How important are flowcharts in the IT business analyst role, and how do you use them?

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By asking this technical question, the interviewer is seeking to understand your knowledge about a specific tool used in this profession. They also want to confirm that you use the tool properly and in alignment with their processes and procedures. This is another question that requires you to do extensive research of the company and its products and services so that your answer will match the work they are interviewing you to do.

"Flowcharts are one of the most important tools I use in my profession. They are an easy way to communicate with project stakeholders and to ensure that we are taking the proper steps when creating a product or service. The other reason I like working with flowcharts is that they easily communicate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical project stakeholders."

Anonymous Answer

"There's a saying that a picture is worth more than a thousand words. I would dare to say that a good flowchart is worth more than one thousand pages. It allows the analyst to synthesize numerous pages of detail and explanations in one easy-to-follow chart. I can attest this first hand, during a hallway encounter with a board member, a couple of months ago, I was asked to explain the new backup process. I recommended, in order to save 40K in cloud storage cost, after a minute into my explanation I was able to recognize in her face that I was not being understood. I quickly changed approach and took her to my office and show them the flowchart I had prepared. Within 30 seconds her face went from a confused look to an optimistic smile. she told me -"If only you would have shown me this first". Flowcharts are key especially when there are multiple variables in the process, the human brain can only hold from 3-5 things at a time, thus reading a text becomes cumbersome, while in a flowchart it is all there."

Amanda's Feedback

Well done! You've used a specific example to illustrate how flow charts work as a powerful tool for sharing complex information in a clear and concise way, especially for those who are not IT specialists.