When individuals hear the term business analysts, they usually visualize a person sitting in front of spreadsheets the entire time. However, in practice, an excellent business analyst can be compared to a detective, to someone who asks the right questions, observes what others ignore, and makes businesses more effective.
Behind each intelligent decision, however, is an individual who anticipated the issue in advance, before it turned out to be a disaster. These are some of the real world situations in which business analysts contributed immensely, not in doing significant work but being smart, realistic and precise.
1. Solving A Hidden Issue For An E-commerce Brand
This is the story of a medium sized Indian online-store, whose clients were slipping away at a rapid rate. Their refund requests were going up, complaints were increasing and the marketing team did not know what to do.
Then it was the turn of a business analyst. They did not have to guess because they went on to sit down with the customer support team and began digging in the real world of complaints. Where they came across this though was a shocker: a small group of cheap electronics all belonging to the same vendor was the source of the majority of the problems.
After the removal of the vendor and after the capability of the product page messaging changed, complaints decreased by 40%. It did not require a fancy, high-priced solution — just diligence, observation and asking the right questions.
2. Decreasing Patient Wait Times in a Highly Trafficked Hospital
One of the hospitals located in South India was becoming overwhelmed in the OPD department. Patients were waiting hours, doctors were under pressure and the system simply felt like it had broken.
The business analyst did not shoot into glittering technological solutions. They just trailed the path of the patient- and this was the direction as they entered the door then as they sat with the doctor. It happened that the biggest hang up was not the doctors but the front desk and billing counters.
Making a couple of additional counters, enhancing online check-in, and altering the system of management of queues allowed the hospital to decrease 25 percent of waiting time.
The slight alteration in process improved the life of all people, patients, staff and the doctors alike.
3. Saving on Unused Software Costs for Fintech Startup
One example is that of a fast-growing fintech startup that was paying lakhs in software subscriptions annually. However, were all of them in use?
One new business analyst them decided to find out. She approached this by listing all the tools, on how frequently teams are using, something interesting, almost a third of the tools were either unused or had free-alternatives.
The revocation of some licenses, and simplification of what teams accessed saved a company more than 8 lakhs annually. The elimination of jobs, the reduction of expenses, there are no layoffs, as well, there are no cutbacks; the expenses are controlled in a clever way.
4. How to Assist a Factory to Go Digital in Steps
The manufacturing entertainment company in Gujarat was still operating everything on paper. There were handwritten sheets to record inventory, work schedules, machine logs. There were so many errors and things used to get postponed.
The corporate analyst did not insist on the high costing software. They did not do this, but they went to the shop floor, chatted with the workers and learned what actually caused delays.
They assisted the organization in the launch of several uncomplicated digital applications, such as a checklist provided on a tablet and basic shift monitoring. Not a great remodeling. Only baby steps.
The result? Less mistakes, more transitions and happier employees. Digital transformation does not have to be complex, it should be considered.
5. The Right Product with the Right Message
Another food company had an intention to present a new snack. The marketing team had ideas, the sales theirs, they did not really consult with customers about what they wanted.
It was done by the business analyst. Upon conducting surveys and analysing historical data they discovered that city consumers sought smaller packs size, spicier flavours and healthier ingredients.
That had led them to tweak the product launch and make it one of their most successful products during the year.
A capable analysis may not merely correct the issues, but in some instances it assists in identifying the appropriate opportunity as well.
Final Thoughts
These are not stories about a person sitting in front of the computer and coding 10 hours a day or reading a huge report. They are all about ordinary men and women listening, asking intelligent questions, and getting things fixed – one little fix each, at a time.
That is the role of a good business analyst. They put the pieces together. They listen. And they make teams work smarter rather than harder.
Take a look at how IFDA helps you to have a great career by delivering the best content and practice.
