We, B2T, often get career advice questions coming in to our blog. They mostly relate specifically on how to enter the BA profession and advance once in it. I thought you all would be interested in an article I just read, "It Worked For Me: Career Advice from Top CIOs" by Martha Heller on CIO.com.
CIOs from FedEX, Campbell's Soup and more talk about the best career advice they received. The theme is about taking risks and stepping outside your comfort zone. This is great advice whether you want to be a BA, CIO, Musician or circus clown.
I'd love to hear your feedback after you read the article.
In today’s uncertain economic times businesses, governments, and non-profits around the globe are trying to maximize their efforts, develop innovative opportunities, and overcome difficult challenges. During this economic slump in the US some organizations are disappearing because they cannot keep up with their competition or their business costs. Businesses are looking hard at all their organizations, their processes, their information, and their policies to examine what can be reorganized, retooled, reengineered, and streamlined. Their goals are typically to slash costs, increase productivity, and increase value in their market place. One strategic tool that is tied integrally with all business opportunities and challenges is developing new technology. Management wants it done yesterday, cheaper, faster, better. Business analysis professionals need to make intelligent decisions. In our "do it now culture," let’s not throw out what we have learned over the past 30 years about software development.
Over the years developing software has often been compared to building homes. Much of the analogy works, but building software is more dynamic than building most homes where plans remain more fixed. Builders generally do not pull out all the dry wall or redo the electrical wiring from scratch because a requirement was missed. Unless something really bad is involved, homes rarely get leveled and started over. Can we say the same about software? Unfortunately not. Many software projects get scrapped on a daily basis and started over. So much time and money out the door. Failed projects make it hard to compete, and hence the need for intelligent business analysis. This leads me to repeat a mantra of several practices that I know to be essential and independent of any industry, project, or software methodology.
- Get organized with a purpose and a plan.
- Know your business.
- Develop solutions iteratively.
- Communicate clearly and frequently with stakeholders.
- Acknowledge your lessons learned and repeat again!
More about each of these practices in the business analysis world in future blog entries.
When I was in South Africa last fall, a systems engineer told me about an organization called INCOSE. I was not familiar with it but he told me that they had many of the same goals as the IIBA so I decided to take a look.
Some information from their web site (http://www.incose.org/):
The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) is a not-for-profit membership organization founded to develop and disseminate the interdisciplinary principles and practices that enable the realization of successful systems.
Mission
Advance the state of the art and practice of systems engineering in industry, academia, and government by promoting interdisciplinary, scalable approaches to produce technologically appropriate solutions that meet societal needs.
| What is Systems Engineering? |
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Systems Engineering is an interdisciplinary approach and means to enable the realization of successful systems. It focuses on defining customer needs and required functionality early in the development cycle, documenting requirements, then proceeding with design synthesis and system validation while considering the complete problem . . .
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This organization was founded in 1990 and has over 5000 members worldwide. They have numerous chapters, a body of knowledge and a certification program. I reviewed the body of knowledge (G2SEbok) and it contains many of the same topics as the BABOK.
So the question is "What is the difference between a BA and a Systems Engineer?"
2008 promises to be a great year for business analysis! We have finally hit our stride - lots of people in our companies are beginning to understand what we do and the value that we bring to the organization. The IIBA has certified over 200 CBAPs in it's first year and is working to make the exam more accessible for everyone.
And there are suddenly many training, consulting, and software companies who now actively advertise their business analysis products. They have all recognized what we have known for years - business analysts are smart, focused, creative, and enthusiastic about helping their business run smoother and be more successful. Maybe we should declare 2008 The Year of the BA!!
You wouldn't seek treatment from an orthopedic doctor for heart surgery. So why would you want business analysis training from a provider who specializes in project management?
We understand that business analysis is a role comprised of a broad range of skills that can only be learned from an expert specializing in the area. Some see business analysis as just an extension of project management with the addition of requirements gathering. Most of those individuals or companies don't truly understand the complexity of the BA role or its value to the organization.
While there appear to be some similarities between these two roles, their underlying detailed tasks are uniquely different. For example, scoping is performed by the PM and BA, but for very different reasons and deliverables. The PM delivers a project charter which defines the project, the objectives, and a list of project participants including resources. The BA delivers a project scope which defines the boundaries of what is going to be analyzed as part of the project including high-level processes and a more detailed analysis of the root cause of the problem being addressed. Overall, the roles have a different function. The PM is ultimately responsible for the project completion, its budget, resources, and a timely completion. The BA is responsible for fully understanding the business problem and providing complete analysis to ensure that the solution best meets the needs of the business. These roles have completely different focuses requiring unique training for each role.
The more analysis tools a BA masters, the more valuable he will be to the organization. Look to those who can truly help you master business analysis skills. Specialized business analysis training can help improve your analysis skills in areas such as critical thinking skills, root cause analysis, process analysis, and data analysis. Training provides a forum to fine tune your ability to widen the breadth of questioning and your ability to listen for true causes of the problems, not just symptoms. It also increases your agility in being flexible to work on many types of projects and become a critical resource to your organization.
B2T Training focuses on providing only business analysis training. Our instructors are seasoned business analysts who are passionate about the complexity and uniqueness of business analysis.
