent before making the final changes.
• Proper documentation of new requirements in the project log.
• You should know how to add extra features without disturbing the current functionalities.

• How to compare business analytics and business analysis?
• Ans:-Business Analysis: It is a process that identifies business needs and suggests
solutions to tough business problems by utilizing powerful business analysis tools like
PESTEL, SWOT, FIVE, WHY, etc.
• Business Analytics: It is used to gather and analyze data collected from different
sources and evaluate meaningful insights from the same. Four major types of
business analytics process are – Descriptive analytics, prescriptive analytics, decisive
analytics, and predictive analytics, etc. You may use BI or big data techniques for
the business analytics process

• What do you mean by the process design?
• Ans:-It helps businesses to analyze challenges and to find effective solutions for the same.
Process design workflows are designed to get the best possible outcome in the shortest
period.
• What is a requirement elicitation technique?
• Ans:-Requirement elicitation is the process of requirements gathering from stakeholders,
users, customers by conducting sessions, meetings, interviews, questionnaires, or
brainstorming prototyping, etc.
• What are the non-functional requirements of a project?
• Ans:-Non-functional requirements represent the performance-level characteristics of a
project like how fast it can behave, how smooth is the user interface, and the security level
of the application.

Should a business analyst get involved in testing?
• Ans:-Yes, a business analyst should get involved in testing because he is familiar with the
overall requirements and challenges associated with an application or software project.
Also, he can be instrumental in managing errors during the testing phase and resolving any
system query.
Explain briefly the role of a BA in a group?
• Ans:- A business analyst is a connection amid diverse stakeholders in a group. He turns as a
bridge, a connector, and benefits the complete project teamwork as a firmly integrated
unit. Since investors belong to diverse domains (e.g., economics, occupational, marketing), it’s
very significant for a business analyst to be talented to sort and bring in parallel the
requirements of these investors while satisfying the business purposes at the same time.

How to measure the quality of a requirement as a business analyst?
Ans:- We can use the SMART rule to measure the quality of a requirement as a business
analyst. Here, SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, timely, etc.
• Specific: Requirements should be specific with proper documentation.
• Measurable: Check the different parameters to measure the success criteria of a
requirement.
• Attainable: Requirements should be possible to achieve within the scope of given project
resources.
• Relevancy: Requirements must be aligned within given business use cases.
• Timely: Requirements should be communicated early in the project lifecycle.

Explain the use case model?
Ans:- The use case model comprises of 2 chief elements:
• Use case diagram – It is a graphical depiction that specifics which actors can
function which use cases.
• Use case description – It is a thorough written step by step performance of
communications and dialogue amid the actor and the system.

Differentiate between Risk and Issue?
Ans:- Risk is something that you can estimate and can grip by expressing mitigation tactics whereas a Risk that
occurred is known as an Issue. Once the matter has happened, it is solved by eventuality management or Issue
management. Usually, issues are not resolved, but you can get an example from there for additional projects.
What are the different types of gaps encountered by a business analyst during the gap analysis process?
• Ans:- These are the performance gap, product gap, profits gap, workforce gap, etc.
• Performance Gap: This is the difference between expected performance and actual performance.
• Product/market Gap: This is the difference between estimated sales and actual sales named as product gap.
• Profits Gap - This is the difference between the targeted and actual profits of a Company.
• Manpower Gap: This is the difference between the required workforce and the actual number of employees
available in an organization.

What is BRD?
Ans:-A BRD or business requirements document is a
formal contract between an organization and customers
for a product.
How is BRD different from SRS documents?
Ans:-BRD:
• BRD defines the high-level abstraction of software.
• It is a formal document that explains the project
requirements given by the client, either written or
verbal.
• BA creates it after their interaction with clients or
stakeholders.
• It is written based on project requirements and client
interactions.
SRS:
It is a high-level functional and technical
specification of the software.
It focuses on both functional and non-functional
requirements.
It is mostly created by system architects.
It is derived from the BRS.

What are the roles and responsibilities of a business analyst during project implementation?
Ans:-A business analyst is extremely important for the implementation of a project. Here are a few
roles and responsibilities to be followed by every business analyst.
• During project implementation, many technical queries can come from stakeholders, and business
analysts play a vital role here by resolving those queries.
• The next involves gap analysis, documentation, project requirements, reviews, or preparing the
requirements specification document.
• During the testing and development team, a business analyst plays a vital role by resolving
requirements-related queries from the project team. Also, he may check either project requirements
are implemented well and tested in functional and non-functional scenarios.
• In a waterfall model, new requirements or modifications can be asked from stakeholders for change
management. A business analyst is a person who can manage these changes with proper validation
and analysis.

Mention the essential qualities of an Agile Business analyst?
Ans:-An agile should be able to perform the following activities:
• A Business analyst is expected to work in collaboration with the product owner based on
elicited requirements. He is also able to develop real functional requirements.
• A Business analyst should perform requirements elicitation in an iterative manner.
• A Business analyst should design requirement specifications, business models, data designs in
the best possible way.
• A Business analyst should be technically sound to understand the working of different
components of a system. He must understand the agile terminologies as he acts as a
middleman between the project team and customers.
• A Business analyst should focus on requirements and test criteria to deliver a project timely.

Why should a business analyst focus on the waterfall model instead of the Scrum
model?
Ans:-If project requirements are simple and easy to understand, a business analyst
should focus on the waterfall model instead of the scrum
What are the key phases of business development?
Ans:-The four key phases of business development: Forming, Storming, Norming, and
Performing.
What is the meaning of increment in business analysis?
Ans:-Increment refers to the sum of all product backlog items completed within a
sprint. The new increment value includes the increment of previous sprints too.

Mention popular agile methodologies for project management.
Ans:-
• Scrum
• Lean Software Programming
• Feature-driven development
• DSDM (dynamic software development method)
• Crystal methodology

Who is a BA as per your understanding?
Ans:- A business analyst or BA acts as a bridge between an organization and stakeholders. He connects with
stakeholders to clarify or finalize requirements, helps the project team in project planning, designing or
validating components, etc. A business analyst should have the adequate domain knowledge to deal with
stakeholders who belong to different domains.
What are the challenges that can be faced by a business analyst during project implementation?
Ans:- From initial to post-implementation of a project, business analysts may have to face the following
problems:
• Employees related issues
• Technology-related problems
• Access related
• Business policies related issues
• Business model errors

• What are the different phases of an IT project?
• Ans:- The different phases of an IT project can be given as:
• Project Initiation
• Project Planning
• Project Execution
• Project Monitoring and control
• Project Closure

Why is business process modeling significant?
Ans:- It is used to define a clear understanding of business processes.
• It offers consistency and control over project processes.
• It is used to identify errors and system bottlenecks.
• It defines a perfect start and end for the business processes.
What are the exceptions?
Ans:- These are unexpected errors encountered when you run an application.
What are extends?
Ans:- Extends are relationships that are shown by the dotted lines. They usually
refer to optional behavior, having no independent meaning.

What are the initial steps involved in project development?
Ans:- The initial steps involved in project development can be given as:
• Market Analysis
• SWOT Analysis
• Personas
• Competitor analysis
Which to choose for project development, Waterfall, or Spiral models?
Ans:- Well, it depends on the project’s nature. If requirements are simple then you can
choose the waterfall in this situation otherwise you can opt for the Spiral model.

Business Analyst Job Interview

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Similar to Business Analyst Job Interview (20)

More from Rohit Dubey (15)

Recently uploaded (20)

Business Analyst Job Interview