One of the fundamental tasks of business analysis is to learn the business. Business models and business requirements are developed by spending time with business experts, observing, asking questions, diagramming and confirming process flows, discovering business rules and data. I am interested in starting a discussion about when the BA performs these tasks.
I was recently talking with a project manager who insisted every BA must be a business domain expert. I disagreed, suggesting a strong BA can learn the business by asking the right questions and studying the work. As we discussed this further, he agreed the BA should learn the specifics of the business and doesn’t necessarily need to be hired with industry knowledge. We realized our disagreement was really over WHEN the BA learns the business. For the project manager, he expects the BA to come to the project with the knowledge already in hand. He expects business requirements are already understood and the collecting of requirements (PMBOK® task) will be very straightforward. He does not have money or time in his project budget for the BA to learn the business. He wants the BA to immediately begin the Product or Solution scope and functional requirements.
At another company BAs are also expected to learn the business before their project work begins but when I asked if they are given time outside a project to perform this analysis the answer was no. All of a BA’s time must be allocated to a project. They expect BAs to learn the business in their spare time or on their own time.
I believe these attitudes reflect a lack of understanding of the complexity of our business domains. When an IT manager thinks a BA can learn a business area in his or her spare time, the manager assumes the business processes are simple or straightforward. Very few are. As BAs we need to constantly be educating our management (supervisory and project managers) about the sophistication of our business users and their work. We need to help the IT organization appreciate both the complexity of the business areas and the importance of capturing this complexity in business models. Only our deep understanding of the business will assure our projects deliver true business value.
Learning the business and representing it in business models and requirements is a critical success factor for every project. Business models are reusable, increasing productivity on future projects. They also need to be updated as the business changes. I would recommend an IT cost center for BAs to spend time learning business domains outside projects rather than within the context of a specific project. BAs who spend time with the business people on a regular basis also see opportunities for improvements and may suggest new projects.
When are you given time to learn your business?
6 Comments
I couldn’t agree more. I am a Manager of a BA Competency Centre. I am implementing a Business Analysis phase before system implementation projects to give the business and business analyst time to figure out the business before adding system solutions.
Surprisingly this is met with two views. The business people and executive don’t understand why we wouldn’t do this….some of the technical team don’t understand why we would need to and the concept of us having to learn the business before the solution is a surprise…others in the technical side get it and are full supports. I know the rest will come.
I have the privilege of working in a wonderful company who is in support of the need for the business analyst to learn the business and to document the business in such a way that it is a reusable asset for the company.
We are just starting to make this happen….I am confident that I am heading the right direction….but let’s see where this road I have started will lead.
Wendy,
Great to hear about your approach! You are definitely on the right road and I hope lots of others follow you.
Thanks, Barb
This is a really interesting and relevant point. I was at a UK IIBA event recently where we had a similar debate.
My view is that it isn’t essential for a BA to know the business in any great detail at the outset. It’s necessary to have a broad understanding of the organisation, the industry and the general landscape, but I would argue that there is no need to become a business Subject Matter Expert (SME).
Project work, by its very nature, will expand the scope of a BAs knowledge. I absolutely agree that it is valuable to provide some time before the project, for reading and familiarising. This will pay dividends, and it also ensures that as a profession, we are seen to be ‘credible’ by our business colleagues!
However, I think the most important skill that we have as BAs is knowing which questions to ask. We uncover the detail and the ‘tacit knowledge’ that has never been written down. Being new to the organisation may actually help here; a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ may help to see a new perspective on things. This helps us to challenge old ways of doing things, and get to the root ‘problem’ (rather than focussing on ’solutions’)
It always amuses me when I see job adverts that say ‘Business Analyst Role: Must have 10 years experience in retail banking, knowledge of SAP. Knowledge of Cobol and advantage’ I rather suspect in these cases they aren’t actually looking for a BA, but a mixture of SME, Systems Analyst and programmer.. To draw a parallel, it’s a bit like advertising a job like this: ‘Chauffeur required. Must have 10 years experience driving in Brighton and Hove. Experience driving a Blue 1996 Ford Fiesta 16V essential.’
Driving is driving. Analysis is analysis. In both cases you need a map of the landscape, and you need to read the map before you set out. However you don’t need to understand the mechanics of the engine at the outset, and if you do eventually need to know this there will hopefully be a mechanic (SME) to help you!
Thanks again for a thought-provoking post!
Adrian Reed
(Follow me on twitter: UKAdrianReed)
I have recently been at the receiving end of this mis-conception. I have been turned down an assignment because my 11 years of business analysis in insurance is not good enough for a banking project for which I have no prior engagement.
I must say it was a big blow to my confidence and I begin to question what exactly I have accomplished all these years.
This barrier is more common than we think and I, for one, am having a hard time overcoming it.
I agree with Barb and others in this thread that, in a lot of cases, those who are looking for deep domain experience don’t understand the role of the business analyst. In some cases, though, these jobs being advertised are really for product managers (a marketing role prevalent in COTS), in which case deep domain experience is absolutely essential.
Product managers need to be people who are hybrids of SME and BA, plus possess skills to generalize the requirements of multiple SMEs into business and functional requirements that meet the needs of the whole group.
Agree with all the comments in this thread. My POV is that domain experience helps…but on the flip side..a lack of domain experience proves a boon as well. As Barbara mentioned, learning current Business Processes/As-Is could be when BA can learn about business.
I believe the focus should be more on business process analysis to learn Business to find out areas of improvement(cut costs, improve efficiency, increase revenue, improve quality of service, improve time to service, etc…)
Learning business could be like driving a car w/o a GPS as long as the driver is cognizant of the final destination, sense of compass directions and knows how, when and who to ask right questions
Nonetheless, learning Business is a constant effort throughout lifecycle of the project and I bet it is even after the application is deployed.