21/02/2021
“This was a course I studied via LinkedIn Learning that I found quite useful; these types of roles are quite common within the gaming industry and understanding what the responsibilities of each can be vital in a projects success. This is the information I gathered from the course”
BA and PM can attribute to project failure, due to their key roles within the industry. It is key to have both roles communicate with the stakeholders whilst also collaborating with each other. It is good practice to have your stakeholders have as much involvement and engagement throughout the project’s production.
Changing the priorities can be the key failing point, it also points back to stakeholders’ involvement within the project. The PM and BA should both be heavily involved in the managing the priorities of their stakeholders and should influence the stakeholders’ unprioritized areas of the project.
Changing requirements can have its pros and cons; embracing this can lead to a competitive advantage if the changes are a result of learning more about what the customers and user’s needs are. If the project can’t deliver anything due time delays and constant changes, this can lead to failure. The deliverables of the project can be managed in increments to meet the requirements change less risky, whilst also leveraging change for a competitive advantage.
The are many factors that can be considered on why a project is successful or not; it could be sticking within the budget, delivering the product on schedule, results in a working product, or meets the business intent. The PM and BA’s best approach is to collaborate with the stakeholders to define the success of the project. The business intent can be to beat a competitor to market but sacrificing quality and cost. Time is considered the most important to success, or the product working to a quality level that the users are satisfied with. Most companies want cost, schedule and quality while meeting the expectations of the customer. However, it is important to know which one is leading the success equation.
Project Manager: Delivers a project’s work within the budget, schedule and quality means.
Business Analyst: Ensures the deliverables are valuable and meet business and customer needs.
“Without a Business Analyst, you risk building the wrong product. Without a Project Manager you risk exceeding your budget and schedule.”
Depending on the project and methodology, various factors and roles can influence these dynamics. Each project is different, and the context can change everything. For example, some projects can follow a traditional approach, with aspects like formal plans, formal documentation and the size / complexity of the project can be a huge factor.
The larger the project is, the more a Project Manager and/or multiple Business Analysts will be required. If the project is quite small however, one person may be able to play both roles. Having both these roles represented well is critical and can hopefully lead to some healthy conflict when what needs to be built, conflicts with the budget and schedule needs. Having both a Project Manager and Business Analyst on board your project can provide a healthy balance for the project and lead to its success.
PROJECT VS PRODUCT
Many tend to confuse the terms of project and product. A project is a temporary initiative to create a product, whereas a product is something that delivers value as a result of the project. They can be used interchangeably in conversation, but in project work, it is essential to differentiate their meanings.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
CRM is a process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information. It is a combination of practices, strategies and technologies which businesses / organizations use to manage and analyse customer interactions and data throughout the customer’s lifecycle. Its goal is to improve the customer server relationship and assist in the customer’s retention whilst also driving sales growth.
Demi Mark - Zed Zinc 
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