Am I a Business Analyst? – Pt I

Many analysts, including me, do not have a business analyst title. And yet we’re practicing business analysis. What I mean is we’re analysts learning and leveraging business analysis tools and techniques detailed in A Guide to Business Analysis Book of Knowledge (BABOK). These set of techniques allow analysts from various backgrounds to work as liaisons among stakeholders to understand their organization’s structure, policies, and operations. So we can recommend solutions that improve its processes and helps them achieves their business goals.

The business analyst role varies by organization. So, the job title alone cannot validate your working knowledge. Analysts must demonstrate working knowledge in the following knowledge areas:

• Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring (BAP & M);
• Enterprise Analysis (EA);
• Elicitation (E);
• Requirements Analysis (RA);
• Solution Assessment and Validation (SA & V); and
• Requirements Management and Communication (RM & C).

At first glance these knowledge areas can appear mystifying, but they shouldn’t. I bet for years you’ve either practiced business analysis or observed it being conducted. Every business has policies, processes, and procedures. Business analysts often work on information technology (IT) projects, but they can their skills can transfer into other industries. Let’s examine Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares to demystify some of these knowledge areas.

Yes, it’s a show about the foul-mouth Ramsey rescuing failing restaurants. However, it’s also a show about improving restaurant owner’s business models. He does this mainly by elicitation. Meeting with stakeholders to determine their restaurant needs. You’ve probably noticed that in addition to sampling their menus, Ramsey observes the restaurant’s dinner service. Moreover, he interviews current staff, holds focus groups with customers or bloggers, and brainstorms with consultants. This is all done in an effort to develop a solution that meets the need.  At first glance these knowledge areas can appear confounding, but try connecting them to something you’re passionate about. Doing this also helps in reducing the learning curve with other challenging subjects.

Join me Sunday, November 30, where I’ll help you identify your transferable business analysis skills. In the interim, please follow me on Twitter and Facebook. If you would like to discover more about Elicitation, check out the books in the Miss Business Analysis Reads carousel.