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Role of Business Analyst in API

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64 views

Role of Business Analyst in API

Uploaded by

singh.abhishek3195
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Role of Business Analyst in API

Projects

Diwakar Singh
A Business Analyst (BA) plays a crucial
role in projects involving APIs
(Application Programming Interfaces),
especially given their importance in
integrating systems and enabling
communication between different
software applications. Here's a
detailed look at the BA's role, using the
example of a project in the financial
services industry, specifically for an
online banking system:

Project Overview
The project involves the development
of an online banking system that
needs to integrate with various
external services via APIs. These
services include credit scoring
systems, payment gateways, and
third-party account aggregation
services.

Understanding Business
Requirements
Initial Assessment: The BA begins by
understanding the core business
requirements from stakeholders. For a
banking API, these might include:
• Secure authentication and
authorization for user access.
• Real-time processing of
transactions.
• Integration with external credit
score agencies to fetch credit
scores.
• Ability to connect with various
payment gateways.
• Compliance with financial
regulations and data security
standards.
Gathering Detailed Requirements:
The BA conducts interviews,
workshops, and surveys with
stakeholders (bank managers, IT staff,
end-users) to gather detailed
requirements. For instance, the BA
might discover the need for features
like multi-factor authentication or the
ability to support multi-currency
transactions.
Feasibility Study and API
Specification
Feasibility Analysis: The BA assesses
the feasibility of integrating with the
proposed external APIs. This involves:
• Technical feasibility: Can the
existing banking system's
architecture support new API
integrations?
• Legal and compliance feasibility:
Are there any regulatory concerns
with data sharing and processing?
API Specifications: The BA works
closely with system architects to draft
API specifications that meet both
functional and non-functional
requirements. This includes:
• Defining endpoint URLs,
request/response formats, and
methods (GET, POST, PUT,
DELETE).
• Specifying data schemas,
authentication methods, and error
handling procedures.
• Outlining rate limits, timeout
policies, and data caching
strategies.
Business Process Modeling
Process Mapping: The BA develops
process maps that outline how
different API interactions fit into the
bank’s existing processes. For
example, how user authentication via
the API triggers different banking
operations such as balance checks or
fund transfers.

Gap Analysis: Identifying gaps in


current processes that might hinder
API integration and proposing changes
or enhancements. For instance, if the
current system only supports single-
factor authentication, the BA might
recommend upgrading to multi-factor
authentication to enhance security for
API interactions.

Prototyping and API Mockups


Prototyping: Before full development
begins, the BA might use tools to
create API prototypes or mockups.
This helps stakeholders visualize how
the API integration will work and
allows for early feedback.

User Stories and Acceptance


Criteria: Creating detailed user stories
and acceptance criteria for the API
functionality. For example, a user story
might describe how a customer logs
into the online banking system and
views their transaction history through
an API.
Support Development and Testing
Development Support: The BA assists
the development team by clarifying
requirements, reviewing technical
designs, and ensuring that the
development aligns with business
needs.
Testing and Validation: The BA is
involved in the testing phase, ensuring
that API integrations are tested against
the business requirements. This
includes:
• Assisting in preparing test cases.
• Participating in API testing to check
functionality, performance, and
security.
• Coordinating user acceptance
testing (UAT) with business
stakeholders.
Implementation and Monitoring
Rollout Strategy: Developing a rollout
strategy for the API integration,
including beta releases, phased
rollouts, or full deployment scenarios.
Post-Implementation Monitoring:
After deployment, the BA monitors the
API performance and functionality,
gathering feedback from users and
metrics from the system to identify any
areas for improvement.

Conclusion:
In this way, the Business Analyst
bridges the gap between the technical
solutions provided by the API and the
business objectives of the online
banking system, ensuring that the
solution is not only technically sound
but also aligns with business goals
and provides value to end-users.

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