How does a Scrum master work with a business analyst?
In SCRUM, a Business Analyst, often known as a BA, plays a critical and crucial role. You can be called a scrum master after getting scrum master certification.
This individual serves as a conduit between the product owner/customer and the technical IT team. Despite the fact that we have multiple BA tutorials on our website, this tutorial will be unique in that it will highlight the value of BA in SCRUM.
Business Analyst as a Product Owner
Some firms have the Business Analyst as the product owner, depending on the customer and the company. In these situations, the BA is the point of contact for all inquiries. After that, the BA acts as a liaison between the team and the stakeholders.
The BA must comprehend the Stakeholders’ requirements, their thoughts on moving the business forward, and what (and how) the business should expand. The BA must then develop papers, user stories, priorities the stories, help the team understand them, answer their questions about them, and so on, all based on the requirements of the stakeholders.
The most important thing to remember is that this is best done while the BA is physically present and not relocated in a different time zone to avoid a ‘communication gap.’
Business Analyst as a Team member
Because the Product Owner will not always be present, the other option is to include the Business Analyst as a team member. When a Business Analyst works as part of a team, they assist their colleagues with backlog grooming.
It is more helpful to have a Business Analyst on the team since the technical team finds it easier and more comfortable to communicate with the BA for clarifications or debates. For testing, the BA collaborates closely with the QA team, reviewing coverage, use cases covered, and any hidden needs, dependability, or consequences.
When the Product Owner’s acceptance criteria are ambiguous and unclear, it is the BA’s obligation as a team member to write extensive and well-explained acceptance criteria. If the team needs additional information, the BA prepares wireframe documents, flow documents, and other documents to assist the team in comprehending the situation. Try getting Project management certification for greater insights.
Importance and role of Business Analysts in Scrum master
The function of Business Analysts in SCRUM is critical to a project’s success. Their engagement begins with a thorough grasp of the customer’s requirements and continues through the Sprint Demo. For questions, they are the primary point of contact for the technical staff. They’re even more crucial in the early stages of a new project, as well as large-scale undertakings.
Because the Product Owner is not always a strong writer and occasionally comes from a technical background, it is up to the Business Analyst to create the stories, acceptance, wireframes, and so on.
Our project’s PO wasn’t great at documentation, and even the user stories we wrote were never more than 2–3 lines long, while the acceptance criteria were only one line long. They were modified by the Business Analyst to make them more understandable and elaborative.
Our Product Owner would occasionally write user stories with 21 or more narrative points, requiring the Business Analyst to spend additional time and effort breaking them down and prioritizing them with the Product Owner.
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