Candidates About

 

Saafia Rehmatullah

Summary:

·         Client focused, passionate and highly organized professional with over 8+ years of diverse experience as an IT Senior Business Analyst in Finance and Banking domains 

·         Experience working in all phases of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), and using industry standard methodologies like Agile, RUP and Waterfall

·         Experience in conducting Gap Analysis, in depth knowledge of the AS-IS and TO-BE business processes

·         Excellente documentation of Business Requirements gathered using Interviews, Brainstorming Sessions, Surveys and Questionnaires ; Evaluating Data Sources, Translating Requirements into Specifications and Application Design

·         Design, documentation and review of business documents like Business Requirement Document (BRD), Functional Requirement Document (FRD) and System Requirement Specifications (SRS)

·         Experience in facilitating Joint Requirement Planning (JRP) sessions with Business User Groups, conducting Joint Application Development (JAD) sessions with IT Groups, SMEs and other project stakeholders

·         Competent in creating Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams for Business Process Modeling like Use Case Diagrams (UCD), Activity Diagrams (AD), Sequence Diagrams (SD), Data Flow Diagrams (DFD), Flow Charts (FC) and Wireframe Prototypes

·         Proficient in Prototyping Application User Interfaces using wireframes and mock-ups with focused attention to detail in enriching User Experience and User Interaction

·         Highly proficient in the use of SQL and Relational Databases for querying and reporting purposes

·         Facilitated Change Management and Conflict Resolution at various stages of the project life cycle by streamlining communication among the project stakeholders and interacting with Change Control Board

·         Assisted QA team in generating Test Plans, Test Scenarios, Test Cases, and managed complete defect tracking life cycle using various defect tracking tools

·         Expertise in Functional Testing to ensure a quality product and rich experience in conducting User Acceptance Testing (UAT) to guarantee all the business requirements have been fulfilled by the application

·         Involved in Pre-Production activities to make sure Go/No Go call is smoothly taken as a critical metric of stability of the system before Production

·         Participated in Post-Production Validation (PPV) and worked with the Production support team for issues reported by the user group in the production environment

·         Excellent analytical and problem solving skills; listening, oral, and written communication/presentation skills with strong ability to influence people at all levels and in various functions

 

Technical skills:

Requirements Management Tools Power Designer, Requisite Pro, HP Agile Manager, HP Rally

Methodologies                          Waterfall, RUP, XP, Agile, Scrum

Languages                                SQL, UML, XML, HTML, COBOL, Java, C

Business Modeling Tools           SmartDraw, MS Visio, Prototyper Just in Mind, UML 2.0, Snagit

Project Management Tools        MS Project, MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access)

Defect Management Tools         HPALM, Bugzilla, SILK Central, Jira, HP Quality Center, Load Runner

Databases                                IBM DB2, SQL Server 2000, MS Access, Oracle

Operating Systems                    Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, XP, Windows 95/2000 and MS-DOS

 

Work experience:

 

SunTrust Bank, Atlanta, GA.                                                                               Mar2014 - Present

Sr. Business Analyst

Worked as a Business Analyst in the EIS Digital Channels – Mobile Banking team, one of the fast-paced Customer Service Applications, which is at the core of SunTrust’s digital vision. Led the BA efforts of a series of features including Forgot User ID/Password, Credentials Security, and EMV Debit Card PIN Change to enhance the accessibility, convenience and usability of Mobile, Tablet and Mobile Web App of the bank among the target customers.

 

Responsibilities:

·         Extensively worked in Agile Methodology framework especially within a Mobile/Tablet/Mobile Web application ecosystem

·         Worked in great collaboration with Product Managers to manage Product Backlog for agile software development teams

·         Worked in part as a Product Owner along with Product Managers taking responsibility for the User Stories, Epics, and Features created for the various releases through-out the year

·         Evaluate information from multiple sources within the business team and cross work-streams and help distinguish user requests from user needs

·         Wrote concise and effective User Stories while fostering Agile principles and methods for requirement gathering

·         Defined precise and accurate User Story Acceptance Criteria that was used by developers, testing team and by Product Managers to ensure that Product Managers’ intent is effectively captured

·         Used HP Rally for User Story requirements management throughout the Agile Sprints and development life cycle.

·         Worked with a UI/UX design team on Screen Mockups, Wireframes and screenshots for the application and have experience in wireframe prototyping using Justinmind Prototyper & Snagit

·         Worked directly with developers and Tech Lead to make sure the software meets the product requirements and business requirements

·         Represented Product Manager as a Product Owner in facilitating Backlog Reviews and Scope Estimation with the engineering team

·         Supported agile software development team with Scope considerations throughout the development cycle

·         Supported the Product Manager to develop future Product Roadmap and drive improvements to Product Vision

·         Maintained leading edge understanding of technologies and industry trends relevant to the application, via training, webinars, on-line journals, Trade Shows and User Groups

·         Driven process definition and improvement for the release projects and worked closely with Scrum Master on improving overall agile development

·         Worked with the Testing team throughout the defect management life cycle in HP ALM and planning necessary test cases for resolving the defects within the given Sprint time box.

·         Conducted Client Acceptance Testing (CAT) along with the Product Managers to ensure all the business requirements have been fulfilled by the application.

·         Worked with the Production support team for issues reported by the user group in the production environment.

·         Prepared user manuals and conducted training sessions along with Product Managers.

Environment: HP Rally, HP ALM, Microsoft Office Suite, Justinmind, MS Visio, Oracle, Windows 7

 

Bank of America- Merrill Lynch, Hopewell, NJ                                                  Aug 2011 - Feb 2014

Business Analyst

The Universal Strategic Access Identification (USA) project is a web-based application that is designed to be the heart of the Secured Access Protocol to Bank of America’s Online Banking services. It is one of the high-priority Customer Service Applications which provides customized access to several types of application users. The project rolled out a Single Sign-on functionality called Global Access to preserve the convenience and usability of Online Banking. It allows bank customers, Meryl Lynch users, patrons and the bank employees to login securely via various platforms using tokens like SiteKey and PassCode and access different APIs.

 

Responsibilities:

·         Worked with Business User Representatives, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and other Business Analysts to understand the existing system and the current business process and methods to identify deficiencies and areas for improvement and enhancement.

·         Performed requirement gathering using both formal and informal sessions through interviews, audio/video conferencing, JAD sessions and conference calls.

·         Performed requirement analysis by gathering both functional and nonfunctional requirements based on interactions with the Product Managers and Subject Matter Experts.

·         Excellent ability in requirements elicitation and managed complexity using detailed traceability approach

·         Helped to create and translate User Stories to define the functions the system must provide, and to facilitate requirements management.  

·         Assessed and documented the flaws in the existing AS-IS system and made clear recommendations of Business Process Improvements and incorporated them in the future TO-BE system design to perform Gap Analysis

·         Worked with the UI/UX team on Screen Mockup, Wireframes and screenshots for the application to easily communicate it to the users, developers, and testers.

·         Developed various UML Diagrams such as business flow diagrams, Activity diagrams and Sequence diagrams using MS Visio so that developers and other stakeholders can understand the business process.

·         Used HP Agile Manager for User Story requirements management throughout the Agile Sprints and development life cycle.

·         Conducted stand-up meetings to provide a status update to the team members.

·         Lead the team of developers on explaining business contexts, epics and user stories, checked the weekly status and reported the same to the project manager.

·         Actively participated in, group and individual based, problem solving and decision making throughout the different phases of Agile. Played the role of a Product Owner and authored progress and completion reports, which were then submitted to project management on a weekly basis.

·         Wrote SQL statements to extract data from the tables to validate data flow

·         Worked closely with the QA team in defining defects and planning necessary test cases for resolving the defects within the given time box.

·         Conducted User Acceptance Testing (UAT) to ensure all the business requirements have been fulfilled by the application.

·         Worked with the Production support team for issues reported by the user group in the production environment.

·         Conduct a smoke testing after each build and Post Production Validation after each release.

·         Prepared user manuals and conducted training sessions along with Product Managers.

 

Environment: HP Agile Manager, HP ALM, Microsoft Office Suite, Justinmind, SmartDraw, MS Visio, Oracle, Windows 7

 

HSBC Bank New York, NY                                                                            July 2010 – Aug 2011

Business Analyst                                                                                                                 

Project: Quantitative Risk Management System

The Quantitative Risk Management (QRM) is a series of institutional risk modeling software and HSBC uses the Interest Rate/Market Risk Modeling module. The project was to upgrade and shift current QRM configuration to create new functionalities in order to adopt new global firm-wide standardized risk modeling reporting regulatory. Version upgrading includes adding data sources and integrating data from more sub-systems. New functionalities consist of building new stress testing and scenario analysis functions and design different reporting platform for different risk modeling methods.

 

Responsibilities:

·         Conducted Brainstorming Session to gather Business Requirements from Market Risk Group, Risk Reporting Team and other stakeholders (PMEs, Compliance, etc.).

·         Helped develop project plan using RUP Methodology.

·         Conducted Gap Analysis to understand the current system and determine the new system and its functionalities

·         Analyzed the new regulatory requirements of Basel Accord of Pillar 1, 2 and 3 phases on Market Risk calculation, monitoring and reporting, and new implementation of Comprehensive Stress Testing.

·         Designed detailed FRD in accordance with Basel regulatory requirements

·         Created UML diagrams including Sequence Diagrams, Activity Diagrams and Use Case, and Data Flow diagrams using Smart Draw.

·         Identified and assessed potential data source of Interest Rate, helped the market data team to integrate data using ETL tools.

·         Worked with Quantitative Analysts to design and administrate new Stressed VAR model and Advanced Monte Carlo Simulation method.

·         Worked with Risk Reporting Team to generate new Standard Basel Pillar 3 Reporting Framework, distinguish firm-wide global standards within QRM and the unique requirements for the site.

·         Reviewed Test Plan and Test Cases provided by Testing Team.

·         Used Defect Tracking Tool Silk Central to manage bugs, review defects, and have the Development Team resolve problems.

·         Conducted quick Smoke Test after each build in testing and Planned User Acceptance Testing (UAT).

·         Generated User Manual and prepared Training Material of new QRM to internal users.

 

Environment: Rational Unified Process (RUP), Windows 7, Microsoft SQL Server, Unix Server, Java, SAS, Power Designer, MS Office, Silk Central, Smart Draw.

 

TD Bank, Mount Laurel, NJ                                                                               Jan 2008 - Jul 2010

Business Analyst

TD Bank is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S. The Bank offers a broad array of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services to more than 8 million customers through its extensive network of approximately 1,300 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. The project was part of TD Bank’s Online Banking Services, which provides individuals and small businesses with Retail and Small Business Products. The goal of the project was to redesign and enrich the portals and systems to increase customer satisfaction, create bank loyalty, and to create reliable products. This involved heavy web development of the Online Retail Banking Portal and systems and I worked closely with the Project Manager towards the success of the project.

 

Responsibilities:

·         Extensively worked in Agile frame work throughout all the phases of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

·         Performed requirement gathering using both formal and informal sessions through interviews, NetMeeting, questionnaire, video conferencing, JAD sessions and conference calls.

·         Performed requirement analysis by gathering both functional and nonfunctional requirements based on interactions with the Users.

·         Excellent ability in requirements elicitation and managed complexity using detailed traceability approach

·         Helped to create and translate User Stories to define the functions the system must provide, and to facilitate requirements management.  

·         Assessed and documented the flaws in the existing AS-IS system and made clear recommendations of Business Process Improvements and incorporated them in the future TO-BE system design to perform Gap Analysis

·         Made UI Screen Mockup, Wireframes and screenshots for the application to easily communicate it to the users, developers, and testers.

·         Developed various UML Diagrams such as Timing diagrams, business flow diagrams, Activity diagrams and Sequence diagrams using MS Visio so that developers and other stakeholders can understand the business process.

·         Solid understanding of task definition, work breakdown structure and milestone management

·         Conducted stand-up meetings to provide a status update to the team members.

·         Lead the team of developers on explaining business contexts and user stories, checked the weekly status and reported the same to the project manager.

·         Wrote SQL statements to extract data from the tables to validate data flow

·         Gained expertise on Change Management by performing Impact Analysis for Change Requests obtained during Scope creep.

·         Worked closely with the QA team in defining defects and planning necessary test cases for resolving the defects within the given time box.

·         Conducted User Acceptance Testing (UAT) to ensure all the business requirements have been fulfilled by the application.

·         Worked with the Production support team for issues reported by the user group in the production environment.

·         Conduct a smoke testing after each build and Post Production Validation after each release.

·         Prepared user manuals and conducted training sessions.

 

Environment: Sybase Power Designer, Microsoft Office Suite, Quality Center, Borland Silk Central, Java, Oracle, Windows XP