Author: Ben McDonnell
Introduction
I am often asked: How does the role of a Business Analyst (BA) fit into the Scrum Framework? After all, the Scrum Guide makes it quite clear that the only defined roles are the Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Delivery Team.
Within Scrum, the Development Team comprises a team of cross-functional specialists who can deliver solutions and provide outcomes that meet business needs. It is important to note that within this context, Business Analysis is not a role undertaken by an individual but a Function: A set of activities meant to be deployed to fully understand a particular part (or all) of the business.
So, if the role of a BA doesn’t even exist, and it is expected that the members of the development team have no specialisations, does this mean that a BA is not needed on a Scrum Team?
Should a BA be the Scrum Master? Should they be the Product Owner? Or are they part of the Delivery Team? The answer (as it often is in Business Analysis): It Depends!
In this blog, I will describe the role of the BA, how it fits into the Scrum Framework and the Skills required within Scrum. I will then explain the roles of the Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Delivery Team, with advice on how, as a BA, you can potentially fill any of these roles (depending on your skillsets and preferences) to assist in delivering value to your organisation.
The Role and Skillset of a Traditional Business Analyst
The Scrum Framework and Skillsets Required
All of the above roles and skillsets are required in Scrum delivery, so how does a BA fit in?
While there is no defined BA role in Scrum, the function of Business Analysis is required within the team to engage with stakeholders, understand business needs, and assist in creating value. While someone with the title of Business Analyst may perform these tasks, many people within the Scrum Team often undertake them.
The significant difference in Scrum from the traditional role of a BA is that the Business Analysis is captured in defined User Stories – just in time – rather than at the front of the project, whereas a traditional BA would generally record these in a lengthy Business Requirements Document.
Roles that a Business Analyst can fulfil within the Scrum environment:
✓ Development Team support – write User Stories and ensure requirements and acceptance criteria are detailed correctly.
✓ Scrum Master – remove roadblocks for the Development Team and coach them through Agile Delivery.
✓ Product Owner – requires more strategic thinking and empowerment to make decisions on behalf of the business.
Conclusion: The outcomes depend on your skillset and the team’s composition. Let’s explore each of these roles in more detail.
The Role of the Scrum Development Team
The Scrum development Team is a self-organised, cross-functional team with the proper skill set required to deliver business value defined by the Product Owner. Their primary purpose is to work together and build a potentially releasable Product Development Increment at the end of every Sprint.
The Product Owner and Scrum Master make up the Scrum Team and work closely to optimise efficiency and develop products that deliver business value, as determined by the Product Owner. In its most accurate form, every member will undertake the function of Business Analysis daily.
BA as a Member of the Development Team
Key roles and responsibilities:
Support the Development Team with the delivery of end-to-end development. This will often include:
- Requirements analysis/completion of User Stories with testable Acceptance Criteria
- Testing and Quality Assurance activities – to ensure that the development meets the business need indicated in the Acceptance Criteria (this may also include User Acceptance Testing of the Product)
- Change Management activities to deliver Product improvements to the business and assist them with associated people and process changes
If the BA has the required skillsets, they may also assist with technical analysis and even development or integration activities, including data visualisation.
- Scrum projects provide the BA with the opportunity to learn new skills to support the rest of the development team and also to coach others to enhance their use of BA tools and techniques
- Support the Product Owner: Assist with Backlog grooming and other activities
- Support the Scrum Master: Assist with the use of Project Management Tools, e.g. JIRA/DevOps, and supporting to remove roadblocks for the Development Team
The Role of a Scrum Master
BA as a Scrum Master
How do the skillsets of a BA align with the role of a Scrum Master?
- Facilitation
- Communication and listening
- Problem-solving and removing roadblocks
- Coaching/Mentoring/Teaching
- Knowledge of Project Management processes is an advantage
Can a BA be a Scrum Master? They can! Typically, an experienced Senior BA can choose to specialise in using their skillsets of Facilitation, Coaching, and Teaching/Leading a Team—especially if they have previous experience as a Lead BA—by choosing a Scrum Master role instead of becoming a Lead BA.
The Role of a Product Owner
Therefore, the most relevant difference between a Product Owner and a Traditional Business Analyst is that the Product Owner has the authority (and responsibility) to make the ultimate decision on what should be developed and when. In contrast, the Business Analyst provides recommendations but does not have the authority to enforce decisions.
BA as the Product Owner
The role of a Product Owner requires the performance of many functions of Business Analysis. Therefore, a Business Analyst can undertake the role of Product Owner – provided they have the sole authority to instruct the team. They are ultimately accountable for deciding what is delivered (that is, they own the Product).
Within smaller projects or high-performing Scrum Teams, you may see a BA effectively performing a dual (or hybrid) role of Business Analyst and Product Owner (explained at the end of this discussion).
BA supporting the Product Owner
When an organisation begins the journey into Scrum Delivery, it is expected that a Business Product Owner may not have the formal skills and qualifications required within the role of Product Ownership and that a Business Analyst may assist and guide the Product Owner in this role, rather than taking on the role of Product Owner themselves.
Additionally, the two roles fit together quite nicely and work in tandem. Often, the Product Owner will focus on improvements to the Product they own, creating high-level User Stories to guide the Business Analyst, who will then work with the business to understand the relevant interfaces, roles, processes, areas, and systems affected by the proposed changes to complete the User Stories and ensure they are Ready for Development, complete with testable Acceptance Criteria.
What is a Hybrid Role?
A hybrid role is when one person takes on the tasks from multiple positions of the Scrum Team instead of just one. In a hybrid role, you’re not confined to a narrow job description. Rather, you wear multiple hats and fulfil various roles within the Scrum team.
Within more minor, less complex environments, this can be an effective way to ensure that people are fully utilised within the project environment; however, undertaking multiple roles also adds complexity, especially when it can be difficult for yourself and others to understand which ‘hat’ you are wearing at which particular time when conflicting priorities occur.
BA in Hybrid Roles
Hybrid Scrum Master/BA
A Business Analyst can work in a hybrid role as the BA and the Scrum Master. Some Scrum teams are small enough to allow both roles to coexist. Similar to a Project Manager, the key is that as long as the projects are low in complexity and risk, combining the roles can often make sense while also allowing a BA to utilise the specific skillsets required for the Scrum Master role.
Even people experienced in both the Business Analyst and Scrum Master roles can find it challenging to strike a balance between them as they often have conflicting priorities. For example, a Scrum Master is trying to remove blockers for current development work, whereas the Business Analyst is striving to complete User Stories for future work.
Hybrid PO/BA
While the two roles of BA and Product Owner are complementary, as detailed above, the Product Owner role requires a certain level of authority and decision-making, whereas the BA role requires detailed analysis. Therefore, my recommendation is that a BA can support the Product Owner but can find it difficult to effectively undertake both roles in parallel unless they are given the specific level of autonomy required to make the critical decisions while also having the capacity to ‘get into the weeds’ and gather the detailed requirements for the Development Team in time for each Sprint Delivery.
As these roles share similar priorities, a Business Analyst can make an effective Product Owner while also completing the deeper Business Analysis required within the Development Team. It must be noted, however, that firstly, the Business Analyst will need the authority to undertake the decision-making of the Product Owner role. Secondly, a larger, more complex project will often require additional analysis resources (which may be completed by the project team or by another Business Analyst).
Conclusion
So, where does a Business Analyst fit in a Scrum Team? As with everything in the world of Business Analysis – It Depends! The role you play within a Scrum Team depends on your skills and experience, the skillsets of the rest of the team, and the environment you are working within (the organisation).
Nothing is set in stone, so take the opportunity to fill various roles as they become available (if you are willing and able to). As long as you deliver business value, a Business Analyst is an important and influential member of a Scrum Team!