Analysis Everywhere: Partner Stories

SoftServe 

 

Welcome to Partner Stories, our new blog series inspired by Analysis Everywhere, showcasing the real impact of business analysis around the world. Through insights and interviews, we’ll spotlight members of IIBA’s Partner Program who are driving innovation and solving tough challenges to achieve better outcomes through business analysis.

Kicking things off, we’re thrilled to spotlight SoftServe, winner of the 2024 Business Analysis Advancement Award. SoftServe is a global IT consulting and digital services powerhouse, renowned for its prowess in software development, cloud solutions, data analytics, and AI. At the heart of their success? Their Business Analysis Office (BAO), a team of over 400 business analysis professionals.

We recently sat down with Kyrylo Bieliavskyi, BAO Director at SoftServe, to find out what makes their approach so powerful. From healthcare to government platforms, Kyrylo’s decade of experience and commitment to a learning-first culture have been key to their success.



SoftServe’s vision and Kyrylo’s leadership are just the start. This series will give you practical insights and inspiration straight from business analysis leaders. Read on as we explore SoftServe’s groundbreaking approach.

Can you tell us a bit about your organization and the role of business analysis within it?

SoftServe is a global IT consulting and digital services company specializing in software development, cloud solutions, AI, and data analytics. Founded in 1993, it serves clients across various industries, including healthcare, finance, retail, and manufacturing. The company focuses on digital transformation, helping businesses innovate through cutting-edge technology solutions.

SoftServe’s Business Analysis Office (BAO) is a dedicated department that oversees the work of more than 400 business analysts across various projects and industries. Within SoftServe, business analysis plays a strategic role by bridging the gap between business needs and technology solutions.

What challenges were you facing in your business analysis practices before implementing the recent initiatives?

Historically, we encountered difficulties in demonstrating the role and value of business analysis to technical stakeholders. However, that challenge has largely been resolved.

Today, our primary focus is on ensuring sufficient business analysis exposure within projects, boosting productivity, expanding our presence, and moving further up the value chain. We aim to take on more ownership, offer greater value to clients, and position ourselves as domain experts and consultants who can deliver innovative, real-time solutions to customer challenges.

How has business analysis evolved within your organization over the past year?

SoftServe’s BAO was established in 2012 with around 25 analysts, and that number grew to 500 by 2021. Currently, we have approximately 400 business analysts.

Initially, our analysts were primarily seen as facilitators—gathering client requirements and conveying them to development teams. However, the role has evolved significantly. Today, business analysts at SoftServe:

• Establish efficient solution development processes by improving visibility, clarity, and alignment on what needs to be developed and why
• Reduce project costs by identifying the most cost-effective solutions
• Streamline decision-making processes, minimizing wasted time
• Limit rework by proactively managing requirements
• Ensure development teams focus on the highest-priority requirements

Your organization introduced several key initiatives, such as the Knowledge Space, AI integration in the SDLC, revamped job standards, and training programs. Which of these initiatives had the most significant impact and why?

Each of those initiatives has made a substantial contribution.

• Knowledge Space: We have been building our knowledge repository for years. Last year, we migrated to a new platform and redesigned our information architecture. This enhanced search functionality, enabling analysts to quickly find templates, best practices, and advisory materials tailored to different client contexts. It has also accelerated onboarding for new business analysis professionals, who can adapt more efficiently to SoftServe’s workflows.
• Revamped job standards and lead business analyst profile: Our PeEx (People Excellence) program provides structured career growth through semiannual or annual performance reviews. Last year, we updated our job standards to be clearer, more aligned with client requirements, and reflective of modern technology trends. We also introduced a competency focused on generative AI. In addition, we redesigned the lead business analyst profile to bolster leadership skills, encourage knowledge-sharing, and expand our analysts’ influence both internally and externally.
• AI integration in the SDLC: This is one of our most exciting initiatives. Integrating AI has significantly boosted productivity. We’re developing AI-based agents to support business analysts with tasks like requirements creation, decomposition, research, and document analysis. We also provide consulting for delivery teams, create educational materials, evaluate various AI tools, and promote AI adoption among our analysts.

How have the training programs contributed to building and retaining high-performing business analysis professionals?

We take pride in our comprehensive training programs. Internally, we cover all key business analysis approaches and techniques and encourage our analysts to create and deliver new courses regularly. This fosters a dynamic learning environment. Moreover, developing and teaching training courses counts toward our job standards and promotion criteria, adding extra motivation to stay engaged.

Externally, we offer business analysis fundamentals for aspiring business analysts and professional courses for certification preparation (ECBA, CCBA, CBAP) and product ownership analysis. We constantly expand our portfolio of courses and plan to roll out several new programs this year.

How important is staying ahead of industry trends in maintaining the success of your team’s business analysis practices?

Staying at the forefront of industry trends is fundamental to our success. AI is a particularly exciting area right now. In collaboration with colleagues from other functional offices, we’re integrating AI tools into everyday tasks, automating routine activities, and empowering analysts to focus on more complex, high-value work.

What prompted your organization to join the IIBA Partner Program?

We have always regarded IIBA’s A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK Guide) as the most accurate representation of the business analysis profession. Our own competency model aligns closely with IIBA’s vision, and we encourage our analysts to pursue IIBA certifications.

Currently, about 35% of our business analysis professionals hold professional certifications, with 88% of them certified through IIBA.

How has the IIBA Partner Program supported your business analysis team’s goals and initiatives?

We highly value our IIBA membership, which gives us access to a wealth of resources on the IIBA website. We also appreciate the promotional codes and certification credits that help lower exam expenses for our analysts.

Additionally, we’ve benefited from insightful webinars hosted by IIBA experts such as Delvin Fletcher, Keith Ellis, Ken Fulmer, Agnieszka Balcerzak, Michael Augello, and Michele Maritato.

When we launched our online business analysis conference, Thinking Outside the BAX, in 2021, IIBA provided invaluable support. We also value IIBA’s endorsement of our courses and events—such as BeAcon—where participants can earn Continuing Development Units (CDUs).

How do you see your business analysis practices evolving?

We plan to continue evolving our business analysis practices to become more strategic, technology-driven, and data-centric. We anticipate greater integration of AI, automation, and real-time analytics, allowing for faster, more informed decision-making.

We also expect Agile methodologies, business intelligence tools, and cybersecurity to play increasingly important roles. We aim to equip analysts with the knowledge and tools they need to navigate these changes effectively.

Finally, we envision business analysis professionals transitioning into advisory roles that shape digital transformation and enhance customer experiences. Continuous learning, cross-functional collaboration, and emerging technologies will be key to this evolution.

What advice would you give to other organizations looking to improve their business analysis practices?

Invest in data-driven decision-making, AI-powered analytics, automated performance evaluation, and continuous learning.

Related Links

SoftServe Website
SoftServe Linkedin
BA Community LinkedIn
BA Community YouTube
BA Community Facebook

Starting in 2025, Analysis Everywhere will showcase how organizations like SoftServe drive innovation, create impact, and deliver value. Ready to tell your story? Visit our website to explore how Analysis Everywhere can inspire and amplify your voice.

Know an organization that’s raising its business analysis game? Reach out to brand@iiba.org to have them featured in our next instalment of Partner Stories.

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