14-days of SDLC in a life of a Business Project Analyst in a Banking company

Day 1: Project Initiation

As a business project analyst in a banking company, your journey through the software development life cycle (SDLC) begins with project initiation. On Day 1, you’ll dive into the initial stages of the project, which involves understanding the business requirements, defining project scope, and setting objectives. You’ll collaborate with stakeholders, including business managers, developers, and QA analysts, to gather requirements and establish a solid foundation for the project.

Activities:

1. Conduct initial meetings with stakeholders to understand project goals and objectives.
2. Define project scope, including features, functionalities, and deliverables.
3. Identify key stakeholders and establish communication channels.
4. Create a project initiation document outlining project scope, objectives, and timelines.
5. Conduct risk assessment and identify potential risks and mitigation strategies.

Meetings:

1. Project kickoff meeting with stakeholders.
2. Requirement gathering sessions with business managers and users.
3. Risk assessment meeting with project team.

Day 2-3: Requirements Analysis

With the project initiation phase completed, Days 2 and 3 are dedicated to requirements analysis. As a business project analyst, you’ll work closely with business users to analyze and document detailed requirements. This involves identifying user needs, functional specifications, and system requirements. You’ll collaborate with technical teams to ensure that requirements are feasible and align with the project goals.

Activities:

1. Conduct interviews and workshops with business users to gather detailed requirements.
2. Analyze and prioritize requirements based on business value and impact.
3. Document functional and non-functional requirements in a clear and concise manner.
4. Review requirements with stakeholders to ensure alignment with business objectives.
5. Validate requirements with technical teams to assess feasibility and technical constraints.

Meetings:

1. Requirement gathering workshops with business users.
2. Requirements review sessions with stakeholders and technical teams.
3. Agile sprint planning meetings (if applicable).

Day 4-6: Design and Planning

Days 4 to 6 are dedicated to the design and planning phase of the SDLC. As a business project analyst, you’ll collaborate with architects, designers, and developers to create detailed design specifications and develop a comprehensive project plan. This involves defining system architecture, designing user interfaces, and outlining development tasks and timelines.

Activities:

1. Collaborate with architects and designers to define system architecture and data models.
2. Create wireframes and mockups to visualize user interfaces and interactions.
3. Develop detailed design specifications for developers to implement.
4. Define project milestones, tasks, and timelines in project management tools.
5. Conduct risk analysis and update risk mitigation strategies as needed.

Meetings:

1. Design review sessions with architects and designers.
2. Sprint planning and backlog grooming sessions with development teams.
3. Risk assessment and mitigation meetings with project team.

Day 7-10: Development and Testing

Days 7 to 10 mark the development and testing phase of the SDLC. As a business project analyst, you’ll work closely with development teams to monitor progress, resolve issues, and ensure that project requirements are being met. You’ll also collaborate with QA analysts to plan and execute testing activities, including unit testing, integration testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT).

Activities:

1. Monitor development progress and address any roadblocks or issues.
2. Coordinate with QA analysts to develop test plans and test cases.
3. Conduct UAT sessions with business users to validate system functionality.
4. Review test results and identify defects for resolution.
5. Provide ongoing support to development and QA teams as needed.

Meetings:

1. Daily stand-up meetings with development and QA teams.
2. UAT sessions with business users.
3. Defect triage and resolution meetings with development and QA teams.

Day 11-13: Deployment Preparation

Days 11 to 13 are focused on deployment preparation and finalizing release activities. As a business project analyst, you’ll work closely with deployment teams to coordinate release activities, prepare documentation, and communicate with stakeholders about the upcoming release. This involves conducting deployment rehearsals, finalizing release notes, and ensuring that all necessary resources are in place for a smooth deployment process.

Activities:

1. Coordinate with deployment teams to plan and schedule release activities.
2. Conduct deployment rehearsals to identify and address potential issues.
3. Prepare release notes and documentation for stakeholders and end users.
4. Communicate with stakeholders about the upcoming release and any impact on business operations.
5. Perform final checks and validations to ensure readiness for release night.

Meetings:

1. Release planning and coordination meetings with deployment teams.
2. Stakeholder communication sessions to inform about the upcoming release.
3. Deployment rehearsal sessions to simulate release activities.

Day 14: Release Night

Finally, on Day 14, the much-awaited release night arrives. As a business project analyst, you’ll play a crucial role in overseeing the release process, coordinating with deployment teams, and ensuring that the release is executed smoothly. This involves monitoring deployment activities, addressing any issues or challenges that arise, and communicating with stakeholders about the status of the release.

Activities:

1. Monitor deployment activities and provide support to deployment teams as needed.
2. Address any issues or challenges that arise during the release process.
3. Communicate with stakeholders about the status of the release and any impact on business operations.
4. Conduct post-release testing and validation to ensure system stability and functionality.
5. Document lessons learned and areas for improvement for future releases.

Meetings:

1. Release night coordination meetings with deployment teams.
2. Stakeholder communication sessions to provide updates on the release status.
3. Post-release debriefing sessions to discuss lessons learned and areas for improvement.

Post-Release: Post-Release Testing and Evaluation

After the release night, the work of a business project analyst doesn’t end. Post-release testing and evaluation are essential to ensure that the deployed system meets expectations and performs as intended. This involves conducting regression testing, monitoring system performance, and gathering feedback from users to identify any issues or areas for improvement.

Activities:

1. Conduct regression testing to ensure that the deployed system functions correctly.
2. Monitor system performance and address any performance issues or bottlenecks.
3. Gather feedback from users and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement.
4. Document post-release issues and resolutions for future reference.
5. Conduct post-mortem meetings to evaluate the success of the release and identify lessons learned.

Meetings:

1. Post-release testing and evaluation meetings with QA teams.
2. Feedback gathering sessions with users and stakeholders.
3. Post-mortem meetings to review the release process and identify areas for improvement.

In conclusion, the life cycle of an SDLC project for a business project analyst in a banking company involves a series of well-defined stages, from project initiation to post-release testing and evaluation. Each day brings new challenges and opportunities for collaboration, communication, and problem-solving, ultimately leading to the successful delivery of a high-quality software product. Through effective planning, coordination, and execution, business project analysts play a crucial role in ensuring the success of software projects in the banking industry.