What metrics do you use to determine if a benchmark is appropriate for the processes you create for the organization?
This is a follow-up question to 'How do you use benchmarking in your job as an IT business analyst?'. When you provide answers to an interviewer's questions, you can anticipate follow-up questions that explore the same topic as the previous question. Interviewers do this to collect more information and to determine further your level of expertise in the area you are discussing. Follow-up questions should be answered with more details than the original question.
"Confirming that a benchmark is appropriate for the level of performance the organization is measuring can vary, depending on the project and the business objectives you are trying to achieve. A common theme to any benchmark is that it should be SMART. This requires that the benchmark be Specific, Measurable, can be a Reasonably attained, and has a deadline and is Time-based."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
When implementing a new process I always try to choose a benchmark that will be SMART so it becomes easier to highlight if actual value, in the form of bottom-line improvements, is actually being gained or not. Any change I implement must be aimed for the betterment of the organization and aligned with its vision and values.
In my last position, I was tasked with improving the overall speed of the enrollment process. To create a SMART benchmark, I decided to observe and time the operation. It took an average lead time of 4 hours and 45 minutes. By observing the processes, I was able to gather that the warm hand-offs would require an employee to stand up and walk the student to the next workstation, followed by some small talk 5-8 minutes in total. By using Power automate, I created a new semi-automated warm hand-off process in which at the end of every interaction the employee would assign the student to another representative, using a round-robin approach. This, in turn, reduced the inevitable small talk and walking to zero while maintaining the necessary transfer of context information about the student in a secure and private manner. With this I was able to reduce the lead time by 23%, thus preventing the expenditure of additional capital and increasing the total throughout the system.
Amanda's Feedback
This is a really effective example that showcases your success in improving efficiency and ROI. However, consider stating more clearly how you decide if a benchmark is smart and adds value to the bottom line. Can you name specific metrics such as to monitor revenue growth, profitability, customer satisfaction, etc.?
Unlock all 29 IT Business Analyst questions
Master questions that bridge technical complexity and business needs in IT interviews.
Get Started