A day in the life of Sarah – Lead Business Analyst at Zen Internet

What exactly is a Lead Business Analyst?

A business analyst is involved in the design or change of business/IT systems or processes. The BA interacts with the business stakeholders and subject matter experts in order to understand their problems and needs. Eliciting and documenting requirements, analysing business needs and where value can be added or improved. Working with the relevant teams to ensure the final solution meets the documented requirements and objectives.

Typically, a Lead Business Analyst is responsible leading the efforts the analysis on a project or large programme of work, this can also sometimes mean for coordinating the effort of multiple business analysts.

Why did you want to become a Business Analyst?

I enjoy being able to help others by solving problems and making their jobs easier, so doing that every day is very rewarding.  I also the fact that every project is different, giving lots of opportunity to learn new things and work with new people.

How did you get started in the world of analysis and how did you progress?

One of my previous roles was an Executive Assistant to an Operations Director, one my responsibilities was to coordinate the business change projects for his business area, produce business cases and understand the priorities across the department.  This gave me my first taste in to change programmes, how they can add value and transform a business.

I went on to train in Lean Six Sigma and gain my first role in the change world.

What kinds of tools, tech, software, applications do you work with?

The usual windows/Microsoft applications. Zen also uses Salesforce and we are currently implementing IBM BPM Software and a new ITSM platform.

How long have you worked for Zen Internet?

I joined Zen in May 2017.

What made you choose to join Zen Internet ahead of other organisations?

I like the ethos and values that Zen is built on, “Happy Staff, Happy Customers, Happy Suppliers” They drive a culture that makes Zen a great place to work.
Can you describe a typical day in the office?

A typical day in the business analysis team always starts with coffee; however the working day might start with a stand-up/scrum with a development team to ensure a piece of work is on track and delivering as per the requirements and project plan.  This could also be a stand-up with the wider BA team to check in with everyone. Making sure everyone has everything they need for the week ahead, if need any support, to escalate in risks or issues and to celebrate successes.

Workshops are often a feature of a BA’s day, these could be meeting with a group on subject matter experts for a product or particular business team to gather requirements for an upcoming change or it could be to map a process that we are looking to optimise.

After the workshop, we would usually plan in time to document what has been discussed in the workshop to be circulated and eventually signed off.
Our days could involve meetings with project team or programme from across Technology to discuss progress against deliverables, planning for implementation, actions or next steps. We would also hold similar meetings with the project stakeholders.

A day in the business analyst team almost always involves cake or chocolate one way or another.

What makes Zen Internet a great place work? Why is it different?

The people! The culture at Zen is very people focused and it allows people to develop and grow in a supportive environment.

Working in an environment where delivering profit is not the main driver is refreshing.  Whilst recognising that profit is of course extremely important, not having to deliver it at any costs and putting people first gives you the confidences that decisions are being made for the right reasons.

What skills or experience have you developed while at Zen Internet?

Having joined Zen from the insurance industry, learning about Zen, what products we offer and the telecoms/internet industry in general has been my biggest development area.  Gaining formal industry recognised qualifications such as ITIL has been an added bonus.

What does the future hold for the world of Business Analysis?

We obviously work in a rapidly changing environment and industry, which inevitably brings challenges for businesses like Zen.   Ever changing and increasing customer demands bring about the need for smarter, more sophisticated technologies and solutions. Ensuring that as a business, we find the right solutions to add value to both our Customers and our business means that business analysis will continue to be integral.

What exciting things are on the horizon for Zen Internet?

The growth ambitions and the initiation of the Business Transformation Programme makes extremely exciting and interesting times at Zen. We are at exploring and introducing new technologies to transform how we work across Zen supported by industry best practice processes.

A programme of this size and scales of course brings challenges but along with it brings new areas for development and exciting opportunities.