Sai Koushal Siddavaram
Sydney
Summary
With over 23 years of experience in the software industry, I am a seasoned Technical Business Analyst with expertise in driving digital transformation, process improvements, product enhancements, and e-commerce solution implementations. I have successfully led business analyst, QA, and technical teams, customizing products to meet user-centric needs and enhance functionality. My strong foundation in the Business Requirements Lifecycle, Quality Assurance, and the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) has enabled me to consistently collaborate with cross-functional teams to achieve exceptional results within defined timelines. My proven ability to optimize processes and lead innovative initiatives reflects my commitment to delivering substantial value to organizations focused on operational excellence and continuous growth.
Skilled Technical Analyst with strong expertise in business process optimization and data analysis. Proven track record in driving impactful results through collaborative team efforts and adaptable strategies. Adept at leveraging advanced analytical tools, stakeholder management, and strategic planning to deliver high-value solutions. Known for reliability, flexibility, and steadfast commitment to achieving organizational goals.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Technical Business Analyst
Torrens University, Australia
04.2024 - 12.2024
- Replace the existing class allocation system with the Allocate+ system, ensuring integration with Banner, Salesforce, Dynamics 365, and Canvas to enhance the student experience
- Upgrade Banner to the latest version
- Implement MyeQuals to securely store and share transcripts and certificates
- Define and Analyse Business Objectives and Requirements
- Identify and engage stakeholders and create the business case
- Elicit and document requirements and prepare user journey diagrams and use cases
- Analyse Requirements, Map Processes and Data, and Design Solutions
- Analyse Open AI tools to prototype basic interactions with specific set of users
- Develop and prepare process flow diagrams (PFDs) and data flow diagrams (DFDs) to visualize and analyse business processes and data movement
- Write Epics and User Stories and perform backlog grooming
- Organize sprint planning, refinement, retrospective meetings, and daily stand-up meetings
- Define Functional and Non-Functional Acceptance Criteria
- Define data extraction specifications, transform and cleanse data, and provide data for regulatory and operational reports and analysis using Power BI
- Trace Requirements, Collaborate with Multiple Teams and Vendors, Validate, and Ensure Solution Delivery
- Analyse defects raised during System Integration Testing (SIT) and UAT, track them, and ensure they are resolved and closed
- Prepare Handover Documents and Facilitate Support Handover
- Solution Environment: Banner, Syllabus Plus, Allocate Plus, LMS (Canvas), Salesforce, Microsoft Outlook, Exchange, Dynamics 365, BI reports, Informatica, Confluence, SharePoint
Senior Business Analyst
GBST, Australia
04.2015 - 02.2024
- Lead the transformation of the Composer BO Power Builder product into a web-based SaaS solution utilising Agile methodology
- Enhance product quality to meet evolving market demands through Six Sigma practices
- Manage multiple releases in alignment with the product release schedule, addressing customer-driven enhancements and streamlining processes using Lean methodology
- Drive defect resolution and implement legislative and regulatory changes efficiently through the Kanban technique
- Functional areas - Trading, Batch Payments, Cash Top Up, Banking, Disbursements, Distributions, Share Class Conversion, Switches, Annuities, Asset Management, Investor Management, Adviser Management, Product & Portfolio Management, MIFID II, Employer Processing, Debit Cards, Legislative/Operational reports, ATO reports, GL posting and ISA transfers
- Gather and document business requirements and perform a feasibility study and impact analysis
- Document current and future state processes and conduct business process mapping
- Identify areas for process improvement, conduct gap analyses, and present proposals to the product owner and program manager, including development estimates and cost-benefit analysis
- Prepare data charts, workflow diagrams, and user journey diagrams
- Derive epics and detailed user stories/functional requirements to transition Composer BO PB windows to a web-based platform using BDD (Behaviour Driven Development) and adhering to SMART principles in accordance with organisational standards
- Perform technical analysis and derive APIs (REST) in JSON format for direct client consumption needed for window transformation with proper security control
- Ensure the APIs cater to the microservices architecture and are scalable
- Provide the development team with prototype UI designs and UX flows, focusing on user-centricity
- Ensure that the output formats comply with AS2805, ISO 8583, ISO 20022, and other related financial transactional formats
- Ensure that legislative and operational reports contain all the necessary fields in the specified format
- Collaborate with technical teams and deliver the windows using agile methodology using the latest technical stack
- Analyse data, collaborate with architects to update database designs and create data models, and perform data mapping to meet requirements for data migration
- Ensure that payment generation, authorisation, and processing are carried out with the appropriate access levels
- Ensure the integration is done via Kafka and RabbitMQ based on the process
- Collaborate with Senior product consultants/Architects to address constraints/dependencies and refine the design of intricate functionalities for improved efficiency
- Review the Quality Assurance team's test plans, test scenarios, ensure alignment between requirements and testing, assist in data setup, furnish use cases, identify and provide input for test automation flows, and facilitate end-to-end testing
- Track defects, conduct root cause analysis, and ensure timely resolution and closure
- Provide system functional as well as non-functional acceptance criteria
- Create Swagger documentation for all APIs, handle API integration, draft configuration and training documents, and contribute to the preparation of the user guide
- Organise workshops with business stakeholder and clients, demonstrate developing functionalities and incorporate their feedback into subsequent iterations
- Collaborate closely with product owners to assess raised issues, conduct thorough impact analyses, and deliver prioritised solutions
- Identify, recommend, and standardize processes, documentation, and features across various functional areas of the product
- Define project scope, strategise resource allocation, identify risks, propose alternatives, monitor progress, generate reports, contribute to steering committee presentations, and oversee end-to-end delivery while maintaining thorough traceability across all phases
- Collaborate with the product owner, business stakeholders, and program manager to identify cost-effective, optimized solutions that meet business needs and comply with regulatory standards
- Adopt leading global methodologies and implement an iterative process improvement framework
- Evaluate the benefits achieved against the original business case
- Provide support and mentorship to Business Analysts by training them on best practices, aligning with organisational goals, and enhancing their skills in line with process improvement initiatives
- Review processes and user stories, offering guidance through training and knowledge sharing sessions
- Execute a work plan and oversee the execution of agile ceremonies such as sprint planning, refinement, retrospectives, daily stand-ups, and three amigos catch-ups to ensure successful delivery of requirements
- Manage task/assignment creation and maintain backlog
- Manage AWS environments and maintain repository and continuous integration with CI/CD systems using GitHub
- Use Gorilla stack and New Relic to monitor AWS environments specifically performance environments and analyse the logs for any failures or improvements
- Solution Environment: Composer WEB, CBIS (integration), Composer BO suite of wealth management products, React, Ember, AWS Environments, Visio, Project, PowerPoint, Excel, Postman, SOAP UI, TOSCA, Confluence, Zephyr, Jira, WebSphere, New Relic, Git, Gorilla Stack, Jenkins, Kafka Rabbit MQ
Business Analyst
Commonwealth Bank, Australia
05.2014 - 12.2014
- Customer Conversations: Development of an application using agile methodology that can be used by staff during conversations with customers to identify their needs and aspirations
- Information captured will be used to improve analytics and identify best-suited CBA products across - bank accounts, loans, travel products, insurance products, term deposits, investments, finance planning, cards, and superannuation products
- Loan digitisation: Development of new features as per process changes to reduce loan processing time starting from account creation to loan disbursement for various types of accounts from weeks to days
- Collaborate with stakeholders to gather, analyse, and update business requirements, ensuring they are clearly documented and aligned with project objectives
- Actively participate in sprint planning, attend daily scrum meetings, and facilitate discussions to ensure requirements are well understood by the development and testing teams
- Review and provide input on test strategies and test plans to ensure they align with the business requirements and project goals
- Ensure complete traceability from business requirements to test cases, ensuring every requirement is validated through testing
- Review and walkthrough system test scripts with the Business teams and Development teams to ensure the test cases cover all functional and non-functional requirements
- Monitor and report on UAT and SIT progress, highlight risks, and provide mitigation plans, ensuring alignment with business expectations and project timelines
- Solution Environment: SharePoint, Net Banking, CommSEE, CC Tool, Pega, Salesforce, Microsoft Outlook, and Exchange
Business Analyst/Test Lead
Woolworths, Australia
01.2005 - 12.2013
- Major upgrade to Warehouse Management System (WMS), integration of interfaces with several interconnected systems – Host System, Store Order Management, Purchase Order Management System, ULD Tracking System, Transport System, Product Withdrawal and Recall Management and Automation Systems
- Major functionalities - receiving, putaway, cross-docking, replenishment, inventory management, picking, loading, dispatch, reporting and labour management
- Enhance WOW Online and BIG W website using agile methodology using continuous integration
- Major components: E-commerce Management (ECM), Fulfillment, Site Management, Online website, Mobile Site, Mobile App, RF Picking system, GateKeeper, DataCash, WebPay, Route Planner
- Ensure the Trading Site applications interact directly with the centrally located SAP Suite of Applications via the VPN, so that all information will be available in real-time
- Upgrade of Secondary Freight Transport for better store window management and optimised load planning
- Supply data required to optimise space planning on a Daily or Weekly basis from the Host
- Upgrade Merchandise Financial Planning to achieve stock productivity improvements and mark-down reductions
- Upgrade the store back office and integrate with SAP MM & SD (Retail Chain), TMS, and other systems
- Check master data flow, order flow, purchase order (direct to store) and store receiving
- Conduct requirement gathering/process flow workshops
- Document processes, identify areas of inefficiency, propose improvements, and prepare a business case for the changes
- Business requirements and functional specifications analysis and update
- Prepare functional specifications and review technical specification documents
- Upskill team members in accordance with the process changes being implemented
- Document the end-to-end process flow and maintain the regression pack
- Work with the project manager and dev team to roll out the customised products across various sites as per the site-specific processes and requirements
- Test Strategy and Test Plan review
- Derive test scenarios, conduct review meetings with business teams, and executive the final set
- Regression test suite maintenance and test automation
- Manage performance testing, disaster recovery testing, data migration checks and security testing
- Participate in sprint planning and daily scrum meetings
- Coordinate User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and defect management
- Report (System Integration Testing) SIT and UAT progress, highlight risk and provide mitigation plans
- Share knowledge and train both the QA team and business teams on QA processes, tools, and business journeys
- Conduct retrospective meetings with Business Analysts, Development team, Project Management, and Business teams
- Retrospect on the process changes implemented, the benefits gained, and the lessons learned, incorporating them into the next cycle of continuous improvement
- Solution Environment: SAP MM & SD, Warehouse Management System, Transport Management System, Space Planning, Online Website and Content Management, Sybase Unwired Platform, JBoss, Java, iOS app, UNIX-based applications, Web methods, Mainframes, Siebel CRM, Oracle DB
- Visio, Project, PowerPoint, Excel, Quality Centre, ALM, Jira, Quick Test Pro, IBM RPT
Technical Business Analyst
StarHub, Singapore
09.2003 - 12.2004
- StarHub Cable Vision is a media and Infocomms company with a nationwide broadband network in Singapore offering StarHub Cable TV and MaxOnline
- As part of this project, new services such as Digital TV, PPV, VOD, and Wi-Fi will be implemented
- Business requirement capturing and analysis
- Preparation of functional specification
- Preparation of design document and Kenan BP configuration
- Collaborate in test automation tool development and process improvement
- Coordinate SIT, UAT and assist in production support
- Solution Environment: Windows NT, SUN Unix, PL/SQL, C, C++
Business Analyst
Omantel, Oman
01.2002 - 08.2003
- Customise the Arbor/OM and Arbor/BP products and develop the subsystems namely FAS (Facilities Assignment System), CRS (Credit Rating System), UBCC (Unbilled Credit Control), FMS (Fault Management System), WFMS (Work Force Management System), ICA (Inter Carrier Accounting), and DMS (Deposit Management System) according to their business requirements and integrate all
- Requirement capturing, feasibility study and analysis related to Bill Processing
- Design and Configuration of Bill processing for various services and products
- Drive the development of various BP-related interfaces and development of PAYDIFF, CDREGN customization programs
- Assist in Unit Testing, SIT and UAT
- Solution Environment: Windows NT, HP Unix, SQL, PL/SQL, Pro C, Pro C++
Education
Bachelor of Technology - Chemical Engineering
National Institute of Technology
04.2001
Skills
- Business Analysis
- Requirements gathering and feasibility study
- Functional Requirement gathering/analysis and impact analysis
- Use cases ,UI workflow , Data Analysis/Cleansing/Migration
- Documentation
- Project charter / Business Requirements / Functional Specifications / Technical Specifications / Configuration documents / Epics and User stories
- Test strategy/plans/scripts/summary reports/status reports
- User Guides/training material/Hand-over documents
- Process Improvement
- Facilitate requirements gathering and analysis processes, standardise business solutions with a focus on efficiency, customer centricity, and the realization of key performance indicators (KPIs) and benefits
- Business Process Mapping: "As-Is" and "To-Be" using flowcharts, BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation), DFDs (Data Flow Diagrams), and Swimlane diagrams
- Process map verification with stakeholders, risk identification/analysis, re-engineering and optimisation
- Project management
- Project Coordination and Stakeholder Management
- Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) - Project phases - Initiation, feasibility, Design, Implementation, and post-implementation phases
- Schedule / Change / Release / Resource / Vendor Management
Timeline
Senior Technical Business Analyst
Torrens University, Australia
04.2024 - 12.2024
Senior Business Analyst
GBST, Australia
04.2015 - 02.2024
Business Analyst
Commonwealth Bank, Australia
05.2014 - 12.2014
Business Analyst/Test Lead
Woolworths, Australia
01.2005 - 12.2013
Technical Business Analyst
StarHub, Singapore
09.2003 - 12.2004
Business Analyst
Omantel, Oman
01.2002 - 08.2003
Bachelor of Technology - Chemical Engineering
National Institute of Technology
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