Interview Questions for Business Analysts and Systems Analysts


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INTERVIEW QUESTION:

What is the Eisenhower Matrix?

Posted by Chris Adams

Article Rating // 19231 Views // 0 Additional Answers & Comments

Categories: Business Analysis, Leadership & Management, Project Management

ANSWER

Business Analysts are often working within organizations that are all about dealing with the latest crisis.  Instead of focusing on what’s important to the business from a strategic perspective, everyone is busy putting out "fires".

The Eisenhower Matrix is a prioritization tool that helps the business analyst refocus on what should be handled when, and who should focus on them.  This method gets it's name because it is said it was used by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower who was adept at time management.  The quote, "What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important" is attributed to him.

The Eisenhower Matrix is a simple 2x2 matrix.  The 2 rows are labeled "Not Important" and "Important", while the columns are labeled "Urgent" and "Not Urgent".  Items will fall into 1 of 4 quadrants.

Quadrants:

  • Urgent and Important - Deal with these immediately and give them your utmost attention.
  • Not Urgent but Important - Determine when these will be done.  These are items that move you towards your strategic objectives.
  • Urgent but Not Important - These tend to be trivial time wasters and distractions such as phone calls, emails, etc. There importance is low but they need to be dealt with at that moment. Delegate these to others.
  • Not Urgent and Not Important - These items may never get done and it's not that big of a deal.  They are low on the priority list.

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Chris Adams
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Do your homework prior to the business analysis interview!

Having an idea of the type of questions you might be asked during a business analyst interview will not only give you confidence but it will also help you to formulate your thoughts and to be better prepared to answer the interview questions you might get during the interview for a business analyst position.  Of course, just memorizing a list of business analyst interview questions will not make you a great business analyst but it might just help you get that next job.

 



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