Analysis and Process Design

Over the past several years, since I started working in the Technology space, I have come across many fantastic individuals with varied skill sets. Some have impressed, some have disappointed and with some I have been rather indifferent. I am sure I would be no exception in their eyes as well i.e. they could be impressed, disappointed or indifferent (or whatever other feelings or impression they held towards me is for them to ponder on). Whilst the challenges faced by every individual are different, few of them caught my attention and I got inclined towards better understanding their challenges both from afar and from within the team. I am going to share a few of my observations and hope they will add some value in your professional lives. The profession that I want to touch on today is the Entry Level Business Analyst or the New Business Analyst (i.e. you have just started your BA career). Two Categories of Entry Level BA I understand that this is not an official definition in any way or form and I also realise that there are other possible scenarios, but I would like to divide the New Business Analyst under the following two categories. Category 01 – Fresher (The True Entry Level) In simple terms this category is for individuals who have finished a course or a degree and are aspiring to be a Business Analyst. They are generalists on Day 01 because they are yet to work out their core competencies in the analytics domain. In most cases, what you learnt in your theory classes isn’t going to help you much right now but if you have been paying attention to the techniques taught in your class, you may be able to leverage some of them in a more hands-on manner. So giddy up! You are a blank slate and the BA profession is going to take you on a journey of a lifetime. Category 02 – Career Change (The NOT SO Entry Level) Individuals in this category have had some or a lot of prior experience, but not within the BA space. So fair to say that subject to the role(s) you have had in the past, you may (or may not) be equipped with some simple (yet effective) BA skills already. What kind of skills you ask? Well it could be a skill as simple as knowing how to use Excel or Word. Perhaps you have run workshops in the past or have managed stakeholders or written process documents or have contributed to requirements as a Subject Matter Expert (SME). Sound familiar? If yes then try not to get too excited because whilst you have the some of the pre-requisites of a BA role ticked off, you are in for a bit of a surprise when it comes to day to day jargons used by Business Analysts and project teams. Let us start with the 2nd category and explore the key aspects of some of the most commonly asked questions. Change of Career to become a BA (Business Analyst) So, you have worked in the professional sphere for several years and now want to transition yourself as a Business Analyst? However, you are unsure whether your experience will lead you to a successful BA (Business Analyst) career. If this is something you can relate to then read on. Well, you can continue reading even if you do not relate yourself to the statement. The key to the above conundrum is to first find the answer a few simple yet important questions. What exactly are you looking for in your career as a BA? Are you looking to change your career path due to monetary reasons? Are you looking for a new challenge in your career?   The good news is the BA profession offers both – A challenging (and satisfying) career path with a lucrative pay cheque. However, before you take the big leap of faith, it is important to self-analyse your existing skill sets and compare them with some of the commonly sought skills of a BA. Self Assess Your Existing Skills There are certain set of questions you need to ask yourself before committing to that change of line to become a BA (Business Analyst). Questions regarding your existing skills that you have acquired as part of the roles you have performed till now (as in the present time when you are considering a career change). Start by taking note of everything you do or have done, in a simple yet structured manner. Time to bring out your Microsoft Excel skills by creating a new sheet and start adding the things you have done and skills you have gathered. If you have not used Microsoft Excel before, you can always use the good old pen and paper. Create a Skills List  Note down all your tasks and activities performed during your present and past roles. Make a note of all the different applications, systems and tools used as part of your present and past roles. This will help you to see your experience in a fluid way that can apply to many settings of a BA. Understand the skills you have and try to segregate them into various expertise levels such as Beginner, Intermediate, Advance. Assess your Skills Honestly  An important aspect of this exercise is to be 100% honest and truthful to yourself. Do not get overconfident and start adding Intermediate or Advance against your skills just because you think you may know it all. Let me give you an example. If I was bored one day and decided to do a short course on LinkedIn or Udemy about HTML. After 1-2 hours of quick and simple steps and following through the course instructions, I can now write a code that can produce “Hello World”. I am all fired up and excited and now think that I have beginner level understanding of HTML. Whilst it hard to quantify the level of knowledge you need on a particular topic