Adrian:
If the BA had done his/her work, then for the QA analyst to test the essentials off of the requirements spec is a relatively straight-forward endevore. However, in the real world, the specs are often very disjointed - often to the point where BAs main responsibility (coming up with a comprehensive, integrated understanding of how the system works) - is pawned off down to the QA analyst. So, often the QA analyst often does the "real" business analysis.
Tony
Exactly QA's often make Excellent BA's. The main function of both roles is to focus on the requirements / functions to a very detailed level, albeit from slightly different standpoints. If the Requirements have not been defined correctly by the BA the QA will have to do a lot of Analysis to get to an agreed set of Requirements working with the BA so they have a clear set of requirements that they can adequately test on.
In my experience good QA's have all the Required Analytical skills to work as BAs. Some training in BA Methods / techniques (i.e. Use Cases) and maybe some extra Domain knowledge would be very helpful in your development but the key thing is to be focussed on the key Functional and Non-Functional requirements of the Project. An Analytical approach and strong Communication and collaboration skills are cornerstones of both the QA and BA role.
The BA writes in his/her functional spec: "The system shall do X".
The QA person writes in his/her test spec: "Verify that the system does X."
See the big difference?
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