We know that Business Analysts and Quality Analysts hold very important roles in projects. A Business Analyst (BA) is someone who analyzes an organization while documenting processes, systems, and technology integration. A Quality Analyst (QA) is responsible for quality control throughout the development cycle. We know what each role is, but how exactly does each role contribute to a project? How are they similar and different? In this blog, you will find these answers and more.

Similarities Between BA and QA
The main similarity between a BA and a QA is the fact that they are both working to improve the product. Although they have the same goal, they complete this in different ways. Business Analysts are involved in the requirement gathering phase. They talk to different stakeholders and gather all of the requirements that are needed for the project. These requirements include business, customer, and financial aspects as well as the gathering of information from product managers and designers. Once the BA gathers all of the requirements, they strive to come up with prototypes or mockups to showcase what they are delivering to developers. From there, the developers take this information and act on it by making code changes or creating all new code.

The Quality Analyst comes into the project after the development phase has ended. Their role is to look for flaws, mistakes, or any requirements the code does not deliver. This role is important because code is never perfect the first time it is created. The QA is there to observe this and make sure the code is perfect by the end of the project.

The BA and the QA have different responsibilities in a project, but they both have the same focus of improving the product as well as sharing the common goal of doing what is best for the customers. They approach this goal differently, but they strive for the same outcome.

Major Contributions
Business Analyst
During a project, the BA contributes thorough comprehensive analysis of the high-level requirements. For example, a VP or a senior leader makes a particular request for the product and it’s a very high-level request. The BA needs to be able to understand the system level requirements and the technical requirements. They take the high-level statement and break it down to understand how many systems need to be involved for the specific change. Once everything is documented, the BA explains to designers and developers what needs to be executed. The Business Analyst is the communicator between the business side of the project and the developers. This ongoing communication and thorough investigation are the biggest contributions a BA has in a project.

Quality Analyst
Compared to a BA, QA’s contribute to a different kind of analysis. Once the product is completed, it is sent to the QA and they search for any missed requirements or mistakes in the code. The QA is the last person to review the product before it is sent out to the public. This is their biggest contribution, as they are responsible for the overall analysis in the end to make sure everything is flawless.

Characteristics and Skillset Needed in a BA
To be a Business Analyst, it’s very important to have great facilitation skills. BA’s must be able to facilitate sessions and understand the roles of various teams. Overall, the BA does not belong to just one team, but rather they are working for the project as a whole. Business Analysts’ need to be very fluid in their role. They also need to have great negotiation skills as well as having a very comprehensive and thorough approach when it comes to distilling the requirements. They need to have the curiosity to dig deeper into these requirements to know what the next steps are for improvement.

Characteristics and Skillset Needed in a QA
The skills needed to be a Quality Analyst include attention to detail and having a great eye for quality control. A QA must have an investigation mindset when it comes to spot checking and reviewing. When reviewing, they need to be able to think like a user and pinpoint everything on all spectrums of the product.

Coming Together
In some instances, crossovers occur where a BA will sit in a QA session or vise versa. As a BA, you define the nature of the requirements and communicate it with the QA team before the product is built. In these instances, the QA weighs in with their perspective and creates test cases and scenarios. This partnership is important because it assures everything is on the right track from the very beginning of the project.

The roles of a Business Analyst vs. a Quality Analyst are different in terms of their job description, but they both share the common goal of improving products and doing what is best for the customers. Both roles have great contributions to a project, and they come together when needed to perfect the product. If you have any more questions about BA’s and QA’s, feel free to contact us.

About Precision
Precision Technologies Corp. (PTC) is a leading full stack IT Company with a diversified portfolio comprising staffing services, application development, and mobility solutions and beyond. Since 2010, our clients have leveraged our staffing and consulting experience to obtain escalated technical services across the industries. We often are told that our solutions are very precise, cost-effective and process driven, thereby delivering intended results. https://precisiontechcorp.com/