9 - Module 9: Domain Knowledge & Case Studies

This chunk describes the importance of domain knowledge for Business Analysts (BAs). It emphasizes that BAs need to understand not just what they are working on, but the environment and regulations surrounding it. Understanding specific industries such as e-commerce, healthcare, and banking helps BAs effectively analyze business needs and develop appropriate solutions. The chapter aims to showcase real-world examples to illustrate the BAs' roles in these industries.

This chunk outlines the first case study, which focuses on developing a shopping cart feature for an e-commerce platform. It defines the project's objective, which is to create a user-friendly cart that allows customers to manage their purchases effectively. Key business requirements detail what functionalities the cart must support, such as saving cart contents, applying discounts, and integrating with payment gateways. It also highlights stakeholders such as the product owner, marketing team, and logistics teams who contribute to this project. The BA activities involve gathering user stories from potential users to inform the design and functionality of the cart, creating wireframes to visualize the cart interface, documenting essential business rules, and conducting user acceptance testing (UAT). Tools like JIRA and Figma are used throughout the project for managing user stories and designing UI wireframes.

This chunk describes the development of a healthcare appointment system, focusing on the ability of patients to manage their appointments with doctors. It outlines the project's objective, ensuring that patients can easily book, modify, or cancel appointments while receiving timely notifications. Key requirements ensure that patients can find doctors based on specialty and real-time availability, and the system supports reminders for appointments. The stakeholders include patients, medical staff, and administrators, highlighting the complexity and regulations involved, such as HIPAA compliance. BA activities include defining technical requirements, creating workflow diagrams to illustrate interactions between patients and doctors, ensuring data privacy, and conducting testing with staff to verify system effectiveness. Tools like Lucidchart and JIRA are essential for creating visual representations and managing project tasks.

In this chunk, we examine the banking sector's loan application process. The objective is to develop a digital platform that simplifies how users apply for personal loans and how these applications are processed. Key requirements include the ability for users to apply with necessary documentation, automatic assessment of eligibility, and tracking of their application status. Stakeholders involved range from customers to loan officers, underscoring the various roles in the process. Business Analysts engage in activities like gathering business requirement documents, identifying user types (like different employment statuses), defining integration with credit reporting systems, and ensuring compliance with regulations like anti-money laundering checks. Tools such as Draw.io and JIRA are utilized for creating process maps and tracking project progress.

The final chunk summarizes critical takeaways for Business Analysts (BAs) from the case studies. It highlights specific challenges and skills required in different domains: e-commerce relies on understanding dynamic pricing and real-time stock validation, the healthcare sector focuses on compliance and managing complex scheduling, and banking requires risk analysis and knowledge of regulatory constraints. The take-home message is that the success of BAs goes beyond just writing requirements; it includes understanding the broader business context and needing to adapt skills to various industries.