Business Analyst Interview Questions - 3

18. What is the difference between BPMN and BPMN Gateway?

BPMN - Business Process Model and Notation.

It provides graphical representation of business processes.

BPMN Gateway is a processing modeling component. It is used to control the sequence of processes to be followed and flow of interaction.

19. What do you know about the actors in a use-case?

Usually there can be two types of actors in a Use case i.e.  Primary and Secondary. While Primary actors initiate the process, secondary actors assist them.

Human, hardware, System and Timer are the four types of actors.

20. What are the steps that an analyst needs to keep in mind while benchmarking?

Benchmarking is an activity aimed at studying industry practices with the objective of achieving competitive advantage in the market by assessing the competitors. The analyst needs to take the following steps while benchmarking:

i.) Identify the problem to benchmark– To define the scope of work.

ii.) Decide and prioritize the processes that need to be benchmarked.

iii.) Identify the companies that have a similar product and who are the industry leaders.

iv.) Do proper research on which process or practice can be favorable and if they can be adopted.

v.) After researching, identify the practice that can be implemented in your company.

vi.) Make a proper plan for improvements.

21. What do you know about the 100-point method?

100 -point method is used to set up the priority for different steps in a process.

In this method, all the group members are required to assign points to every step in the process, individually. The points earned by each step are then calculated and the step with highest points is awarded the highest priority.

22. How will you use Kano model?

Kano model was developed by a professor Dr.Noriaka Kano, a professor in Japan. This model encourages one to see how the product relates to the customers’ needs. It works on three attributes

i.) Threshold attributes: Basic features expected by the customer.

ii.) Performance attributes: Not necessary but increase the customer’s enjoyment of the product or service.

iii.) Excitement attributes: These are surprise elements. The customers are not aware of them but when they see them,  they are delighted.

23. How would you use Kano model in the best way for you customers?

In order to use Kano analysis, you must know what your customers likes and dislikes. You should follow the following steps:

i.) Research all the attributes of the product and what can you do to please the customers.

ii.) Classify them in the above three attributes and add more type, do not add value, in this, the customers do not care about these attributes.

iii.) Ensure that your product has all the threshold attributes.

iv.) Assess the excitements attributes and identify means to add these attributes to your product.

v.) While maintaining a profit margin, choose a performance attribute that you can afford to deliver along your product or service.

Understanding your customer's expectations and generating ideas to improve your product helps to carry out Kano Model analysis successfully.

24. As a business analyst, can you explain the business analysis process flow?

Before starting any project you need to prepare the business process flow. This process is divided into steps and each step involves specific task to perform, documents required to be prepared and the principle you need to follow.

The steps are as follows:

i.) Collect background information: Such as what domain the project is in, is it a new project or ongoing, what could affect the project. Getting all this information helps you to understand the project well.

ii.) Know all your stakeholders: Identify all your stakeholders. They are the ones who make decisions on requirement and priorities.

iii.) Find your business objective: This will help you to stay focused on the vision. To establish your objective you can use different techniques such as brainstorming, SWOT analysis, focus group, etc.

iv.) Evaluation of options: This is an important step and you need to narrow down your options on the basis of cost, feasibility, an acceptable return on investment, funds available, etc.

v.) Scope Document: This is a document which has the list of project development goals.

vi.) Delivery Plan: Prepared by business analyst, this document will give a detailed timeline for delivering the requirements to the development team.

vii.) Define business requirements: Clarify the requirements with the business owner/ authorized person and get an approval to deliver them to the development team.

viii.) Support implementation: Check if the deliverables align with the requirement, manage changes from the business owner, update or repackage requirement.

ix.) Evaluate value added by the project: To maintain the business objective through the implementation, the business outcomes need to be evaluated. Evaluate the actual process, the timeline and see if you are on track. Based on the feedback if any, provide modifications.

This process is important as it helps you to set the tone for your entire development project and this will make your process smoother.