Almost every business analyst knows words such as "stakeholder" or "benchmark", and this is not surprising, because the modern professional business analysis vocabulary contains a huge number of terms borrowed from the English language.
However, specialists working in international companies or communicating with English-speaking clients must know and be able to use these terms in the original English, not in a borrowed translation.
1. Analysis paralysis - a condition in which decision-making is inhibited due to excessive analysis. This often leads to the inability to make a decision, even if there is already enough data to make it. Although this term is somewhat humorous, it can be used in formal business communication, in conversations with customers, etc.
Example: Our team seems to be suffering from analysis paralysis. Perhaps it would be helpful to define key milestones and set a clear deadline.
2. Benchmarking – comparing an organization's processes, products or services with industry leaders or competitors. This helps identify areas for improvement and set performance standards. The word can also be used as a noun (benchmark) or a verb (benchmark, benchmarking, etc.)
Example: As part of our project, we set internal performance standards. Our design is now benchmarked against industry standards.
3. Bottleneck – A place in a process where traffic or work slows down, causing performance problems. Like the previous term, this word can be a noun or a verb.
Example: Increased demand for a product began to clog the production line, causing delivery delays.
4. Burndown Chart – A chart that shows the progress of tasks or work items on a project and helps track whether the team is working on schedule or behind schedule.
Example: If you look at our burn chart, you'll see that our team performed well against all the benchmarks we set.
5. Business Analyst – Business Analyst. Please remember that this is the name of this profession. The word "business analytics" does not exist in the English language.
Example: "The business analyst worked with stakeholders to gather requirements for a new software system."
6. Business entity model – a visual model that illustrates the relationships between various entities (such as customers, products and orders) in an enterprise. For example, when developing a new customer accounting system, you can create a business unit model to understand the relationship between customers and their orders.
Example: We created a business unit model to help the team understand the interactions between different departments.
7. Baseline – An initial set of requirements that is agreed upon and used as a starting point throughout the project.
Example: Before starting the project, we need to establish baseline requirements to establish a clear starting point for our development process.
8. CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional) is a certificate defining knowledge, skills and competences in the field of business analysis.
Example: I have CBAP. This means that I have certificates in business analysis.
9. Concentration index - a coefficient indicating the level of competition and dominance of individual companies in one or another market. The concentration index is often used to analyze the competitive situation on the market, identify risks and opportunities, etc.
Example: Let's look at the concentration ratio to assess the competitive landscape of this space.
10. Cost-benefit analysis – Analysis of the potential costs and benefits of a project or decision.
Example: A business analyst conducted a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether implementing a new CRM system would be financially viable.
11. CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) – four basic persistent storage functions often associated with databases: Create, Read, Update and Delete.
12. Elicitation - the process of collecting requirements from interested parties. It can also be a verb (to cause).
Example: We organized a customer acquisition session to extract detailed requirements from various departments.
13. Functional requirements – requirements regarding the functionality of a system or product. For example, an e-commerce website should allow users to add products to carts, edit products, place orders, and make payments.
Example: A business analyst documented the functional requirements of a new e-commerce platform, including user login, shopping cart functionality, and payment processing.
14. Knowledge areas - key categories of tasks and methods covering the area of business analysis.
Example: My areas of expertise include requirements analysis and solution evaluation.
15. Non-functional requirements - requirements regarding the quality, features and limitations of a system or product related to the way the system operates.
Example: A business analyst worked with the development team to ensure that non-functional requirements such as response time and data encryption were properly addressed.
16. Procedure – a documented sequence of steps or actions intended to perform a specific task or process.
Example: There is an established procedure for gathering requirements.
17. Pseudocode - "pseudocode" that looks like real program code but contains plain language. Pseudocode helps you quickly describe the logic and design of a system. It is worth paying attention to the pronunciation of this word: there is no "p" sound in it. Correct pronunciation: /ˈsuːdoʊkoʊd/.
Example: The logic of the program is explained in pseudocode.
18. Quality Assurance – processes that ensure that a project or product meets specified quality standards.
Example: We have quality assurance procedures that allow us to minimize errors.
19. Quality control - the process of testing and evaluating a product to detect defects or deviations from established standards.
Example: We performed a quality check to verify that the user interface meets the design specifications.
20. Requirements Traceability Matrix - A table showing the relationships between requirements, design elements, and other project artifacts for easier project management and change tracking.
Example: The requirements traceability matrix helped us ensure that each element of the project met the customer's requirements.
21. Requirements Package – A package of requirements for a specific project or initiative that often includes detailed descriptions and related documents.
Example: A business analyst has compiled a comprehensive requirements package to provide the development team with a clear understanding of the scope of the project.
22. Scope of work – a set of goals, results, tasks and limitations of the project.
Example: We will be able to assign roles once we know the scope of work on this project.
23. Scrum is a management methodology consistent with the principles of agile development.
Example: We organize meetings every day according to the best Scrum principles.
24. Six Sigma is a methodology aimed at reducing defects and improving the quality of processes.
Example: We used Six Sigma to improve our processes.
25. SME (Subject Matter Expert) – a person with specialized knowledge, experience and experience in a specific field
Example: In the process of gathering requirements for a new software system, a business analyst consulted with an SME in the logistics industry.
26. Stakeholder analysis - analysis of interested parties in terms of effective communication and further cooperation.
Example: During the stakeholder analysis, several red flags emerged that the client and we were not on the same page.
27. SWOT analysis - analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a specific decision, as well as opportunities and threats for the business. SWOT analysis helps you develop strategic insights and make informed decisions.
Example: After conducting a SWOT analysis, we decided to continue our initiatives.
28. User Story - a concise description of the program's capabilities from the end user's point of view, often written in the following form: As a [user], I want [actions] to [benefit].
For example: As a registered user, I want to be able to reset my password so that I can regain access to my account if I forget my password.
29. Value-added activity - something that contributes to meeting customer needs or improves a product or service.
Example: We will consider creating an adaptive user interface as a value-added activity.
30. A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a schematic diagram or document that provides a step-by-step plan for dividing a large project into smaller, manageable and understandable parts or tasks.
When using these terms, don't forget to pronounce them correctly. We recommend checking the pronunciation of each word on Google and saying it out loud. This way, you will not only remember these words, but also be ready to use them correctly in a business conversation.
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