What is a Business-Process Analyst?
An "analyst" can be a vague term. As can the phrase "business process". Thus the combination together can cover a very wide range indeed.

The Rational Unified Process (RUP) lays down some very clear guidance. A business-process analyst is responsible for defining the business architecture, business use cases, actors and their interactions.

On a non-process orientated, small project the "analyst" may cover all aspects of the modelling and requirements management aspects. This would encompass the business processing.

Who is a Business-Process Analyst?
The RUP does not lay down rules on "who" the Business process analyst should be. Rather as with all RUP roles it is a collection of skills and competence associated with a set of activities. Indeed the role may be fulfilled by more than one person. Alternatively one person may use a small part of his time to fulfill the role.

When does the Business-Process Analyst work?
In most projects the majority of any analysts work is at the start. As the project progresses the workload decreases, but she will still be involved.

In a structured environment like the RUP, the discipline structure means that the timings tend to be heavily weighted towards the early phases, inception and elaboration. It is in these phases that the Business Modelling discipline is highlighted most.

How does the Business-Process Analyst work?
Essentially the business-process analyst seeks to model the organisation for whom the software is being built. This is accomplished by outlining and delimiting the the organisation, e.g by identifiying businees actors.