Senior Business Analyst

Sourceworx; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 600 000 - 800 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading IT solutions provider in South Africa is seeking a Senior IT Business Analyst with a strong Agile focus. This role requires collaboration with Product Owners and development teams to ensure business needs are met through effective software solutions. Key responsibilities include managing the product backlog, facilitating Agile ceremonies, and acting as the voice of the customer. The ideal candidate must possess excellent analytical skills and experience in Agile delivery environments.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies, especially Scrum and/or SAFe.
• Experience working in cross-functional Scrum teams.
• Proficient in requirement elicitation and documentation.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Product Owners to define clear Epics, Features, and User Stories.
• Maintain and groom the product backlog for sprint planning.
• Participate in daily stand-ups and sprint reviews.

Skills

Agile methodologies

Business process modeling

Backlog grooming

User story writing

Collaboration

Communication

Analytical skills

Job description

Senior IT Business Analyst Job Description (Agile Focus)

Senior IT Business Analyst (Agile) plays a pivotal role in delivering value-driven software solutions by bridging the gap between business needs and the development team. Reporting to the Software Development Manager, the Senior IT Business Analyst collaborates closely with Product Owners, Scrum Masters, Developers, QA Analysts, and end-users to ensure that requirements are well-understood, prioritized, and delivered iteratively. The ideal candidate has a strong understanding of Agile methodologies (especially Scrum and/or SAFe), business process modeling, backlog grooming, and user story writing.

To be successful in this role, the Senior IT Business Analyst should be a collaborative team player with excellent facilitation, communication, and analytical skills. They should be experienced in Agile delivery environments and comfortable working within cross-functional Scrum teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Product Owners and stakeholders to define Epics, Features, and User Stories with clear acceptance criteria
• Maintain and groom the product backlog, ensuring stories are well-defined, prioritized, and ready for sprint planning
• Participate in daily stand-ups, sprint planning, backlog grooming, reviews, and retrospectives
• Provide clarifications to development teams during sprints and help resolve requirement-related blockers
• Facilitate workshops and interviews to elicit requirements
• Act as the voice of the customer within the development team, ensuring business value is consistently delivered
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement in both business operations and Agile delivery practices
• Support the definition and tracking of key performance indicators for business processes and system enhancements
• Create lightweight documentation such as process flows, user journey maps, and wireframes when necessary
• Ensure traceability from business needs to solution delivery and testing
• Assist in defining test scenarios and acceptance criteria
• Support UAT by coordinating with users and ensuring that delivered features meet business requirements

Senior IT Business Analyst Agile Performance Plan

• Objective: Deliver business value through Agile software delivery
  • Sprint goal achievement rate
  • Velocity consistency across sprints
  • Percentage of user stories accepted without rework
• Objective: Improve backlog quality and stakeholder alignment
  • Groomed backlog readiness (number of sprints ahead backlog is prepared)
  • Stakeholder satisfaction with delivered functionality
  • Story acceptance on first review
• Objective: Enhance Agile team collaboration and responsiveness
  • Team feedback score from retrospectives
  • Turnaround time for story clarification
  • Number of impediments resolved within sprint
• Objective: Support continuous improvement and Agile maturity
  • Participation in retrospectives with actionable contributions
  • Implementation of process improvements identified
  • Agile practice adoption score (assessed via internal maturity assessments)
• Objective: Ensure quality and completeness of Agile artefacts
  • Acceptance criteria completeness rate
  • Traceability coverage (stories linked to Epics, Features, and test cases)
  • Time to prepare artifacts ahead of planning