Last Date to Submit : 12/16/2013
Short Description:
Business Analyst with +8 years of experience in Requirements Elicitation, Business Process Improvement and QA skills for a complex change management project pertaining to Student Information System replacement in the K12 arena
Complete Description:
Seeking an experienced Senior Business Analyst who can take the lead in translating the operational needs of schools and central office programs to the requirements for our rollout of a replacement Student Information System (SIS). We are currently in the process of selecting a vendor to provide a Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) SIS which will be customized and configured to fit DCPS requirements. Detailed project planning and requirements gathering will commence before the vendor has been selected and well before the vendor team starts work. This Business Analyst will focus on the documentation of the current business rules and processes and gathering requirements for the new system even before a vendor is chosen so that DCPS can get a head start on that effort. Additionally, the business analyst will be the hands on leader actively participating in testing activities and producing other project document as needed.
Position Responsibilities:
• Prepare, facilitate, document and participate in internal meeting and workshops to capture “as is” business process, data flows, business rules, report requirements etc. prior to vendor engagement.
• Work closely with Project Manager and Leadership Team to identify “to be” requirements and provide gap assessment.
• Based on prioritization list, create user stories, and support the development of training manuals and user guides.
• Create verifiable test cases to confirm that system functionality satisfies business requirements and identify appropriate business stakeholders for UAT
• Ensure requirement traceability from capture to delivery of functionality
• Putting in place documentation standards and knowledge management tools to ensure that all business rules in both old and new system are tracked
• Determining the relevant stakeholders for a particular business process and/or set of business rules and ensuring that the appropriate business owner signs off on all documentation and the relevant requirements
• Suggesting improvements to current business processes so that the new SIS becomes a tool for improving the efficacy and efficiency of programs across the board
• Facilitate discussions with appropriate stakeholders and support Project Manager to negotiate the scope, priority, and timeline for delivery of all customizations relevant to the particular business process at hand
• Prepare, facilitate, document and participate in internal and vendor meetings/workshops
• Liaise with development team and provide clarifications on customization requirements.
• Actively participate in testing and validation of requirements and ensure QA best practices by validating processes and procedures
Professional/Educational Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree required
• Must have a successful track record of at least 8 years of progressive experience of business analysis in support of complex technical projects
• At least 5 years of related work experience with implementing ERP or administrative software systems; preferably K12 Student Information Systems.
• Demonstrated ability to think critically through issues to determine root cause
• Demonstrated ability to communicate with diverse set of stakeholders across business and technology
• Experience participating as a member of a project team through all phases of the project lifecycle, from scoping and planning, requirements gathering, design, process mapping, development, testing, and go live
• Experience documenting technology requirements, requirement analysis tools/methodologies Knowledge of process reengineering methodologies and process flowcharting
Strong Candidate will have:
• Advanced degree is a plus.
• Successful work experience in K-12 administration is strongly preferred
• Ability to communicate in a positive and professional manner, both verbally and in writing.
• Emphasis on critical thinking skills with an ability to think laterally across inter-dependencies and drill into topics as needed
• Entrepreneurial mindset; ability to work independently and as an effective team member with client groups, taking on whatever role is necessary to achieve business objectives and enhance client relationships
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to translate high level technical and business initiatives and goals into specific requirements, especially the ability to actively listen and draw out the true needs rather than the stated wants of any given stakeholder
• Excellent time management and organizational skills; the ability to manage conflicting priorities and multi-task effectively; and communicate current status and tasks to management
• Self-starter able to quickly adapt to new business environments with minimal supervision; strong work ethic and motivated to succeed
• Ability to determine proper course or methodology with minimal direction or supervision while at same time having the judgment to know what and when to escalate
• Strong listening and information gathering skills to ensure accurate gathering of requirements and identification of issues
• Ability to translate generic business functionality into specific, verifiable instances of system behavior
• Previous or current hands on technical experience in hands on coding, application development, or database development is a plus
• Keen sense of maximizing return on investment, focusing on the pragmatic 80% solutions rather than a fruitless quest for perfection
• Emphasis on critical thinking skills with an ability to think laterally across inter-dependencies and drill into topics
Skills:
Skill
Required / Desired
Amount
of Experience
Expertise Rating
Experience and a successful track record facilitation and leading requirement elicitation and Business Process Improvement sessions
Required
8
Years
3 - Expert
Experience and a successful track record producing detailed, accurate and up to date requirements documentations and Process Flows
Required
8
Days
3 - Expert
Experience and a successful track record producing detailed Training Manuals, and User Guides
Desired
4
Years
2 - Proficient
Experience and a successful track record documenting user interface requirements
Desired
4
Years
2 - Proficient
Experience and a successful track record writing user stories and test cases
Required
8
Years
3 - Expert
Experience and a successful track record as a hands-on QA lead
Required
4
Years
2 - Proficient
Bachelor's Degree
Required
Master's Degree
Desired