Category Archives: Business Analysis

RPA: Why IT folk should sit up and take note!

Yes,  I’m talking to you Project Managers and Business Analysts !

“Change is coming and will impact how business is conducted in ways we are not able to comprehend today”.  This is a statement amplified by the Shared Services and Outsourcing Network (SSON)’s 2019 industry survey.

Fact: intelligent automation is the fastest-growing technology with the greatest power for disruption and will replace higher-level cognitive human abilities with a far greater capacity for volume, analysis, accuracy and consistency.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a software-based technology utilising software robots to emulate human execution of a business process. This means that it performs the task on a computer, uses the same interface a human worker would, clicks, types, opens applications, uses keyboard shortcuts, and more.

It is most suitable for rules-driven, data-intensive processes, that are repetitive in nature, e.g. execution of data entry into SAP or other ERP, systems or a full end-to-end business process. In a nutshell, it can help organisations optimize various work-flow processes that can be performed against a set of business rules programmed to start and stop at a specific time.

Right now RPA is having such a significant impact on business strategic objectives and futuristic goals more than any other point in time. The question is why has RPA taken so long to gain the momentum its currently enjoying?

The answer comes as no shocker to me. They say change is the most constant thing in life, but humans have this sometimes-subconscious state of mind whereby we pose a resistance to the simplest of change(s) occurring in and around our surroundings, and the workplace is a primary example of this.

From the Board of Directors being understandably jittery when making key decisions regarding changes to their strategic objectives and goals  given that they know each decision could potentially take the business to the next level in terms of its ROI, reputation and market share value, but also send them down under if things happen to go wrong, down to employees worried about how these changes could impact their lives overall i.e. salary and employee benefits, well-being, their specific job roles, hierarchical position at the company, and most importantly; job security.

It is no surprise that the biggest barrier to RPA deployment within organisations thus far has centred around the perceived notion that human jobs will be affected by it. Critics argue that the widespread elimination of jobs will occur and that working environments will be turned on their heads. There is no denying that some jobs will be replaced by RPA, the most likely candidate being people tasked with data entry responsibilities. However, this would be ignoring the wider picture as there are a wide array of job roles that may emerge because of RPA.

Historically, new technology has almost always resulted in the creation of more jobs, and the widespread incorporation of RPA will be no different. For example, RPA engineering and RPA developers are roles that wouldn’t exist without the technology. It won’t just create new jobs, it also has the ability to enhance current jobs, by providing human workers with the necessary robotic process automation tools to focus on high-value tasks. One of the major draws of RPA is that it enables automatable work, relieving human workers from repetitive clerical processes such as data entry and data manipulation, allowing human workers to focus on complex value-adding tasks that elevate a business.

Also, it aids the reduction in human error and costs. Foibles to which human workers are prone, particularly during long repetitive tasks caused by tiredness and boredom are completely mitigated with RPA. This results in work that is more accurate, timely and consistent, ensuring that time and money isn’t lost correcting old work or creating duplicates. It is important to also highlight that it is easy to configure so developers do not need programming skills. RPA interfaces work much like Visio, by dragging, dropping and linking icons that represent steps in a process. Code is generated automatically behind the scenes.

Furthermore, one of the most significant benefits of RPA is that the software is non-invasive as it sits on top of existing systems without the need to create, replace, or further develop other platforms. RPA software accesses other computer systems through user interfaces with a login ID and password (like a human) and through the presentation layer, so no underlying systems programming logic is touched.

Recently, I was having an interesting conversation about RPA with a very good friend of mine, an expert in Civil Engineering who works with one of the world’s leading firms in infrastructural design and development, with regards to the prospects of RPA and the potential impacts on busines strategies going forward. He gave a candid insight on the topic during this fantastic lengthy discussion. He laid emphasis regarding the uncertainties surrounding businesses and how key decisions are currently been driven by fast-paced innovative technological developments on a global scale, as well as the need for organisations to stay competitive.Thus, business decisions such as fully embracing intelligent automation although may lead to cutting off some human resources, the underlying fact is that it may be the most suitable approach in achieving business goals going forward in terms of being cost-efficient and maintaining a steady ROI.

Estimates vary, but employees can spend anywhere from 25-45% of their time on manual activities that could be automated. Entrenched “bad” practices are a common culprit along with insufficient process discipline. One solution to these “processing” ills can certainly be the application of RPA, which follows rules, is standardized and does not make mistakes. Identifying the right process, however, is the single most important step in ensuring a successful RPA implementation. (SSON’s 2019 industry report confirms “wrong process selection” as the leading cause of RPA project failure.)

The ideal candidate process for RPA is rules-based (thus easily encoded), repetitive, manual, routine, and involves steps with easy identification of exceptions. In addition, the data should be structured (i.e., easily accessible and consistently formatted). In identifying optimal candidates for RPA, look for where rigid applications don’t integrate with systems, creating blockages. The wins here are about capturing the low hanging fruit to demonstrate the validity of the solution, drive results, and build internal experience and competencies.

A common mistake is to choose a process that causes the greatest headaches. This is often a highly complex, multi-step process where automation, it is believed, will simply make the problem go away. This rarely works as the complexity of the process frequently prevents building a more fully automated solution in a timely manner. This approach can quickly get bogged down, giving RPA a bad name and resulting in perceived “failure” that could have been avoided with more strategic foresight in evaluating the process.

In summary, thinking back to the GDPR storm 3 years ago that swept all of Europe. A lot of IT Professionals (i.e Business Analysts and Project Managers) were not well-prepared both skill and knowledge wise, to take on the enormous amount of GDPR projects that became suddenly available. As a result, they eventually missed out on sizable pay packages and huge job opportunities.

Also significant is the fact that the recent victory of the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with his Brexit deal in the House of Parliament ensures that the UK will leave the European Union come the 31st of January 2020, and negotiations currently slated to be concluded by the 31st of December 2020 according to the Article 50 agreements, will play a massive role in influencing business strategies going forward, and simply points to the fact that businesses may well be entering an era of financial perplexity.

Hence, as Business Analysts or Project Managers the question we should be asking ourselves at the moment is, do we wait for the wave to sweep us away unprepared like the GDPR storm took us by surprise, or do we embrace RPA and start preparing and equipping ourselves in this ever-changing digital world?

If you are interested in learning more about our RPA training  please click here

Article by Tammy T  Futuretrend’s RPA course consultant  see his bio here

New Work Experience Project for Software Testers and Business Analysts Launched (Cohort 7)

Latest Work Experience Project for Software Testers and Business Analysts

We’ve been listening to what our students have been saying and now we’ve got the ideal project for those looking to build their experience in the financial/insurance domain.online meeting of BA's and QA's

BA WireframesThe Software application being built enables insurance companies to analyze claims, surrendering of policies, loans against insurance, processing payouts and many other related features.

Various insurance specialists based on function, role and expertise will access the software for compiling, manipulating, displaying and transforming insurance data.

The software will handle business from the initial quote through to renewal, supporting all types of Insurance.
A full suite of tools is to be included to manage ratings, equations, referrals and business logic.

The software also simplifies and accelerates claim submission and payment processes. It incorporates complete claim life-cycles, from FNOL (first notice of loss) through to reimbursement.  claims will be managed using a variety of tools, including Mobile App technology for submission, dedicated claims areas for agents, brokers and claims administrators.

Besides developing the project following the industry best practices, participants will get an opportunity to learn, familiarise and work on complex processes used across the board in many insurance and financial insurance organizations.

Business analyst use cases

We are now inviting aspiring Business Analysts, Project Coordinators, Software Testers to join the project and get a feel for working on a  live application with various modules being built.

There is huge scope for team members to develop  a wide range of skills being involved in a project like this (including FRD, BRD, SCope doc, UC, User stories, UML, RTM, Change management, Project backlog,
Test Plan, Test cases, Test reports, Defect management etc)…and get valuable work references as well.

We are now taking registrations from aspiring Business Analysts and Quality Assurance Analysts (Software Testers) for this programme. If you want to be part of this exciting team please sign up before July 7th 2017.

Remember, there is no need to visit our training centre to participate as everything is done online. As long as you have access to the internet and time available in the evenings to attend meetings then you will be just fine.the testers use Jira for defect tracking

For more details of what our work experience and mentoring program involves please visit  our dedicated web page for this here:
http://www.careertesters.com/work-experience-mentoring.html

New Work Experience Cohort for Business Analysts and Software Testers Launched

Here’s a chance for aspiring Business Analysts and Software Testers to get stuck into some real online meeting of BA's and QA'slive work experience!

BA Wireframes
The most recent project which started on February 6th has been extended due to additional requirements. The project involved building an e-commerce platform where Corporates, Individuals, and families can interact digitally with professional,  certified Interior designers to create custom concepts with a view to obtaining bespoke design solutions for their home or office.

 

The Project also includes the build of  a module which will include assigning of Designers, sharing concepts, User interaction, choosing designer packages etc

Business analyst use cases

We are now inviting additional aspiring Business Analysts, Project Coordinators, Software Testers to join the team and get a feel for working on a  live application with various modules being built.

There is huge scope for team members to develop  a wide range of skills being involved in a project like this ( FRD, BRD, SCope doc, UC, USer stories, UML, RTM, Change mgmt, Project backlog
Test Plan, Test cases, Test reports, Defect management etc)…and get valuable work references as well.

We are now taking registrations from aspiring Business Analysts and Quality Assurance Analysts (Software Testers) for this programme. If you want to be part of this exciting team please sign up before May 2nd 2017.

Remember, there is no need to visit our training centre to participate as everything is done online. As long as you have access to the internet and time available in the evenings to attend meetings then you will be just fine.the testers use Jira for defect tracking

For more details of what our work experience and mentoring program involves please visit  our dedicated web page for this here:
http://www.careertesters.com/work-experience-mentoring.html

Get Solid Business Analysis Training and earn £350+ per day

and this is some feedback from those that have taken the plunge just recently…

Classes held monthly visit http://www.careertesters.com/businessanalysis.html or call us on 02084432888

New Work Experience and Mentoring Project for Business Analysts and Software Testers

We are currently rounding up our Project which started  in November. This project covered the building of  a software application for a client who is a health/protein food (raw material) manufacturer. The raw material  is sold to companies where it undergoes processing and dilution.  The software application would cater to the needs of the client’s employees who work in the areas of manufacturing, merchandising, logistics and others.. It was quite demanding for the Business Analysts and Software Testers who had to utilise their skills to the fullest as it was a complex application. The students  and their Project Manager (Chetan) have worked very hard on this and  a lot has been learnt. We’re now looking forward to a new project which will kick off on February 6th 2017.

Project Charter

The new project  involves building an e-commerce platform where Corporates, Individuals, and families can interact digitally with Professional & certified Interior designers to create custom concepts with a view to obtaining bespoke design solutions for their home or office. The Project also includes the build of an a module which will include assigning of Designers, sharing concepts, User interaction, choosing designer packages etc

There is huge scope for the BA/QAs to develop  a wide range of skills being involved in a project like this.

We are now taking registrations from aspiring Business Analysts and Quality Assurance Analysts for this programme. If you want to be part of this exciting team please sign up before January 31st 2017.

For more details of what our work experience and mentoring program involves please visit  our dedicated web page for this here:
http://www.careertesters.com/work-experience-mentoring.html

New Work Experience and Mentoring Project for Business Analysts and Software Testers

We are currently rounding up our Project which started  in June. This project covered the building of an application for trading and auctioning of seafood and aquatic products in the international market. It was quite demanding for the Business Analysts and Software Testers who had to utilise their skills to the fullest as it was a complex application. The students  and their Project Manager (Chetan) have worked very hard on this and  a lot has been learnt. We’re now looking forward to a new project which will kick off on September 19th.

Project Charter

 

The new project is about developing a software application for a client who is a health/protein food (raw material) manufacturer. The raw material  is sold to companies where it undergoes processing and dilution. It is then used as an ingredient for manufacturing edible products like protein food, digestive medicines, health drinks etc. The software application would cater to the needs of the client’s employees who work in the areas of manufacturing, merchandising, logistics and others. There is huge scope for the BA/QAs to develop  a wide range of skills being involved in a project like this.

We are now taking registrations from aspiring Business Analysts and Quality Assurance Analysts for this programme. If you want to be part of this exciting team please sign up before September 19th 2016.

For more details of what our work experience and mentoring program involves please visit  our dedicated web page for this here:
http://www.careertesters.com/work-experience-mentoring.html

Futuretrend’s new Talent & Skills Showcase Platform

Futuretrend invites you to become part of a new talent showcase platform which will allow
those looking for employment (especially as Business Analysts, Software Test Analysts, PMO’s) to be matched with suitable companies that are currently
recruiting. Most training companies stop the support system for their students upon completion
of training courses Futuretrend aims to continue to guide you on your career path, every step
of the way.

In line with this, we will be directly promoting peojob search strategyple on the talent showcase as part of
the service and the aim is to place people in appropriate organisations for internships or paid
employment.
This is an exclusive offer of free membership, valid until the end of October 2016 to students who
have recently completed training courses with us. After this, you will have to pay for the
membership.
If you would like to be featured in the platform and receive the free membership before the end
of October, please contact annika.oste@futuretrendtech.co.uk
Upon confirmation we will quickly get in touch with you to discuss the next steps.

Update on our BA & QA Work Experience Projects

The current project is an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software application for a company that deals with fashion & lifestyle products.
The application is needed for teams in the company that manage multiple consumer brand portfolios consisting of different products that are sold globally. The application includes bespoke requirements for the company itself and would be usable only by designated employees. These employees have been using a spreadsheet for a long time and want this target application to replace the spreadsheet and also do much more than what the spreadsheet does.

Business Analyst Training

Business analyst and software testers work experience

The application is divided into multiple modules – Administrator module, where the Admin creates User profiles, Brand profiles, assigns permissions and restrictions to users based on their roles.
Actionlist Module-  This is where the business activities related to marketing, advertising & promotion are handled by the users.
Reports module- This module deals with generation of reports of various types that display the information in the form of graphs/charts to the users.
In this project, the trainee Business Analysts have accomplished end to end tasks of a BA- from Analysis to Sign-off of the documents.

The tasks they have worked and completed are:

– Elicit & analyze project requirements

– Facilitate Client meetings & interactions

– Interview and clarify project expectations with the client

– Create Product backlog

– Define Business Requirements and create Business Requirements Documents

– Define Scope of the project

– Create Functional Requirements Document (FRD)

– Create Use Case Model based on users and functions identified

– Design Process flow for the project

– Create elaborate Use Cases & User stories

– Design Wire frames/mock-ups

– Get the documents/artifacts reviewed by Client

– Update documents based on Client’s inputs

– Understand the Testing process and create Test cases

– Get all project requirements frozen and BA documents signed  off by the Client.

QA’s Quality Assurance analysts
were involved in

Test Planning,
Test Scripting,
Test Execution,
Defect Reporting and Tracking
Test Result and Completion reporting etc.
There is a new project in the pipeline and is expected to kick-off in mid June. It deals with the trading and auctioning of seafood and aquatic products in the international market. This project would actually demand the Business Analysts and Software Testers involved to exhibit their skills to the fullest as it is a complex application. Those who are familiar with subjects like trading, e-commerce, auctions will find it quite interesting and those that aren’t will be gaining valuable experience in a new domain.

For more details of what our work experience and mentoring program involves please visit  our dedicated web page for this here:
http://www.careertesters.com/work-experience-mentoring.html

New Work Experience and Mentoring Project for Business Analysts and Software Testers

…coming soon

We are currently rounding up our ERP Project which started  in March. The students  and their  Project Manager (Chetan) have worked very hard on this and  a lot has been learnt. We’re now looking forward to the new project which will kick off on May 9th.Project Charter

Details will be published soon.

 

We are now taking registrations from aspiring Business Analysts and Quality Assurance Analysts for this programme. If you want to be part of this exciting team please sign up before April 30th 2016.

For more details of what our work experience and mentoring program involves please visit  our dedicated web page for this here:
http://www.careertesters.com/work-experience-mentoring.html

New Work Experience and Mentoring Project for Business Analysts and Software Testers

This will be an ERP Project  – Enterprise Resource Planning tool for marketing & tracking consumers commencing 21.3.2016

The project is about developing an application that will be used by Marketing, R&D and Advertising personnel within a reputed designer/lifestyle company.Management-Banner
Designated employees of different departments, i.e. marketing, brand managers etc would use the application to track activities of users around the world.

We are now taking registrations from aspiring Business Analysts and Software testers for this programme. If you want to be part of this exciting team please sign up before March 20th 2016.

For more details of what our work experience and mentoring program involves please visit  our dedicated web page for this here:
http://www.careertesters.com/work-experience-mentoring.html