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10 Interview Questions for Hiring a Business Systems Analyst

10 Interview Questions for Hiring a Business Systems Analyst

Finding the right candidate begins with asking the right questions. That’s the common thread that ties every professional sector together. At the same time, it’s those very questions that will differentiate how the hiring process works for every industry. Even within your own company, interview questions will vary from role to role.

When it comes to hiring a business systems analyst (BSA), for instance, you’ll need to foster a smart balance between technical questions and ones about soft skills. From basic programming knowledge to managerial aptitude, the ideal BSA is a team player who can speak coders’ languages, figuratively and literally.

To help you out, we’ve compiled this guide to crafting the best interview questions for business systems analysts. You can also contact us online at any time to get more free insights and find your next great hire.

What Is a Business Systems Analyst?

A business systems analyst examines a company’s organizational structure and finds ways to refine, optimize, and streamline it. Think of them as the bridge connecting business strategy and information technology. They harness various technologies, whether that’s software or hardware, to best improve the workflows that help your business do what you do.

From this viewpoint, they’re the best of both worlds. They’ll find the ideal specifications for your computers, recommend and implement software programs, and explain how to make the most of your current technology while incorporating new systems and identifying opportunities to expand. Still, that doesn’t account for everything that a BSA does.

Business Systems Analyst Roles and Responsibilities

To know what questions to ask, you’ll first need to understand the roles and responsibilities that make up a BSA’s day-to-day. You’ll want to find a candidate that:

  • Outlines solutions and their technical requirements
  • Provides hands-on training to project members
  • Analyzes business infrastructure and develops strategies for growth
  • Inspects software and hardware and makes recommendations accordingly
  • Aligns business strategy with programming knowledge
  • Explains their process step by step
  • Understands your company’s internal database

This combination of skills requires business systems analysts to not only possess the technical fortitude of IT professionals but also the people skills of a confident leader. That’s because a BSA must walk other team members through their systematic processes. Asking the right interview questions is an excellent way to ascertain a candidate’s ability to work within a team. 

10 of the Best Interview Questions for Business Systems Analysts

Because a BSA manages a deft balance between IT- and people-focused skills, you’ll want to ask a healthy mix of interview questions catered to both aspects of the role. Here are a handful of ideas to get you started. We’ve come up with five of each:

Technical Questions:

  1. Tell me about a time when you used SQL to support your work as a BSA.
  2. Describe how you mapped data between systems or documented a data flow.
  3. Tell me about a system implementation or upgrade that you supported.
  4. What’s your experience working with integrations between platforms or vendors?
  5. How do you approach documenting business processes or workflows?

Soft Skills and Collaboration Questions:

  1. Walk me through a project where you gathered requirements from multiple stakeholders.
  2. Tell me how you’ve written and managed user stories or functional specs in past roles.
  3. Tell me about a time when you worked closely with developers and QA during a sprint or release.
  4. How do you typically validate that a solution meets the original business need?
  5. How do you stay organized when managing multiple requirements, stakeholders, or deliverables?

Find Your Next BSA with TriCom

When you work with TriCom, you can rest easy knowing that you’ll always have access to top-tier talent. That includes finding a business systems analyst to add to your dynamic team. We’ll help you discover your next excellent hire that meets the qualifications and meshes with your company’s culture.

Connect with us today to get more information about finding a BSA for your company. Here at TriCom, we know that it matters who you work with.

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