Kristin JonesSocial Media Specialist III| PMINewtown Square, Pa, United States
PMI wants your input: How did you decide to become a business analyst and what was your journey like? What advice would you offer to someone looking to enter the field of business analysis?
Your answers and name may be used as part of an article on BA Careers. Saving Changes...
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Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
Most of my career has been about placing myself where there was a need. That's how I got into information analysis, then process analysis. Following this pattern I eventually got into project management. Now, as a consultant, I work on multiple projects in a variety of roles: analyst, PM, architect.
This journey allowed me to become a better leader while keeping tabs on the technical side. You could say I got the best of both worlds. Saving Changes...
MAEN QADDOURAHProject Director| AJ SAUDIJeddah, Saudi Arabia
Go behind the information.do not wait it to come.
communicate with people.
be proactive.
be responsible.do not be afraid. Saving Changes...
The requirements captured needs to be crystal clear & documented.
Problems should be clearly stated and precisely with the right approach or solutions towards it.
May also require domain knowledge of the business that is applicable.
Produce output without conflicting information or statements.
Mix with people, work closely with interdepartments, have good communication.
Visualize as if you were in someone's shoes.
Win stakeholders confidence Saving Changes...
Chintan Jariwala, PMP, CSMProject Manager, IT Business Analyst| Sailfin Technologies India Pvt LtdSurat, Gujarat, India
In my career, Started with a developer. As needed, worked as Analyst Developer & eventually, I found myself working as a Business Analyst. Now, I am working in variety of roles as per the need : PM, BA, Scrum Master, Salesforce Admin.
My Advise for new BAs :
1) Focus on Needs rather then Wants : BA need to dig into the requirement to get the actual requirement, what customer needs. Customers may not know their actual requirement.
2) Always mentioned Assumptions explicitly : Describing the Assumptions explicitly helps customer understand your understanding towards the environment. On other hand, BAs must ask / know what customer is assuming about the Project / Requirement. This way, A gap can be bridge if any before it is too late.
3) Rapport with Stakeholders : As we say BAs bridge gaps. To bridge the gap, Relationship Management & Communication Management are the most important things to master. For example, while eliciting requirement, some people will not open themselves unless they feel comfortable with the other person. BAs need to create an environment with these type of person to feel comfortable which will enable the BA to get actual requirement.
4) Neutrality : BAs should take no sides unless have data to prove. This is essential to harmony between two sides ( Customer & Supplier ) with whom the BAs work.
5) Proactive & Visionary : BAs should be able to visualize the outcome of the requirement. If anything which could affect the project outcome in positive / negative way should be communicated to the stakeholders with the effects & probable solutions.
6) Documentation : For me, This is the most important work of BA. BA should write a document having crystal clear requirement. It could also included Assumptions agreed, Constraints agreed.
These are the few which I am able to recall right now. Will try to add more if possible. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Most of the people do not understand what a business analyst is and what business analysis is. Unfortunatelly for people like me that have been working as business analyst from the very begining of the role creation and have contributed with IIBA and PMI in creating the standards and role definition. You can see this in some answers and comments in most of the forums outside there. I encourage to read carefully and understanding IIBA´s BABOK and PMI´s Practitioners Guide first of all. Saving Changes...
Fabian BoehmSenior Business Analyst| London LifeLondon, Ontario, Canada
I used to be a project manager, but became a business analyst since I enjoyed doing the work rather than guiding others to do their work. I also enjoy figuring complex problems out and finding solutions quickly. Saving Changes...
Kristin JonesSocial Media Specialist III| PMINewtown Square, Pa, United States
Thank you all for your responses! There is some great advice here.
As a follow up question, when you made a career change to become a BA, what steps did you take? Where did you start? Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
I forgot one of the most important things a BA must know: run faster than your stakeholders when things go wrong.
----sorry about the bad joke. Merry Christmas----- Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
When my focus turned to analysis in my career, I spent time learning about analysis tools and techniques: workshop facilitation, information engineering, process modelling, UML, ... Saving Changes...
Steven ZacharyDirector| Alberta Health ServicesCalgary, Alberta, Canada
I entered BA by accident, being asked to process model coming out of college and evolving from that point.
The biggest piece of advice I can give is this; do not get overwhelmed. BA is a huge field, and it relies on all soft skills required to facilitate workshops, deal with executives, and engage with people who are very very intelligent in their field. It also requires you to understand frameworks, processes, templates, principles and practices. It requires vertical and horizontal knowledge. It requires persistence, learning from your mistakes and being humble.
Behind all of that is a very simple concept. WHO are you doing your work for? That isn't necessarily the boss, it could be any variety of individuals who interact with your work inside or outside the boundaries of the organization.
Know your end game stakeholder and know that person (or collection of persons) well. Everything else is just layers on top of that. As a business analyst, it is your job to decompose all of the noise and make sure business value is realized. That's the most cliche but true thing I can tell you.
All the other advice should lead you back to this one fundamental principle. Do this well and you will succeed. Saving Changes...
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