According to the Guide to Business Data Analytics, one of the key competencies of a business data analyst is to identify the research questions that guide the analytics work1. The research questions should be based on the business problem or opportunity, the stakeholder needs, and the data availability and quality2. By providing the focus area of the study, the Operational Manager has limited the scope of the study with their biased opinion, as they have not considered other possible factors that might affect theoperational efficiencies, such as demand, inventory, quality, labor, or customer satisfaction. The Operational Manager has also not involved other stakeholders who might have different perspectives or interests in the study. This could lead to a narrow or incomplete analysis that might miss some important insights or recommendations. The Operational Manager should instead collaborate with the analyst to define the research questions that are relevant, specific, measurable, achievable, and time-bound3.
The other options are not correct, as they do not address the issue of defining the research questions. The Operational Manager is not necessarily the expert on the operational processes, as they might have a limited or biased view of the situation. The Operational Manager has not limited the scope of the budget by providing a timeline of three weeks, as this is a reasonable time frame for an analytics study, depending on the complexity and availability of the data. The Operational Manager has not helped the analyst stay on track with time and budget by providing the focus areas, as this might actually waste time and resources if the focus areas are not aligned with the actual business problem or opportunity.
References:1: Guide to Business Data Analytics, IIBA, 2020, p. 312: Introduction to Business Data Analytics: A Practitioner View, IIBA, 2019, p. 113: Introduction to Business Data Analytics: An Organizational View, IIBA, 2019, p. 12.
