Technical Business Analyst

Technical It Business Analyst

The Iowa Department of Management is seeking an experienced technical IT Business Analyst to join our team in supporting the implementation and management of various software development projects. The successful candidate will have a strong background in Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodologies and Agile frameworks such as Scrum and Kanban. Experience with project management tools like Azure DevOps or JIRA is highly desirable. As a Business Analyst, they will work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure successful project delivery and alignment with the organization's strategic objectives.

Responsibilities

Integration:

• Help in the coordination of IT integration efforts including systems, applications, and infrastructure.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand business requirements, identify integration challenges, and develop strategies to address them.
• Analyze existing IT systems and processes in both merging departments, identify overlaps, redundancies, and gaps, and propose integration solutions.
• Facilitate discussions and negotiations between departmental representatives to reach consensus on integrated processes, systems, and data management.
• Conduct impact assessments to identify risks, issues, and dependencies associated with IT integration activities and propose mitigation strategies.
• Manage communication and change management activities related to IT integration, ensuring effective stakeholder engagement and user adoption.

1. Platform Migration from Google Services to Office 365:

• Facilitate discovery sessions with merging agencies to understand their current state use of Google Suite
• Conduct comprehensive assessments of current Google services usage, dependencies, and integration points to inform the migration strategy.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define migration objectives, timelines, and success criteria.
• Coordinate with project manager, technical teams, and vendors to design and implement the migration plan, ensuring minimal disruption to end-users and maintaining data integrity.
• Develop project documentation to facilitate user adoption and familiarity with the new Office 365 platform.
• Monitor and troubleshoot migration-related issues, working with teams to promptly resolve them and minimize downtime and user impact.
• Document migration processes, lessons learned, and best practices to guide future migrations and ensure knowledge transfer within the organization.

1. Requirements Gathering and Analysis:

• Engage with business users, subject matter experts, and stakeholders to gather and document business and functional requirements.
• Conduct in-depth analysis of existing IT systems, processes, and data flows to identify opportunities for improvement and optimization.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to help translate business requirements into actionable technical specifications.
• Ensure that IT solutions align with organizational goals, compliance requirements, and industry best practices.

1. Project Management and Documentation:

Develop and manage service requests, including scope, schedule, and budget estimates.

Monitor project progress, identify and document risks, and proactively communicate updates to stakeholders.

Prepare comprehensive project documentation, including requirements specifications, test plans, and user materials.

Facilitate user acceptance testing and ensure that deliverables meet quality standards and user expectations.

Collaborate with IT Dev teams to ensure successful implementation and post-implementation support.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field, and/or a combination of education/certification and work experience.
• A minimum 6 years of experience as a Business Analyst and/or Project Manager, with a preferred focus on SDLC and Agile methodologies.
• Ability to analyze business strategies and user needs, document specifications, and translate business objectives into proper system requirements and specifications.
• Working knowledge of Agile frameworks such as Scrum and Kanban, and familiarity with Agile project management tools like Azure DevOps or JIRA.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Project, and Visio.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively with diverse teams and stakeholders at various levels of the organization.
• Experience with developing end user documentation and process flows.
• Guide stakeholders through business case development for new applications/functionality, including cost benefit analysis, risks and issues, and impact analysis.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a keen attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ability to balance multiple priorities and manage time effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Familiarity with state government operations and processes is a large plus.