Work Based Experience: A Business Analyst's Journey at Royal Bank of Scotland

This report details a comprehensive work-based experience undertaken by a business analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland. The report covers the research and selection of the organization, negotiation of a work experience proposal, recognition of business constraints, planning and prioritization of tasks, systematic record-keeping, plan revisions, suggestions for improvement, and evaluation of performance. The report also includes reflections on the learning gained and recommendations for enhancing the experience.

Work Based Experience
1

Table of Contents
Task 1................................................................................................................................3
P1.1 –Research and evaluate suitable organisations that could provide industry
experience.........................................................................................................................3
P1.2 – Negotiate with work and academic supervisors a proposal for the work
experience.........................................................................................................................5
P1.3 – Recognise the business constraints on the work experience offered...................7
Task 2................................................................................................................................8
P2.1 – Agree and prioritise the tasks and responsibilities involved in the work
experience.........................................................................................................................8
P2.2- Produce a plan for the work experience..................................................................9
P2.3- Analyse the benefits of the proposed activities to the business and the learner. .11
Task 3..............................................................................................................................13
P3.1- Learner is required to fulfil the specified requirements of placement conforming to
all related codes of practice.............................................................................................13
P3.2- Learner is required to produces systematic records of the work undertaken........14
P3.3- Learner is required to revise the initial plan as required........................................17
P3.4– Learner is required to make suggestions for improvement and review these with
the supervisor..................................................................................................................18
Task 4..............................................................................................................................19
P4.1– Learner is required to monitor progress against original proposal.......................19
P4.2– Learner is required to evaluate the quality of own performance...........................22
P4.3– Learner is required to analyse the learning, which has taken place during the
work experience using suitable reflections......................................................................24
P4.4- Learner is required to make recommendations on how the experience could have
been enhanced................................................................................................................24
Reference list...................................................................................................................26
2

Task 1
P1.1 –Research and evaluate suitable organisations that could provide industry
experience
Variables Apple Amazon Inc. Jefferies &
Company
Marriot
International
Royal Bank of
Scotland
Travel Yes Yes No No No
Salary
per year
£ 37000 £34000 £ 26000 £ 28000 £ 41000
Flexibility No No Yes Yes Yes
Kind of
job
Floor
Manager
Senior
Business
Analyst
Junior
Business
Analyst
Receptionist Business
Analyst
Technical
skills
expected
Both MS
Office and
SQL
Database
SQL
Database
and MS
Excel
Vivid
knowledge
on MS Office
Professional
appearance,
clean clothes,
language
proficiency
and MS
Office skills
Extreme
acquaintance
with Microsoft
Excel, Word
and share
market and
SQL Database
Soft skills
expected
Production
of
analytical
tools and
data entry
skills
Extensive
analytical
skills,
operational
excellence,
excellent
time
management
and process
Analysis of
management
information,
monitoring
and
controlling
market risks
and
developing
Politeness,
enthusiasm
and good
guest
relations
skills
Decisiveness,
documentation
skills, good
stakeholder
understanding,
effective
market
analysis skills
and good IQ
3

streamlining strategies for
risk
management
level
Job
benefits
Equality
practiced
in the
workplace
Job growth,
talented
team and
comfortable
office
premises
Job growth
and flexible
work
opportunities
Equality and
availability of
flexible shifts
Rewards
based on
performance
and leave
benefits
Table 1: Suitable organizations
(Source: Created by the author)
Company Ratings Evidence
Amazon Inc. - 8.5/10 Amazon is one of the most reputed companies around the
globe and working in the company has been a real
pleasures. The offerings of the company are challenging
and there is excellent scope for growth in the company.
Royal Bank of Scotland
- 8.5/10
This company is another reputed company and a lot of
experience has been gathered during the tenure of service
in the organization. The rewards provided in the company
based on performance were the best part of working in the
company.
Jefferies & Company-
9/10
This company offered the most suitable job. All that I
wanted to learn for my career development has been learnt
from this job. The flexible work opportunities provided by it
has been the major benefit of working in the company.
Apple - 5/10 Apple is also a reputed company. However, the main issue
faced during the tenure of service in Apple is that the
company placed me in a team that was extremely non-
cooperative and I had to face various difficulties during the
4

service.
Marriot International –
4/10
Since I was not interested in the job of a receptionist, I
never had much interest about this job.
Table 2: Ratings of companies
(Source: Created by the author)
P1.2 – Negotiate with work and academic supervisors a proposal for the work
experience
Aims &
Objectives
Outcomes Scope & Duration of time Resources
Creation of
a website
that can be
maintaining
and
providing
the latest
data for
business
and
analytics
regarding
the
company
 Website had
been
developed
 However,
there was
mismanagem
ent of data
and
information
 There was
misrepresenta
tion of
statistics as
well
This project was expected
to be completed within 6
months. However, it was
done within 4 months
itself.
 A team for project
management
 Internet services
 Computer systems
 JIRA
Name
Job Title Business Analyst
Duties and responsibilities  Developing deep understanding on
business functions
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 Documenting business requirements
 Establishment of agreements between
solution providers and clients
Soft skills  Motivation
 Hard working
 Communication skills
 Effective team development skills
Technical skills  JIRA
 MS Word
 MS Excel
 One Trust
 MS Access
 MS Project
 MS PowerPoint
Brief introduction of yourself I currently work as a business analyst and
have practical experience of working in
various renowned organizations. I possess
various hard as well as soft skills that will be
helping me in flourishing me in my career as
a business analyst and has been helping me
to collaborate and work efficiently with my
colleagues during the past. I believe in
having a positive outlook towards the work I
do and this will be guiding my professional
life throughout.
Reasons for work experience According to Lester (2013), the Maslow’s
needs hierarchy of needs theory states
various needs, which should be fulfilled for
workers for gaining job satisfaction and
security. My reason for working is the
satisfaction of my self-actualization needs. In
6

addition to fulfilment of needs, I have been
able to learn as well as grow from my work
experience.
Future plans In future, I want to remain in the field of
business analyst and establish myself as a
capable leader who can become the leader
of the business analysis team of renowned
organizations.
Supervisors: Roles, duties and
responsibilities of academic as well
as industrial mentors
Table 3: Proposal of work experience
(Source: Created by the author)
P1.3 – Recognise the business constraints on the work experience offered
Constraints of the business Explanation How to manage
Need of more training and
development facilities
There is a lack of enough
skills needed to manage
project costs and time.
Work to be done in the give
time duration and reduction
of budget for each task.
Total Quality Management
(TQM)
The TQM procedures will
be helpful for ensuring that
tasks are efficient as well
as their quality is
maintained (Calvo-Mora et
al., 2013).
I will be undergoing
management training for
ensuring that I will be able
to meet the requirements
needed.
Managing supervision The operations are to be
supervised effectively for
ensuring that the project is
able to meet the decided
aims and objectives.
I will be enhancing my
teamwork and
communication skills for
ensuring that I can be
managing and supervising
7

the team members and
achieve the decided
objectives.
Increased customer
satisfaction
The customer satisfaction
is low; indicating that the
website developed in the
project is ineffective.
I will assign the CRM team
for dealing the customer
issues and maintain logs
and information about every
customer and their specific
needs
Table 4: Business constraints on the work experience offered
(Source: created by the learner)
Task 2
P2.1 – Agree and prioritise the tasks and responsibilities involved in the work
experience
Company - Royal Bank of Scotland
Post - Business Analyst
Duties - Providing assistance in businesses cases, planning, monitoring, translating
requirements and simplifying them, analyzing requirements and developing models and
conducting cost-benefit analysis
Responsibilities - MoSCoW rules
Tasks Must Should Could Would Reason for
this
rationalisation
Providing
assistance in
businesses
cases
Providing
analysis of
data for all
business
For developing
the ability of
being able to
prioritize
8

cases
presented
business cases
and help the
company with
options of work
management
Planning and
monitoring
Management of
database
Translating
requirements
and
simplifying
them
Analyzing
requirements
Providing the
databases
with content
management
Developing
models and
conducting
cost-benefit
analysis
Creation of
the needed
backups
Table 5: The tasks and responsibilities involved in the work experience
(Source: Created by the author)
P2.2- Produce a plan for the work experience
The plan for the development of work experience based on weekly duties is as follows -
Day Tim
e
Activitie
s
Evaluati
on after
the
completi
on of
Review
Date
given by
manage
r
Proposed
plan of
action
and
completio
Review
ing the
points
of
action
Review
date
given
by
supervi
Actions
after the
review
completio
n date
9

each
week
n date sor
Monda
y
10a
m -
1p
m
Review
the SQL
queries
for the
develop
ment of
new
website
The work
had
been
done
quickly.
However
, the
accuracy
of work
needs to
be
improved
25/6/201
818
I will be
working on
more
complex
set of data
for
improving
accuracy
within
2/7/18
More
comple
x data
sets will
be
provide
d and
my
knowle
dge will
be
enhanc
ed
2/7/18 Implement
ation of
work on
daily plans
Tuesd
ay
12p
m -
2p
m
Monitor
the real
time
updates
of the
data set
The work
was
done
with the
best
ability of
mine and
reviewer
had
check
my work
thorough
ly
3/7/18 I will be
learning
about how
to
evaluate
various
operation
simultaneo
usly by
11/7/18
I will be
able to
get
better
scope
and will
be able
to
enhanc
e my
skills
11/7/18 Monitor
more
complex
data and
their
outcomes
Thurs
day
2p
m -
8p
m
Develop
ment of
websites
for
publishin
The work
done by
me was
not
accordin
12/7/18 I need to
study and
learn how
to publish
and draft
Will be
helping
me to
develop
my
19/7/18 Implement
ation of
creative
ways for
creating
10

g data
and
informati
on
g to my
expectati
ons
since the
work
was full
of errors
and slow
websites
effectively
by 19/7/18
website
develop
ing
skills
and
analyzing
data on
corporate
sites
Table 6: Plan for the work experience
(Source: created by the learner)
P2.3- Analyse the benefits of the proposed activities to the business and the
learner
Benefits of
experience to the
business
Explanation /
Analysis
Benefits of
experience to the
learner
Explanation / Analysis
Detailed
development of
tasks
The business is
going to enabled to
rely on much more
robust systems that
is going to provide
better experiences
to customers
The understanding
of business
operations increases
I will have the ability of
enhancing my technical
skills as well as IT skills
Better
responsiveness of
system
Customer
experiences will
improve
Improvement of time
management
I will have the scope of
devoting my time in
various other tasks
Lower costs of
operations
The costs of the
business will lower,
increasing its profits
Improve the skills of
problem solving
I will be able to give time
to technical projects and
attract more investors
Increase in work
efficiency
Formation of better
systems
Learning about new
IT skills and
techniques
I can have more time on
working on my own skills
11

Table 7: Advantages of the proposed activities to learner and business
(Source: created by the learner)
12

Task 3
P3.1- Learner is required to fulfil the specified requirements of placement
conforming to all related codes of practice.
Required codes of
conducts
More
comments
Respe
ctive
regulat
ions
More
comments
Links
Regarding the
dress code within
the organization
In order to work
in the
organization I
must be careful
about the dress
code so that I
can main
professionalism
Health
and
Safety
Act
1974
Maintaining this
legal guideline
will help me to
ensure that I
have
maintained
safety of my
own and of my
colleagues at
the workplace.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/
legislation/hswa.html
https://
www.legislation.gov.uk
/ukpga/1999/26/
contents
Managing and
maintaining the
timeline at the
workplace
I should
maintain the
time schedule
provided by the
organization
Employ
ee
Relatio
ns Act
1999
Maintaining this
regulation is
important
because this
will help me to
ensure that I
am working as
per the rules
and regulations
of the firm,
which is
important for
my career also.
Table: Requirement specification for placement
13

(Source: created by author)
14

P3.2- Learner is required to produces systematic records of the work undertaken
Num
ber
of
week
Day Time Required
activities
Require
d
resource
s
Activities
performe
d
Require
d
resourc
es
Sources
used
Evaluat
ion at
the
weeken
d
1 Tuesda
y
9am-
4pm
Decipheri
ng the
related
data set
Data
processin
g
software
Reviewing
data set
using
Decipheri
ng codes
Data
processi
ng
software
Data
processi
ng
software
Thursd
ay
3pm-
6pm
Running
the
required
codes
from the
data set
Data
processin
g
software
Data
trimming
Data
processi
ng
software
Data
processi
ng
software
I have
manage
d to
deciphe
red data
efficientl
y within
the
required
time
2 Tuesda
y
9am-
4pm
Developin
g website
Website
developin
g
software
Developin
g website
with
required
data
Website
developi
ng
software
Website
developi
ng
software
Thursd
ay
3pm-
6pm
Updating
the
website by
including
new data
Data
tabulatio
n
software
Updating
the data to
ensure
proper
data
analysis
Data
tabulatio
n
software
Data
tabulatio
n
software
I have
efficientl
y
develop
ed the
website
15

and
updated
the
same
within
required
time
3 Tuesda
y
9am-
4pm
Cost
model
generation
for the
firm
Accounti
ng and
costing
applicatio
n and
software
Creating
cost
model by
analyzing
and
reviewing
accountin
g data
Accounti
ng and
costing
applicati
on and
software
Accounti
ng and
costing
applicati
on and
software
4 Thursd
ay
3pm-
6pm
Comparin
g the
effectiven
ess of the
cost
model
with the
performan
ce of the
firm in the
last
financial
year
Accounti
ng and
costing
applicatio
n and
software
Matching
the
performan
ce of the
company
in this
year with
that of the
last year
Accounti
ng and
costing
applicati
on and
software
Accounti
ng and
costing
applicati
on and
software
I have
perform
ed very
well and
it was
quite
satisfact
ory to
me
becaus
e I have
achieve
d all my
goals
within
the
required
deadlin
16

e.
Table: Systematic records of the work undertaken
(Source: created by author)
17

P3.3- Learner is required to revise the initial plan as required
Day Time Planned
activities
Actual
activities
done
Additional
activities
planned
Justification
Tuesday 9am-4pm Data sets
related to
Deciphering
Reviewing
data set using
Deciphering
codes
In order to
ensure fast
data
tabulation I
used the
Microsoft
Excel
Increased
accuracy
level,
completion of
work within
required time
Thursday 3pm-6pm Running the
required
codes from
the data set
Data trimming Processing
the data
through
Microsoft
Excel and
verifying the
result to
ensure
accuracy
Enhanced
level of
efficiency at
the workplace
Table: Revised plan
(Source: created by author)
18

P3.4– Learner is required to make suggestions for improvement and review these
with the supervisor
Variables Plan for
improvements
Supporting activities for the
improvement
Time management In order to
improve time
management I
have developed
a time schedule
including all the
activities that I
required to
perform every
day
 Creating computer based
timetable
 Reviewing the time
consumption after completion
of each activity
Handling excess workload Dividing all
activities into
small parts and
performing the
same in a
systematic
manner
 Regular meditation
 Maintaining a proper food habit
Creating a list of important task Reviewing all the
task properly and
identifying their
importance and
scheduling in an
efficient manner
 Following the timeline
Improving technical skills Practicing the
work through
advanced
software
 Practicing the work at free time
Maintaining and managing team Maintaining  Maintaining a polite behaviour
19

work proper
communication
with the other
team members
while working within the team
Table: Suggestions for improvement
(Source: created by author)
Task 4
P4.1– Learner is required to monitor progress against original proposal
Week
number
1 2 3
Day Tuesday Thursday Tuesday Thursday Tuesday Thursday
Time 9am-4pm 3pm-6pm 9am-4pm 3pm-6pm 9am-4pm 3pm-6pm
Planned
Activities
Deciphering
the related
data set
Running
the
required
codes from
the data
set
Developing
website
Updating
the
website by
including
new data
Cost model
generation
for the firm
Comparing
the
effectiveness
of the cost
model with
the
performance
of the firm in
the last
financial
year
What are
the
resources
that are
required
Data
processing
software
Data
processing
software
Website
developing
software
Data
tabulation
software
Accounting
and costing
application
and
software
Accounting
and costing
application
and software
Actual
Activities
Reviewing
data set
Data
trimming
Developing
website with
Updating
the data to
Creating
cost model
Matching the
performance
20

using
Deciphering
codes
required
data
ensure
proper
data
analysis
by
analyzing
and
reviewing
accounting
data
of the
company in
this year with
that of the
last year
What are
the
resources
required?
Computer
Data
Software
Computer
Data
Software
Website
developing
software
Data
tabulation
software
Accounting
and costing
application
and
software
Accounting
and costing
application
and software
What are
the
resources
that have
been
provided?
Computer
Data
Software
Computer
Data
Software
Website
developing
software
Data
tabulation
software
Accounting
and costing
application
and
software
Accounting
and costing
application
and software
Week end
evaluation
I have managed to
deciphered data efficiently
within the required time
I have efficiently
developed the website
and updated the same
within required time
I have performed very well
and it was quite
satisfactory to me because
I have achieved all my
goals within the required
deadline
Action
plan
Proper data management Effective and useful
website creation
Cost model development
Action
review
I completed my work
efficiently
I have developed creative
website
There were some mistake
in the cost model
Manager
review
Manager was fully
satisfied
Manager appreciated my
work and indicated the
areas where improvement
can be made
Manager indicated the
areas where improvement
can be made
Table: Monitoring progress
(Source: created by author)
21

22

P4.2– Learner is required to evaluate the quality of own performance
Week
number
1 2 3
Day Tuesday Thursday Tuesday Day Tuesday Thursday
Time 9am-4pm 3pm-6pm 9am-4pm Time 9am-4pm 3pm-6pm
Planned
Activities
Deciphering
the related
data set
Running
the
required
codes from
the data
set
Developing
website
Planned
Activities
Deciphering
the related
data set
Running the
required
codes from
the data set
What are
the
resources
that are
required
Data
processing
software
Data
processing
software
Website
developing
software
What are
the
resources
that are
required
Data
processing
software
Data
processing
software
Actual
Activities
Reviewing
data set
using
Deciphering
codes
Data
trimming
Developing
website with
required data
Actual
Activities
Reviewing
data set
using
Deciphering
codes
Data
trimming
What are
the
resources
required?
Computer
Data
Software
Computer
Data
Software
Website
developing
software
What are
the
resources
required?
Computer
Data
Software
Computer
Data
Software
What are
the
resources
that have
been
provided?
Computer
Data
Software
Computer
Data
Software
Website
developing
software
What are
the
resources
that have
been
provided?
Computer
Data
Software
Computer
Data
Software
Week end I have managed to I have efficiently developed I have performed very well
23

evaluation deciphered data efficiently
within the required time
the website and updated
the same within required
time
and it was quite
satisfactory to me
because I have achieved
all my goals within the
required deadline
Action
plan
 Efficient data
management
 More efficient data
trimming
 More tables need to
be used
 Effective and useful
website creation
 Improving the
interface of the
website
 Generating more
responses from the
customers
 Cost model
development
 Including trend line
to indicate the
financial
performance
Action
review
 I completed my work
efficiently
 I have developed
creative website
 There were some
mistake in the cost
model
Table: Monitoring progress and updating skills
(Source: created by author)
24

P4.3– Learner is required to analyse the learning, which has taken place during
the work experience using suitable reflections
New learning Specific examples Additional Comments
Developing my
interpersonal skills
 Gaining more self-
confidence while
communicating and
working at the
organization
 Maintaining the time
schedule properly
 Communicating with
the team members
properly
This will help me performing in a
better way at the workplace and
managing the time efficiently
Improve web designing  Learning website
development from
an authorized
organization
This will help me improving my
credibility in website
development
Table: Suitable reflections
(Source: created by author)
P4.4- Learner is required to make recommendations on how the experience could
have been enhanced
Criteria Comments
New place This will necessary for working in a large
project
Proper database management This will help me gaining more confidence
at the workplace
25

Efficient time management This will help me completing my work
within required time and with the available
fund.
Table: Recommendations
(Source: created by author)
26

Reference list
Calvo-Mora, A., Picon, A., Ruiz, C. and Cauzo, L., 2013. The relationships between
soft-hard TQM factors and key business results. International Journal of Operations &
Production Management, 34(1), pp.115-143.
Lester, D., 2013. Measuring Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Psychological Reports,
113(1), pp.15-17.
27