STAKEHOLDER

A stakeholder is anyone who has an interest in or is affected by a project. This can include
people inside or outside the project team, like customers, team members, or even the
organization running the project. They can influence how the project goes or be impacted
by its results.

WHO IS THE CUSTOMER?

A customer is someone who benefits from a product. They are a type of stakeholder.

In software, customers may request, pay for, or use the software.

Users are a smaller group within customers:

• Direct users use the software themselves.

• Indirect users get results from the software but don’t use it directly (like getting
reports by email).

Users help explain what they need the software to do and how it should work.

Customer-Development Partnership means working together with mutual understanding

during a project.

Customer Rights (what they can expect):

1. BAs (Business Analysts) will talk in a way the customer understands.

2. BAs will learn about the customer's business and goals.

3. Customers will get clear explanations about the process and documents.

4. Customers can change their requirements.

5. There will be mutual respect.

6. Customers will hear suggestions and solutions from the team.

7. Customers can say what will make the product easy to use.

8. BAs may suggest changes to speed up development by reusing things.

9. Customers will get a system that works well and meets their needs.
Customer Responsibilities in a project mean what customers should do to help BAs and
developers:

1. Teach them about your business.

2. Give enough time to explain and discuss your needs.

3. Be clear and exact when giving input.

4. Decide quickly when asked about features (like security or ease of use).

5. Respect the team’s judgment about cost and what’s possible.

6. Work with the team to set realistic priorities.

7. Check and give feedback on requirements or prototypes.

8. Set rules for accepting the product and inform about any changes.

9. Follow and respect the development process.

Identifying Decision Makers:

Different ways decisions are made in a project:

1. One leader decides (with or without others' input).

2. Group votes — majority wins.

3. Group votes — everyone must agree (like NATO).

4. Group talks and agrees together (consensus).

Reaching Agreement on Requirements:

• Customers agree their needs are met.

• Developers agree the requirements are clear and doable.

• Testers agree the requirements can be tested.

• Managers agree the requirements support business goals.

Requirements Baseline means a final, agreed set of requirements that everyone accepts
before starting development.

It gives confidence to everyone:

• Customers/Marketing: The project won't grow out of control — changes will be

managed properly.

• Users: Even if they missed something, the team will help build the right solution.

• Developers/Managers: They’ll stay focused on goals and balance time, cost,

features, and quality.

• BAs/Project Managers: They can handle changes without confusion.

• Testers: They can start preparing tests with clear and stable requirements.

Business Analyst’s Tasks (in simple words):

1. Define business needs – Understand what the business wants to achieve.

2. Plan how to gather requirements – Decide the best way to collect and manage
requirements.

3. Find key people – Identify who is involved (stakeholders, users).

4. Gather requirements – Ask questions to understand what the system should do.

5. Analyze needs – Break down and understand the collected information.

6. Write requirements clearly – Document everything properly.

7. Share with others – Make sure everyone understands the requirements.

8. Check correctness – Lead the review to confirm requirements are right.

9. Help set priorities – Decide which features are most important.

10. Track and update – Keep requirements organized and up to date.

Essential Analyst Skills (in simple words):

• Listening – Pay close attention to others.

• Interviewing – Ask the right questions to get useful answers.

• Quick thinking – Solve problems or respond fast in discussions.

• Analytical thinking – Break things down and understand clearly.

• Systems thinking – See how all parts of a system connect.

• Learning – Quickly understand new topics or tools.

• Simplifying – Make complex ideas easier for others.

• Leadership – Guide and support the team confidently.

• Observation – Notice small but important details.

• Communication – Explain ideas clearly to others.

• Organizing – Keep work, tasks, and information in order.

• Modeling – Create diagrams or charts to show how things work.

• People skills – Work well with others.

• Creativity – Think of new and better solutions.

Essential Analyst Knowledge (in simple words):

• Application Domain – Know about the business area you're working in (like
healthcare, finance, etc.), usually learned through experience.

• Software Process – Understand how software is planned, built, and delivered, and
how to gather and manage requirements in different project types (like Agile or
Waterfall).

The Making of a Business Analyst (in simple words):

A Business Analyst can come from different backgrounds, such as:

• Former user – Someone who used the system before and knows what users need.
• Former developer or tester – Someone who built or tested systems and
understands how they work.

• Former or current project manager – Someone who managed projects and knows
how to organize work.

• Domain expert – Someone with deep knowledge of a specific business area.