In what way business analysis differs from technical business analysis?

In our previous articles we went through the skills, required for a business analyst and also how his responsibilities differ from those of an agile business analyst. Having these in mind, there has been a notable increase in confusion when it comes to business analysis and technical business analysis too. These terms have widely been used as synonymous, but there are a number of prominent differences between them.

Business analysis

Business analysis is the practice of identifying the existing business needs and determining solutions to business problems. Thus it. In short, business analysis enables change in a given by helping it overcome and resolve the existing obstacles. This is also exactly what BA entails – identifying and fixing problems. There is no doubt that only when an organization’s problem is solved, it can and will benefit (when it comes to input and profit) and will move forward. So the whole discipline of BA aims at changing the techniques and processes that are not working properly or not working at all. As a result, not only the organization, but also all the people associated with it, and the stakeholders will benefit. Therefore business analysis is a prerequisite for the bettering and the development of business in general.

Technical business analysis

Technical business analysis is focused on interpreting business requirements into technology language, systems language so that they could be understood by a technical audience. In this way technical business analysis creates a bridge between business problems and their technological solutions. So after a business analyst has done his share of work, identifying the existing problems, from there the technical analyst turns the business requirements into technical artifacts.

More often than not the role of a technical business analyst is quite complex. There are companies that make a mistake looking for a business analyst when at the specific stage their problems could be resolved best by a technical analyst. Although it may seem that technical business analysts are closer to technology than to business, they do actually involve themselves with business processes.

Difference in skills

While BA concerns with business techniques and processes, TBA provides a technical background and explanation for the requirements. That is why people who execute business analysis are also functional analysts. The areas of impact of BA are: process, business, enterprise, technology. At the same time TBA is based upon knowledge in use of computer software and technology.

We have already classified and listed the skills which a business analyst should be equipped with. They can roughly be categorized into three categories: fundamental, technical and Business Analysis (BA) skills. The fundamental ones are: communication, problem-solving, managerial and negotiation skills. Among the technical skills are: acquaintance with development methodologies, basic IT skills and domain knowledge. Needless to mention are the so called BA skills which include: elicitation, documentation and analytical skills.

On the other hand, for a TBA one needs to use mostly their technical abilities. First of all, knowledge of software is essential for becoming a business analyst in general. The individual who is responsible for TBA should be able to study business activities using technical means and also to explain how a technological solution would meet given business requirements. The main difference between BA and TBA is that one needs to provide user acceptance testing and system integration testing. This means that he should be able to show how the developed solution would work in a real-life situation. Developing SIT cases is an essential skill which involves and requires deep understanding of how systems are integrated in the organizational level.

BA and TBA are connected

Business analysis and technical business analysis are intertwined and dependent on each other. TBA is mostly used when the requirements developed by a business analyst need technical solutions. So we cannot talk about these two as synonymous but cannot fully separate them from each other fully.