Senior Business Analyst

Senior Business Analyst

If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our countryand you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that futureconsider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade: Professional 310Pay Range: $88,300.00 - $132,400.00

Job Description

The Senior Business Analyst serves as the liaison between university departments and technical teams. Successfully manage the relationship between the departments and technical teams. Responsible for planning, organizing, monitoring system projects. Ensures projects meet or exceed technical specifications, customer requirements, policies, budgets, and deadlines. Assembles, directs, coordinates, and assigns responsibilities to project team members. Ensures customers are well informed of area activities and significant problems.

Primary Responsibilities

• Assumes responsibility for being the liaison between university departments and technical teams.
• Successfully manage the relationship between the department and technical teams.
• Elicit requirements using interviews, document analysis, requirements workshops, surveys, site visits, business process descriptions, use cases, scenarios, business analysis, and task and workflow analysis.
• Critically evaluate information gathered from multiple sources, reconcile conflicts, decompose high-level information into details, abstract up from low-level information to a general understanding, and distinguish user requests from the underlying true needs.
• Collaborate with developers and subject matter experts to establish the technical vision and analyze tradeoffs between usability and performance needs.
• Proactively communicate and collaborate with external and internal customers to analyze information needs and functional requirements and deliver the following artifacts as needed: Functional requirements (Business Requirements Document), Use Cases, User Stories, GUI, Screen, and Interface designs.
• Successfully engage in and manage multiple initiatives simultaneously
• Develop business case studies that identify alternatives, costs, and project plans.
• May participate in identifying and assessing both third-party and custom-developed solutions that meet university needs.
• Responsible for planning, organizing, and monitoring system projects.
• Meets with project sponsors and team members to gain understanding and knowledge of projects and to determine platforms, components, software applications, technologies, and security measures.
• Chooses appropriate technology from existing, supported platforms selected by business analysts and managers based on best practices and platform strengths.
• Clearly communicates constraints, conflicts, requirements, compatibility issues, and items which could affect project outcome, final performance level, or customer satisfaction.
• Offers appropriate alternatives and contingency plans.
• For large projects, identifies scope of project and develops documents outlining key project objectives, goals, plans, requirements, proposals, estimates, schedules, and budgets.
• Makes presentations, submits requests, and gains necessary approvals.
• Ensures estimates of time, cost, performance level, and materials are accurate and meet project requirements.
• Makes modifications to plans and schedules, as necessary.
• Assists in assembling the project team.
• Makes suggestions for team members to departmental areas and IT managers who need to be involved.
• Gives estimates of time needed to design and test.
• Provides necessary training on project objectives, processes, and details.
• Successfully monitors project status and adherence to schedules, requirements, and deadlines.
• Communicates progress to appropriate personnel and/or project sponsors.
• Effectively manages and communicates design changes.
• Measures results and adjusts, as necessary.
• Maintains accurate and complete records during the development process.
• Ensures related oral and electronic communications regarding project requirements, design changes, problems, solutions, etc. are securely maintained and readily available for review.
• Sets up and coordinates effective testing to evaluate system performance, fulfillment of project requirements, and elimination of bugs.
• Ensures test plans are well-documented, relevant to application, and in compliance with policies and procedures.
• Analyzes test results, identifies problems, and conflicts, and provides solutions.
• Ensures problems are resolved quickly and effectively.
• Retests as needed.
• Coordinates and manages creation of related documentation.
• Ensures accurate technical information is gathered and disseminated to technical writers.
• Ensures final documents are thoroughly reviewed, accurate, complete, and user friendly.
• Implementing and supporting purchased software
• For purchased enterprise software, an analyst will configure and implement software using such activities as designing security roles, creating business rules, creating supported platform code, managing workflow and implementation of developed components.
• Support implemented processes by working with users to identify necessary training, product defects, or implementation defects/design flaws.
• Suggest or build solutions and coordinate testing and production releases.
• Work with product support to solve complex issues.
• Stay current with product releases for the purchased software.
• Identify needed upcoming functionality and coordinate test installation, testing plans, testing activities, and release opportunities.
• Work off hours during maintenance windows to be available for testing and assistance around the upgrade activities.
• Be involved in community efforts around our supported software systems.
• Look to assist others who are struggling with questions we have solutions for.
• Learn and ask questions from the communities to ensure best practices and reduce repeated mistakes.
• Assumes responsibility for successfully launching finished products.
• Ensures software applications are fully functional and meet established project requirements and deadlines.
• Obtains necessary final approvals and signatures according to established procedures.
• Ensures final versions of documentation and supporting materials are delivered to customers or project sponsors promptly.
• Establishes processes for user support, training options, and customer feedback.
• Evaluates feedback and customer concerns and offers assistance and solutions as appropriate.
• Communicates updates, future releases, and upgrades.
• Works to ensure quality service and customer satisfaction with finished products and support services.
• Assumes responsibility for establishing and maintaining professional working relations and communication with customers, project sponsors, service providers, and outside contacts.
• Responds to phone calls, emails, pages, or messages in a professional and timely manner.
• Provides regular updates on status of projects.
• Communicates information to appropriate parties.
• Tracks and resolves problems promptly and effectively.
• Promotes goodwill and a positive image of the Company.
• Assumes responsibility for maintaining effective communication and coordination with project teams and management.
• Maintains regular contact with IT executives, area managers, software developers, programmers, and other project personnel to obtain and covey information.
• Keeps management informed of projects, area activities, and any significant problems or concerns.
• Submits project reports as required.
• Works to achieve established goals and objectives
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Advanced critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis skills.
• Advanced skills in planning, organizing, and self-management.
• Solid technical and problem-solving skills.
• Exhibits excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to accurately gather, analyze and interpret data, identify and define problems, and make recommendations for resolution.
• Excellent leadership and project management skills.
• Works well in a team environment.
• Strong oral and written communications abilities to present findings and translate