I wanted to share a great presentation from the Project World and World Congress for Business Analysts conference in Anaheim this month. Russ Pena from Sun Trust presented their professional development framework. His organization has recognized the importance of the business analyst role and built a career path with 4 capability levels. Each level has a unique title and describes how much supervision would be needed at the level along with the typical type of work done by each BA. The levels are intermediate, advanced, lead and expert. The organization encourages employees to plan for and build their own career goals and gives them direction and support. The BAs are in the IT organization which has recognized the importance of consistency in job roles and expectations.
It was great to see an organization embracing our profession and investing in our future!
Click here for the presentation: Implementing a Professional Development Framework
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Is there a link to the presentation?
Yes, a link to the presentation would be useful. Or else a more detailed review of its content.
Definitely sounds interesting but please share the presentation 🙂
Indeed, we’re very excited about our recent effort to create a career advancement roadmap for the role of the Business Analyst Professional at SunTrust! Having one has helped pave the way for consistency within the role and is helping us to define standards and set expectations among our business partners. We’ve come so far with this endeavor but we understand that there is so much more maturation for us in this arena. We continue to work through our challenges and obstacles and are thrilled with the reception within our BA community. I’ll be looking for comments and interested to see other responses from those of you who have experience implementing something similiar!
Hi I also want to pursue my career as a Business Analyst. I am also from the IT field. I have not been into programming line for the last few years. My current profile is related to Management of IT related problems with in the department and have almost 4 years experience. Can I pursue my career as Business Analyst and how? What I need to update related to my skills. Pls.intimate asap.
Hi I also want to pursue my career as a Business Analyst. I am from the manufaturing/production field(B.Tech). I have not been into programming line. My current profile is related to production/manufaturing/puchase/procurementand quality management department and have almost 17 years experience. Can I pursue my career as Business Analyst and how? What I need to update related to my skills. Pls.intimate asap
Hi there, I also would like to pursue a career as a Business Analyst. I have graduated with a degree in Computer Science a few years ago, and have also taken a training course in .NET recently. My down side is that I do not have any experience in the IT industry… barely worked for an IT company for just two weeks. Plus, I am living in the state of Michigan near the metro Detroit area, and I will be here at least for the next few years due to personal reasons. Can I pursue my career as a Business Analyst and how can I do that? What are the necessary skill sets I need to fill to be a qualified Business Analyst? And are there any companies in the metro Detroit, looking for “entry level” Business Analysts??? Please do reply back as soon as possible! Thanks
Hi to all of you, I have done MBA(IT) from Symbiosis, Pune, India and my BAsic qualification is BE(Electronics & Power Engg). Presently working with CMMI Level 5 company in Pune. My present profile is Management Trainee. I haven’t had exposure to BA role yet. My qualification makes me eligible to be a BA after my MBA degree but till now I didn’t get that profile in my present oraganization. What should I do to get into BA profile? I know I can’t do CBAP now. But are there some certifications which a fresher MBA can do for BA? Please guide me in this regard.
Hi all,
It’s very exciting to hear so many people interested in getting iinvolved in the BA profession. I love it and hopefully my comments below will help you in some way in your path to being a BA!
Tip #1
I feel there are two paths that make it easier to move into a BA role:
1) If you are on a team that uses BA’s. Maybe you are a developer, QA Analyst, PM etc. This way you have exposure to what a BA is responsible for and be able to tell first hand what worked and did not work for that BA.
2) Being a subject matter expert (SME) will help you break into the role. That is how I secured my first BA role. I was an accountant using PeopleSoft. I was the main SME on a few initiatives and when a BA job opened, I applied and the rest is history!
So for those not in the IT field now you may want to use the SME angle and look for BA jobs in industries that you have experience.
Tip# 2
Join your local IIBA chapter, http://www.theiiba.org. This is where you will be able to educate yourself some more around the role of the BA. It is also an wonderful opportunity to network with other BAs in yoiur community. Comapnies sending their BAs to IIBA meetings are great companies to pursue. They believe in the role and development of their staff. That brings me to tip #3.
Tip #3
When on interviews with companies ask questions about how they develop their BA staff. Since most of you do not have much BA experience you don’t want to get left on an island. See if they have a training partner and mentoring programs. The senior BAs are great resources for new BAs, but if they are not available to mentor it wont help you as much.
Tip #4
You probably have relevant experience and you don’t even know it. Take a looke at the IIBA BABOK at , http://www.theiiba.org. Review the tasks and techniques that are listed there and see if you can apply your experience to any of those techniques.
I hope that helps! Please reply back with other questions/concerns. Good luck everyone!
Hi all. I am a BCA(Bachelor in Computer Applications) graduate with post graduation in MBA.I have only an year’s experience as an asst. database administrator.I have a keen interest in pursuing my career as a BA.Is this career recommended for me considering my degrees? As per your tips if I follow Tip#2, can you give information about IIBA chapters in India? Thanks!
Rinku,
Sounds like your background is a perfect fit for business analysis. Check out the IIBA web site for chapter news – I think there are 2-3 chapters in India.
http://www.theiiba.org
Barb