Manager, BA & QA
Austin, TX

Job Description

Job Summary

The Business Analysis and Quality Assurance Manager will provide general supervision and technical guidance to the Business Analysis staff, directing them to act as the primary liaisons between IS and the business unit(s), keeping abreast of the business unit(s) strategies, initiatives, issues and operational plans, and in turn keeping the business unit(s) apprised of IS's strategies, initiatives and operational plans. Ensuring Business Analysts act as advisors to the business unit(s) to identify opportunities to leverage technology to resolve operational needs and provide strategic, competitive advantage. And ensuring that Business Analysts act as, or interface with, the project manager for the business unit(s)' technology projects or technology projects where the business unit(s) is/are a stakeholder.

The Business Analysis and Quality Assurance Manager will also provide general supervision and technical guidance to the Quality Assurance Staff in the analysis, design, and execution of quality testing in the deployment of all National Western Life Insurance Company applications, and has ultimate responsibility for assuring that all products are defect free and compliant with technical specifications.

Essential Functions

Act as the liaisons between the business unit(s), technology teams and support teams

Elicit requirements using interviews, document analysis, requirements workshops, surveys, site visits, business process descriptions, use cases, scenarios, business analysis, task and workflow analysis

Critically evaluate information gathered from multiple sources, reconcile conflicts, decompose high-level information into details, abstract up from low-level information to a general understanding, and distinguish user requests from the underlying true needs

Proactively communicate and collaborate with external and internal customers to analyze information needs and functional requirements and deliver project artifacts as needed, e.g., functional requirements (Business Requirements Document), business process flows, Use Cases, data flows, user interface design requirements, etc.

Work independently with business unit staff to define concepts, initiatives and proposed business solutions while acting as or working with other business analysts to deliver business solutions

Understand all phases of both Project Lifecycle and Software Development Lifecycles (SDLC)

Drive and challenge business units on their assumptions of how they will successfully execute their plans.

Have strong analytical and project management skills, including a thorough understanding of how to interpret customer business needs and translate them into application and operational requirements

Have excellent verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to interact professionally with a diverse group including executives, managers, and subject matter experts. Includes strong meeting facilitation skills (comfortable with leading teams / groups and public speaking)

Collaborate with developers and subject matter experts to establish the technical vision and analyze tradeoffs between usability and performance needs

Communicating regularly with users and programmers to identify, define and resolve production problems, perform maintenance and support new development projects.

Assure traceability from business / functional requirements through to End User Training

Assist business units in the development and execution of end user training materials & plans

Ability to work with and provide direction to vendors or work in a vendor environment

Strive toward development of reusable deliverables (templates, standards, etc.)

Through both leadership and 'hands on' direction develop, validate, manage and execute test strategies / test plans for all software deployed into the National Western Life Insurance Company environment, including customer / agent software deployed via the Internet or extranet access