Pauline Pettigrew, Business Analyst
As a Business Analyst with SPSA's IT department, much of Pauline's role involves liaising with police officers and police staff to determine their IT requirements.
Pauline said, "Typical activities within my role include facilitating workshops with our customers to capture business requirements and helping to identify process improvements. This can often involve travelling to various sites across Scotland. The information gathered is thoroughly documented and put into business requirements documents, business process models and functional specifications which are then passed to our developers who will look at developing a solution to meet the specific businesses requirements."
Pauline works closely with key stakeholders including, police officers from the relevant forces, as well as Project Managers, Developers and Testers, and is expected to keep the relevant parties updated and provide guidance and assistance where required.
In addition to her Business Administration degree, Pauline has gone on to achieve a formal ISEB Diploma in Business Analysis - the industry standard qualification for her profession. She also believes that certain personal characteristics such as enthusiasm, creativity, confidence, an inquisitive nature, analytical ability and strong communication skills are essential for the role.
"The role of a Business Analyst brings a variety of challenges", adds Pauline. "However, it also provides a great deal of job satisfaction, particularly when you are part of a team that has been responsible for the successful implementation of a new IT system. Each day can vary and this largely depends on the projects I am working on and the stage that each project is at. I often work to tight deadlines and it is vital to have the ability to think on my feet."
The unpredictable nature of Pauline's job is just one of the aspects she enjoys. "I have the opportunity to make a positive impact [through my project work] which will deliver benefits to the Scottish Police Service and which will ultimately have a positive impact on the communities supported by the Scottish Police Service.
"I particularly enjoy working with Police Officers and trying to assist them to ensure that their ‘vision' is translated into something tangible that ICT can build a solution from. If you are looking for a job with a great deal of variety then this is most certainly the job for you."