What is a Business Analyst exactly..?
Discussion
I moved out of IT (thank god) and into PM, now I am back on the market Junior PM/Admin/Support/Coordinator roles in the NW are a bit thin and the money in London isnt fantastic.
So I have started looking at Busines Analyst roles but I think I will be back in the catch-22 situation.
What do you need to become a BA..?
Ta
Claire
So I have started looking at Busines Analyst roles but I think I will be back in the catch-22 situation.
What do you need to become a BA..?
Ta
Claire
A BA is basically the interface between the IT department and the business.
BA's typically extract user requirements and document them in a form that the developers can understand and start writing technical specifications from.
The BA skillset is fairly portable but the ones who are worth their money understand both the business they are attached to and the technical limitations/difficulties that the developers face.
Its an interesting job because you get to see the whole software process, the downside is you take shit from both the business and the developers as you are caught in the middle.
HTH
BA's typically extract user requirements and document them in a form that the developers can understand and start writing technical specifications from.
The BA skillset is fairly portable but the ones who are worth their money understand both the business they are attached to and the technical limitations/difficulties that the developers face.
Its an interesting job because you get to see the whole software process, the downside is you take shit from both the business and the developers as you are caught in the middle.
HTH
Plotloss said:
Its an interesting job because you get to see the whole software process, the downside is you take shit from both the business and the developers as you are caught in the middle.
That's very true but on a larger project the PM will generally get the bulk of the stress from that and pass it on accordingly.
BA is a really critical role - if you get your analysis badly wrong and the client isn't involved enough to notice (eve though they'll sign the reqs off!) then the product will be wrong before a line of code is written.
Getting enough time from teh business to do your job properly is always a fight.
I'm a business analyst (amongst other things). My role is to force the customer to define what they need (not what they want). this is done with Q&A sessions, workshops, research etc. I then have to document and present back to the customer to get sign off.
Once this is done I hand the project onto the technical team who do the technical design work.
It is a really interesting job, much more so than PM. However to do it well you have to be able to get under the skin of the customer and really understand how their business works.
D
Once this is done I hand the project onto the technical team who do the technical design work.
It is a really interesting job, much more so than PM. However to do it well you have to be able to get under the skin of the customer and really understand how their business works.
D
Business Analysts inspect a business issue with the client and then generate the solution. The job function requires the ability to understand a wide range of business operations in a short time-frame and then be able to generate a working solution (not neccessarily IT related, but usually) and liaise with solution providers and software developers to create and implement the solution.
Quite challenging and interesting as you will get to work with lots of clients in all sorts of industries and see many facets of business, although I can vouch for the flak from both sides stuff.
I would suggest it is absolutely fundamental that you have a good business grounding as well as the IT skills to liaise with the techies. As has been mentioned - misunderstand the business or misinterpret the requirements and the project is knacked from the word go.
Quite challenging and interesting as you will get to work with lots of clients in all sorts of industries and see many facets of business, although I can vouch for the flak from both sides stuff.
I would suggest it is absolutely fundamental that you have a good business grounding as well as the IT skills to liaise with the techies. As has been mentioned - misunderstand the business or misinterpret the requirements and the project is knacked from the word go.
Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff