A business analyst collects, interprets, and records all the requirements for a software application or product. On the other hand, a software developer or programmer writes programs in computer languages to build a software product. Business analysts and software developers perform different roles, but their participation is vital throughout the software development process. While business analysts take part in the requirement gathering, testing, and deployment phases, software developers are needed to define the requirements, product designing and developing, testing, and deploying the software in the production environment. Business analysts also have to balance the expectations of the clients and supervisor.