Case studies: Analyst: Phil

Phil graduated from a business information systems degree. His advice is to take any opportunity on your course to study business analysis and develop experience of problem solving, such as breaking down tasks and projects into manageable chunks.

Towards the end of a placement year with Logica, Phil was delighted to be told ‘we’d like to take you back when you graduate’. So after completing his final year of a business information systems degree, and getting a first, Phil went back to Logica to take up a permanent role. He has now been with them for almost a year.

The placement year was spent in London, which meant relocating as Phil was studying at Liverpool John Moores. ‘As I lived in London during my year out, it meant it wasn’t a problem to locate here again. Logica help out with expenses too. The placement was very important for me and made me want to go back to Logica. I'm not sure that other companies would offer me the same freedom to be doing what I'm doing now in my role. The placement also taught me how to deal with clients face to face.’

Phil currently has a dual role. Two days a week are spent as a business analyst allocated to a project at University College London Hospital (UCLH), implementing a business process monitoring solution. This software has been designed to monitor patients from referral through to treatment status, and full implementation is likely to take around one and half years in total. Phil has been involved from the beginning, having joined Logica when the project was given the go ahead.

‘I'm client facing and sit within the ICT department of the trust. There are seven hospitals in the trust, so I visit health professionals who'll use the software. This involves liaising with senior management in Logica and in the UCLH Trust. I also work with other Logica staff as part of a team of about six, but the make-up of the team changes depending on the stage of the project. My role is key in liaising with the client and with our technical team.’

‘I have no typical day. My tasks include:

• requirement gathering;
• systems design;
• functional specifications;
• project planning;
• managing risks and issues;
• catch ups with clients.

My days aren’t filled with meetings but there are weekly project meetings and discussion meetings in between.’

In addition, three days a week are assigned to another project at UCLH as Phil works as project manager on a ‘technology refresh’ replacing PCs and hardware within the trust.

So far, Phil has completed an Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB)  business analysis diploma, which is recognised by the BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT), and is about to sit his practitioner level certification in PRINCE2 for project management. Logica has funded this training and given Phil the time to attend the courses.

This external training is in addition to the graduate training scheme in which Logica has invested heavily. ‘I’ve found the graduate training to be very useful and it has enabled me to act more confidently and effectively within Logica.’

For anyone looking to enter a similar role, Phil has the following advice: ‘Take any opportunity on your course to study business analysis and develop experience of problem solving, such as breaking down tasks and projects into manageable chunks.‘

‘Good people and client-facing skills are important, and the ability to see what the issues really are. The client may state what they want but it may not be the best solution for them, so you need to go beyond that and explore what their needs are.'

'If you have no prior relevant experience, a placement can be really useful. The market is so competitive now that a first class or 2.1 is not enough, so work experience is important.’