I have a group of employees who perform both requirements analysis (functional specs) and quality assurance (testing). The current name of the depatrment is Automated Support Management. In my previous experience with other companies these roles were divided and were titled either as BA's or QA and named as such.
Here the staff performs both of these functions and not all are college degreed nor do they have much profressional trainig as BAs or testers. Instead, most developed expertise with the system first as users and eventually ended up in ASM for their ability to understand both the business and systems side. I am not completely comfortable bestowing a Business Analyst name or title to them since it wouldn't mean the same outside the company.
I'd like to rename the department to something more appropriate. Any ideas? Saving Changes...
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Michael WoodProject Manager / Business Analyst / Business Process Improvement Guru| Independent ContractorGig Harbor, Wa, United States
Requirements Development and Testing Group (RDTG)
Business Requirements and Assurance Group (BRAG) Saving Changes...
Here's a thought, what are these people being paid to do - what is their "reason for being"? Although they're not currently degreed nor professionally trained, CAN they be? Does your company (do you) expect these people to ever function at the level of a traditional BA or QA (can they be "mainstreamed" into a fully functioning work-force?) Are they working to their fullest potential or are they destined to be underachievers forever? Does your company (do you) expect less of them today as well as in the future? If these people are there to perform "something like" BA or QA but the expectations are that they'll never be good enough then.....why not call them unemployed? Saving Changes...
I think it is important to make the distinction between a business analyst and a business SYSTEMS analyst. I have worked for more than 20 years doing business analysis and leading others to do the same (not all CS majors, many very sharp BUSINESS people with good logical and analytical skills, who are required to construct business requirements and act as liaison/translater between the technology end (of whatever it is) and the business end that uses it.
In many organizations (outside of IT), a business analyst is just what I've described. The business SYSTEMS analyst, however, is required to do technical requirement analysis which differs from business requirements analysis.
Are you saying there isn't room in IT for individuals who can readily translate IT for business and business for IT?
Rita Saving Changes...
John AlleySenior Project Manager| MHPM Project Managers IncBurlington, Ontario, Canada
We have people filling these roles in two different ways (during projects and in an operational capacity). During projects people from the business area are assigned to the project to develop and document the business requirements, the business test cases and the acceptance criteria. They also conduct the system test and help thier former colleagues do user acceptance testing. They start off as regular business types with no formal IT training but eventually come over to the 'dark side'. During this phase we call them Business Representatives but this is a role not a position.
When our projects are implemented, we create a position of System Support Specialist in the business area. They are responsible for doing much the same as the business rep is on the project, but in a maintenance and support phase. In addition, they usually do the user acceptance test of fixes and minor enhancements. Saving Changes...
Business Analyst means different things depending on the industry. Here in the consumer financial world BA's are the former business folks who have the business expertise to write meaningful requirements and beta test software releases. I'm sure my BA's though trained and very bright would not do well as BA's for Lockheed. BTW my group is Business Intelligence. 4 BA's 1 Data Analyst and 1 Data Warehouse Analyst. Saving Changes...
Gee, you're describing something that sounds like me, actually. Non-degreed, not formally trained in Project Management, nor in the disciplines of Business Analysts, Business Systems Analysts nor of Quality Assurance Engineers. I started in my company as a Project Manager, leading integration testing teams, based on my self-taught computer knowledge and my organizational and leadership skills. I've become an individual contributor, because although I can lead a willing team and I can manage the unwilling participants, I wasn't happy dealing with disciplining the immature members of my team. (I chose not to have children - and that's one of the reasons why!) I am a "poor man's" business analyst of sorts, serving in that role for my company on a part time basis, but I know I need formal training... so I'm going after my BS in Business, majoring in e-Business, so that I can legitimately claim a Business Analyst/ Business Systems Analyst position at some.
I think Rita makes a good point - there has to be room for people who can translate between business-speak and IT-speak! Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Out in the real world, these people really are business analysts. A degree does nothing more than say this person attended classes (and what classes were they? - interior design?) and were able to pass tests. The person who has demonstrated the ability and flexibility to perform in both the business arena and the IT arena bring much more value to the position (degree or not) than someone who only has a degree. So go ahead and use the appropriate position title and department name. Saving Changes...
