Analyst disciplines: business, quality, and data
Available immediately · Full-time & contract
Hello, I'm Sai Shreya Challa.
I bring clarity to requirements and confidence to releases.
Analyst with enterprise delivery experience at Cognizant and Canadian operational leadership. I connect business needs, quality validation, and data-informed analysis to help teams ship with clarity and confidence.
3–5
enterprise modules analyzed
25–40
defects managed per release
9+
analyst tools
Analyst
Business
Quality
Data
Working toolkit
Jira
Postman
SQL Server
Power BI
Azure DevOps
Excel
SharePoint
Git
Microsoft 365
Recruiter snapshot
Currently targeting
Ready to contribute in analyst roles where requirements, quality, and data need to move together.
Role types
Business Analyst
QA Analyst
Data Analyst
Business Systems Analyst
Industries
Financial Services
Insurance
Healthcare IT
Retail Tech
SaaS
Consulting
Work type
Full-time
Contract
Temp-to-Perm
Locations
Remote
Hybrid across Canada
On-site (open to relocation)
01 · About
Connecting business needs to reliable outcomes.
At Cognizant, I translated requirements across 3–5 enterprise insurance application modules into user stories, acceptance criteria, functional specifications, and test coverage used by development and QA teams.
I managed full defect lifecycles for 25–40 issues per release, validated APIs and backend data with Postman and SQL, and delivered release-readiness insights through Agile ceremonies. In Canada, I have extended that enterprise discipline into retail operations by analyzing POS and inventory data, improving reconciliation processes, and translating daily performance into actions for ownership and frontline teams.
My credentials include postgraduate diplomas in Business Analytics and Cybersecurity from Cambrian College, supported by a bachelor's degree in Computer Science Engineering. Together, they give me the technical fluency, analytical judgment, and business perspective to connect requirements, quality, data, and delivery outcomes.
Start a conversation →Enterprise tools used across analysis, testing, and delivery
From discovery through UAT and post-release validation
Cross-functional delivery across insurance and banking workflows
01
Discover & define
Turn stakeholder needs into clear, testable requirements.
BRDsUser storiesProcess maps
02
Validate & assure
Build traceable coverage across UI, API, data, and UAT.
Test casesDefect logsRTMs
03
Analyze & improve
Connect data findings to measurable business decisions.
KPI frameworksDashboardsInsights
02 · Selected projects
Evidence, not just summaries.
Four public case studies with real artifacts, plus two NDA-safe capstone summaries focused on analysis and risk.
01
QA Engineering
Retail Banking Manual & API QA Suite
End-to-end QA simulation covering banking workflows, test execution, defect traceability, and REST API authentication validation. Evidence links failed scenarios to documented defects and release recommendations.
Selected deliverables
- Test-case library with execution status
- Defect log with severity and test linkage
- Postman authentication validation evidence
- Release-focused findings and recommendations
02
Data Analysis
Canada Entry-Level Analyst Affordability Index
Compared Canadian rent and wage data across six cities using rent-to-income, take-home pay, and affordability KPIs. The analysis turns public data into a practical location and career decision framework.
Selected deliverables
- Business question and data-source documentation
- KPI definitions for affordability and take-home pay
- Cleaned six-city comparison dataset
- Affordability ranking and executive summary
03
Business Analysis
Order Fulfillment Process Improvement
Mapped the current and future retail fulfillment workflows, identified inventory and SLA gaps, and translated the findings into five operational KPIs and prioritized recommendations.
Selected deliverables
- Problem statement and stakeholder analysis
- AS-IS and TO-BE process flows
- Gap analysis with root-cause findings
- KPI framework and prioritized recommendations
04
Business Intelligence
Power BI Analytics Portfolio
Two decision-focused dashboards covering global sales performance and New York motor-vehicle collision patterns, supported by data modeling, DAX measures, and interactive executive views.
Selected deliverables
- Power Query cleaning and transformation workflow
- Star-schema model and DAX measures
- Interactive market and manufacturer dashboards
- Executive insights and trend summary
Case study 01
Retail Banking Manual & API QA Suite
A documented test cycle for critical online-banking workflows, with traceability from test execution to defects and API evidence.
5executed test cases
3 / 2pass / fail results
3tracked defects
4banking workflows covered
Case study format
- Business Problem
- Critical banking workflows needed repeatable UI and API validation.
- My Role
- QA analyst, test designer, and defect documenter.
- Scope
- Login, account summary, fund transfer, balance rules, and authentication.
- Deliverables
- Test cases, execution results, defect log, API evidence, and traceability.
- Tools Used
- Excel, Postman, REST APIs, and GitHub.
- Key Analysis
- Expected-versus-actual comparison, severity assessment, and defect linkage.
- Recommendations
- Resolve API timeout and incomplete-data defects, then rerun regression coverage.
- What This Demonstrates
- Test design, API validation, defect lifecycle control, and evidence-based QA.
Business question
Can login, account-summary, fund-transfer, and insufficient-balance workflows meet expected behavior across the UI and API layers?
Method
- Defined preconditions, steps, and expected results.
- Executed positive, negative, and error-path scenarios.
- Linked failed tests to defect IDs for traceability.
- Validated a login POST response and token flow.
Deliverables
- Manual test-case and execution workbook
- Defect tracker with severity, priority, and owner
- UI and API example format
- Postman-style authentication evidence
Case study 02
Canada Entry-Level Analyst Affordability Index
Data analysis project using Canadian rent and wage data to compare how affordable major cities are for entry-level analyst roles. Built KPIs around rent-to-income ratio, estimated take-home pay, and affordability ranking to support location and career decision-making.
8,188raw rent records reviewed
6Canadian cities compared
42%Vancouver rent burden
15.6months to save $10K in Toronto
Case study format
- Business Problem
- Salary alone does not show whether an entry-level analyst can afford a city.
- My Role
- Data analyst responsible for sourcing, cleaning, KPI design, and interpretation.
- Scope
- 8,188 rent records, government wage data, and six Canadian cities.
- Deliverables
- Source notes, KPI definitions, comparison charts, ranking, and executive summary.
- Tools Used
- Python, Pandas, Jupyter, Matplotlib, and public datasets.
- Key Analysis
- Rent burden, estimated take-home pay, savings capacity, and city comparison.
- Recommendations
- Evaluate career locations using after-rent outcomes alongside headline wages.
- What This Demonstrates
- Public-data analysis, KPI design, transparent assumptions, and executive insight.
Business question
Which Canadian cities are genuinely affordable for an entry-level data analyst after housing costs, not just before-rent salary?
Data & method
- Statistics Canada asking-rent table 46-10-0092-01
- Government of Canada Job Bank wage data, NOC 21223
- Filtered latest one-bedroom rent for six CMAs
- Merged cleaned rent and wage tables in Pandas
Calculated metrics
- Annual salary: hourly wage × 40 × 52
- Monthly take-home: annual salary × 73% ÷ 12
- Rent burden: rent ÷ monthly income
- Months to $10K: 10,000 ÷ monthly income after rent
Assumption: the project applies a 73% take-home estimate. The rent-burden chart uses median wages; the savings chart uses entry-level low wages.
Visible deliverables
- Business Question
- Data Sources
- KPI Definitions
- Data Cleaning Notes
- City Comparison
- Affordability Ranking
- Executive Summary
Case study 03
Order Fulfillment Process Improvement
Simulated Business Analyst case study for a retail order fulfillment process. Defined the problem, mapped AS-IS and TO-BE workflows, identified inventory and SLA gaps, created operational KPIs, and recommended improvements to reduce fulfillment delays and recurring support tickets.
7 → 5current to future-state steps
5operational KPIs defined
5stakeholder groups mapped
2end-to-end process maps
Case study format
- Business Problem
- Late inventory checks and inconsistent issue handling created delays and repeat tickets.
- My Role
- Business analyst defining the problem, stakeholders, process gaps, and future state.
- Scope
- Order review, inventory validation, fulfillment, support escalation, and KPI review.
- Deliverables
- Problem statement, stakeholder analysis, process maps, gap analysis, KPIs, and recommendations.
- Tools Used
- Process mapping, KPI framework, root cause analysis, and Jira-style tickets.
- Key Analysis
- AS-IS bottlenecks, SLA exposure, mismatch causes, and missing management visibility.
- Recommendations
- Validate inventory earlier, standardize tickets, track KPIs, and review recurring issues.
- What This Demonstrates
- End-to-end BA thinking from discovery through a measurable TO-BE process.
Problem statement
Inventory mismatches and fulfillment delays were found only after order placement. Issues were handled case by case, while leadership lacked structured KPI and trend visibility.
Stakeholders
- Operations manager
- Inventory management team
- Customer support team
- Warehouse operations
- IT and systems support
KPI framework
- Order processing time
- Orders delayed beyond SLA
- Inventory mismatch rate
- Ticket volume by category
- Average ticket resolution time
Scope note: this is a fictional portfolio simulation. It demonstrates BA technique without using proprietary company data.
Visible deliverables
- Problem Statement
- Stakeholder Analysis
- AS-IS Process Flow
- TO-BE Process Flow
- KPI Framework
- Gap Analysis
- Recommendations
Case study 04
Business Analytics Dashboard Collection
Two visual-analytics projects demonstrating multi-source transformation, dimensional modeling, KPI design, and executive-facing Power BI storytelling.
2analytics projects
3documented dashboard views
4star-schema dimensions
2017–21NY crash analysis period
Case study format
- Business Problem
- Raw multi-source data needed consistent models and decision-ready visual reporting.
- My Role
- Data analyst and dashboard designer.
- Scope
- Global sales performance and five years of New York vehicle crash data.
- Deliverables
- Cleaned models, DAX measures, KPI views, drill-downs, and insight summaries.
- Tools Used
- Power BI, Power Query, DAX, Excel/CSV, and dimensional modeling.
- Key Analysis
- Revenue growth, geography, manufacturer mix, vehicle actions, and crash patterns.
- Recommendations
- Use interactive filters and focused KPIs to guide market and operational review.
- What This Demonstrates
- Data transformation, star-schema design, KPI storytelling, and executive dashboards.
Power BI · Sales analytics
Global Multi-Source Sales Dashboard
Combined country-level sales files in Power Query, standardized schemas, removed duplicates and nulls, and modeled Sales against Date, Product, Manufacturer, and Geography dimensions.
- DAX measures for revenue, prior-year sales, and growth
- Market, manufacturer, category, and country analysis
- Interactive date, manufacturer, and category controls
Power BI · Public-sector data
New York Motor Vehicle Accident Analysis
Analyzed official NY DMV crash data across 2017–2021 to surface year, vehicle, action, registration-state, contributing-factor, and direction patterns.
- 2019 recorded the highest dashboard count: 835,976
- About 89% of involved vehicles were NY registered
- Straight-ahead driving represented roughly 48.7%
Additional analytical work
NDA-safe capstone summaries.
These projects demonstrate the approach and business value without exposing confidential data, client details, or artifacts.
Capstone 01
Business Analysis · Cambrian College
Design Management System Evaluation
Evaluated solution options for a scalable design-management workflow while protecting confidential project details.
Focus: requirements, market research, and option evaluation.
Capstone 02
Risk Analysis · Cambrian College
Security Posture & Control-Gap Analysis
Assessed Microsoft 365 control gaps and translated technical risk findings into prioritized business recommendations.
Focus: risk assessment, prioritization, and reporting.
03 · Analyst deliverables
Proof, not just claims.
Selected analyst deliverables that show how I define requirements, validate workflows, document gaps, and support decision-making.
BRD / Business Case
Proves structured problem definition, business rationale, scope, and decision context.
Related project: Order Fulfillment Process Improvement View deliverable ↗User Stories & Acceptance Criteria
Proves the ability to translate stakeholder needs into testable, delivery-ready requirements.
Related project: Retail Banking QA Suite View deliverableAS-IS / TO-BE Process Map
Proves current-state analysis, future-state design, and workflow simplification.
Related project: Order Fulfillment Process Improvement View deliverable ↗Gap Analysis
Proves the ability to compare current and target states and prioritize actionable gaps.
Related project: Order Fulfillment Process Improvement View deliverable ↗KPI Framework
Proves that operational problems can be translated into measurable performance indicators.
Related project: Order Fulfillment Process Improvement View deliverable ↗RTM / Requirements Traceability Matrix
Proves end-to-end traceability from requirement through validation evidence and defects.
Related project: Retail Banking QA Suite View deliverableTest Cases
Proves systematic scenario design with preconditions, steps, expected results, and execution status.
Related project: Retail Banking QA Suite View deliverable ↗Defect Log
Proves clear defect documentation, severity and priority assessment, ownership, and test linkage.
Related project: Retail Banking QA Suite View deliverable ↗SQL Validation Notes
Proves backend data checking, discrepancy documentation, and validation against expected outcomes.
Related experience: Enterprise insurance workflows View deliverableDashboard / Insights Summary
Proves the ability to turn cleaned data and KPIs into executive-facing visual conclusions.
Related project: Business Analytics Dashboard Collection View deliverable ↗04 · Capabilities
Full-cycle analyst toolkit.
From early discovery to production readiness, I combine business-facing analysis with hands-on validation.
My strongest work happens where requirements, quality, and data need to tell the same story.
01
Business Analysis
- Requirements gathering & BRD / FRD documentation
- User stories & acceptance criteria
- AS-IS / TO-BE process mapping
- Gap & impact analysis
- Stakeholder analysis & RACI frameworks
- Requirements traceability (RTM)
- UAT planning & coordination
02
QA & Testing
- Test plan & test case design
- Functional, regression & smoke testing
- SIT / UAT support & sign-off
- Defect lifecycle management
- REST API validation (Postman)
- RTM & requirements traceability
- Release readiness reporting
03
Data & Reporting
- SQL querying, joins & data validation
- Power BI dashboards & KPI design
- Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, modelling)
- Data cleaning & trend analysis
- Variance analysis & root cause reporting
- Stakeholder-ready executive summaries
04
Delivery & Tools
- Jira & Azure DevOps
- Postman & REST APIs
- SQL Server & Power BI
- Excel & Microsoft 365
- SharePoint, Confluence & Git
- Lucidchart / Draw.io
05
Domain Knowledge
- Insurance technology (Cognizant)
- Retail operations & POS analytics
- Banking portal QA (portfolio)
- Supply chain & order fulfillment (portfolio)
- Market & consumer trend research
- Security risk & control analysis
05 · Experience
Enterprise rigor. Operational perspective.
Experience working across technical delivery teams, business stakeholders, and customer-facing operations.
2020 — 2022
Cognizant · India
Cognizant Technology Solutions
Programmer Analyst — QA / Business Systems Analysis
Domain: Enterprise insurance applications · Claims · Policy Management · Customer Portal
- Partnered with product owners and business stakeholders to gather, document, and translate requirements across 3–5 enterprise insurance application modules into structured user stories, acceptance criteria, and functional specifications used as the single source of truth for development and QA teams.
- Managed end-to-end defect lifecycles of 25–40 issues per release cycle in Jira, from discovery and severity classification through triage, escalation, regression verification, and formal closure, maintaining zero critical defects carried into production.
- Designed and executed functional, regression, integration, and smoke test suites; validated REST API endpoints in Postman for authentication, response schema, status codes, and token behavior across insurance system integrations.
- Built and executed SQL queries to validate backend data integrity, cross-referencing UI state, API responses, and database records to identify discrepancies before release.
- Delivered defect trend analysis and release readiness summaries to product owners and business stakeholders during Agile sprint reviews, supporting data-driven go/no-go release decisions.
2020
Cognizant · India
Cognizant Technology Solutions
QA Intern
- Supported functional testing and documentation for enterprise client applications.
- Reviewed system logs, validated expected behavior, and assisted with issue identification and defect reporting.
2023 — Present
Ontario · Canada
Griffin Jewellery Designs
Keyholder & Operations Lead
Canadian retail operations · POS data · Inventory analytics · Performance reporting
- Analyzed daily point-of-sale data and sales transaction records to identify variances, track revenue performance, and ensure accurate end-of-day reconciliation, producing operational reports communicated directly to ownership.
- Managed inventory data across product categories: monitoring stock level trends, analyzing sales velocity, and translating findings into replenishment recommendations grounded in data.
- Identified process gaps in inventory tracking and cash reconciliation workflows; designed and implemented corrective procedures that reduced discrepancy rates and improved reporting accuracy across operational cycles.
- Produced structured operational performance reports for management stakeholders, translating raw sales, inventory, and staffing data into prioritized recommendations and clear action plans.
- Coordinated team operations during high-volume periods through structured task delegation and real-time issue triage, applying the same analytical mindset and stakeholder communication discipline developed in enterprise BA/QA delivery.
40
volunteer hours
Community analytics
Data Analytics & Market Research Volunteer
York Region Educational Services
Support business reporting and program decisions by preparing reliable Excel data and researching market trends for digital literacy initiatives.
- Clean and validate datasets to improve reporting accuracy
- Track performance measures and organize decision-ready findings
- Conduct market research to identify trends and program opportunities
Education
Built on technology, analytics, and security.
Postgraduate Diplomas
Business Analytics & Cybersecurity · Cambrian College
Bachelor of Engineering
Computer Science · Chandigarh University
International Academic Qualifications
Credential evaluation verified by World Education Services
Selected credentials
Relevant learning, kept focused.
Credentials selected for their connection to research, documentation, incident analysis, risk, and quality-minded delivery.
Market Research and Consumer Behavior
IE Business School · Coursera
Market research · Stakeholder managementIncident Analysis & Reporting
Mastercard · Forage
Log analysis · Documentation · Incident reportingSecurity Operations & Incident Analysis
LetsDefend · Hands-on labs
Monitoring concepts · Analysis · Technical documentationCompTIA Security+ ce
CompTIA
Risk awareness · Vulnerability management · Security controlsCertified in Cybersecurity (CC)
ISC2
Risk assessment · Security principles · Control awareness06 · Contact
Available immediately for analyst roles across Canada.
Open to full-time, contract, and temp-to-perm opportunities: remote, hybrid across Canada, or on-site with relocation.
Response target: within 24 hours.