Business Solution Analyst (Information Technology)
Johns Hopkins, founded in 1876, is America's first research university and home to nine world-class academic divisions working together as one university.
Johns Hopkins Carey Business School is hiring a Business Solution Analyst. This position will configure commercial off-the-shelf and SaaS applications and work with internal stakeholders to re-engineer business processes to make full use of system features and efficiencies. The Business Solution Analyst will serve as the system expert for assigned platforms, including configuration, vendor management, and the reporting and visualization built on those platforms. The Analyst will partner with data and business intelligence peers on data needs that depend on enterprise pipelines. The Analyst will be expected to take on forward-looking work as Carey adopts new platforms, expands automation, and integrates vendor AI capabilities. Test-driven development and enterprise software testing are not a primary function of this position.
The Business Solution Analyst is responsible for ensuring successful delivery of high-quality technical solutions that meet expectations of our constituents by leading a variety of programs and projects to evaluate business processes and gather requirements for complex transaction and reporting systems and adoption of test-driven development methodology, including developing, maintaining and organizing test cases, test scripts and test scenarios for the university’s information systems. This includes test events and various other test deliverables for projects, enhancements, operations and maintenance activities, common understanding and documentation of scope, requirements and design amongst stakeholders including sponsors, decision makers, content owners, users and technical teams. This position will also serve as a liaison providing assistance to various business partners by understanding the business requirements at a depth sufficient to define technical deliverables, including appropriate test coverage to ensure quality product is delivered. Position is also responsible for analyzing and reporting meaningful metrics on testing status and operations.
The Business Solution Analyst will provide a layer of essential services surrounding software development services, including the analysis and gathering of requirements, engaging with developers/engineers on solution design, and designing test suite in parallel with software development that will ultimately ensure delivered product meets quality standards, is fit for use, and meets expectations articulated by our customers.
Collaborates with various IT@JH teams for technical direction and feasibility studies to propose solutions that address requirements. Applies proven communication, analytical and problem-solving skills to deliver value-added solutions and to ensure project deliverables meet specifications. Expected to critically evaluate articulated needs or requirements and propose technical solutions to address them, leveraging standards to the extent possible. Ability to evaluate vendor-provided solutions relative to business needs/requirements and recommend suitable solutions is essential.
This position includes applying knowledge to identifying and developing test cases, automated test cases, unit testing, test scripts for identified business requirements, and corresponding data requirements for various business processes. This position also includes responsibilities for individuals to recommend tools, execute tests and manage defects.
This position requires a combination of strong functional abilities, writing, data visualization and user facing skills. Critical skill requirements include: analysis and gathering of requirements, documentation, creating data flow diagrams and/or visual prototypes & visual representations of data, strong verbal and written communication, developing test cases, automated test cases, unit testing and test scripts.
Under limited guidance, responsible for requirement gathering and analysis, developing recommendations for technical solutions in concert with technical professionals on the team, and enabling test-driven development of solutions by maintaining test plans and test assets for teamwork (enhancement, support and maintenance projects.) Demonstrates strong ability in technology and/or strong understanding of the business/education process. Builds and maintains client relationships through positive interactions.
Specific Duties & Responsibilities
- Work with sponsors and users to define project scope and objectives. Conduct user interviews for requirements gathering. Analyze business problems and propose appropriate automated solutions, business processes and procedures. Research and recommend system design and enhancements to minimize costs and maximize system use.
- Work closely with project managers and project team to provide testing timelines and status as well as requirements gathering.
- Create test strategy based on the analysis of design document and requirements.
- Design test plans for projects and work with project teams and business partners to obtain approval.
- Facilitate integrated testing of business solutions. Create test plans, coordinate testing, data validation sessions and conduct unit and functional testing. Ensure that requirements, design and testing documentation meet department standards.
- Generate test scripts and perform test analysis. Test scripts will be manual or automated.
- Execute some functional and technical tests according to test plans and scripts, document results, and quickly identify, communicate and/or troubleshoot issues. Facilitate data governance to ensure responsibilities for content owners are clearly defined and communicated. Work with vendors to resolve problems, as needed.
- Report test results and metrics to management and team in timely matter.
- Define test cases, scripts and corresponding data sets.
- Manage and execute test preparation activities with minimal supervision.
- Perform test execution and defect tracking (if applicable).
- Learn, support, maintain and train users on testing tools.
- Identify other uses and expansion of the tool sets.
- Write business cases, business requirements, develop functional specs and functional prototypes.
- Evaluate client needs for quantitative analysis and participate in creating and articulating relevant solutions.
- Communicate and collaborate with data analyst, technical developers and architects on business requirements for ongoing business intelligence initiatives and enhancements to existing systems.
- Facilitate meetings, create status reports and communicate with stakeholders or business users, under guidance.
- Other duties as assigned.
In Addition to Duties & Responsibilities Above
- Serves as system owner and primary administrator for the school's career, faculty, and events platforms: 12Twenty (primary career-services platform, including implementation), Handshake (permanent secondary platform), Faculty Success (including AACSB reporting), and 25Live.
- Configures commercial off-the-shelf and SaaS applications and re-engineers processes to make full use of system features; serves as the system expert for assigned platforms.
- Serves as primary relationship manager for assigned platform vendors and supports contract renewal and licensing in coordination with the Director of Software and IT Services and University procurement.
- Owns the reporting and visualization layer for assigned platforms using PowerBI, Tableau, or similar tools, and performs last-mile data preparation, drawing on data pipelines owned by the data and business intelligence function.
- Leads adoption of new platforms and structured retirement or migration of platforms whose value has declined; identifies and implements automation; and evaluates and deploys vendor AI features in partnership with the Technology, Data & Automation function.
- Reserves a defined share of time (initially 10 percent, growing toward 20 percent) for exploration, automation, and improvement work, protected from routine operational demand.
- Coordinates with Central University Information Systems on the boundary between Carey-retained configuration and the technical development transitioned to Central, and with the SIS Sr. Programmer Analyst and the data and business intelligence function to avoid overlap on student data.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree.
- Five years of related experience preferably within testing and business requirement gathering.
- Additional education may substitute for required experience and additional related experience may substitute for required education beyond a high school diploma/graduation equivalent, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.
Preferred Qualifications
- Knowledge in the assigned application as well as the platform on which it runs (SQL Server).
- Higher education experience.
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