Are you a business analyst?
The answer is, you could be. As I mentioned in Part 1, I am not a business analyst on paper, but I do use utilize its techniques. You can master business analysis without a degree in computer science. Furthermore, you can be performing business analysis without even knowing it. The key here is identifying any business analysis skills in your work, volunteer, and education experience. I followed business analyst, Laura Brandenburg, three steps to discoverer business analysis skills in my work experience.
Laura Brandenburg’s 3 Steps
- List relevant BA Background
- Create a Project List
- Identify Relevant BA Skills and Experiences
After following Steps 1 through 3, I discovered that many of my project activities fell under change management. Change management is an approach business analysts use on individuals and teams to move them from the current situation (as-is) to the new one (to-be). One particular activity involved an IT project where I was responsible for training restaurant vendors on a new iPhone food app and its respective web application.
Without knowing it, my training material and simulation sessions were following the ADKAR model (spelled out below), are the sequential steps people need to go through in order to accept and support change.
A – Awareness
D – Desire
K – Knowledge
A – Ability
R – Reinforcement
At the time, I thought these materials and sessions were just helpful. I didn’t realize they were necessary in creating change. The restaurant vendors needed them to familiarize themselves with the new iPhone app and engage in questions & answers to provide me feedback. Reviewing past relevant experience taught me that change management is the process for managing the people-side of change.
Invest in Professional Development
No, this step isn’t part of the article above. Nevertheless, professional development is an option for aspiring business analysts with limited knowledge and experience. Especially if you’re someone with more college experience than work. Here are fundamental business analysis courses available through Coursera, Lynda, Udemy and more.
- Fundamentals of Business Analysis: Learn the foundations of requirements elicitation, analysis, case studies, and lessons learned. Click here to learn more
- Effective Problem-Solving and Decision-Making: Learn how to work with stakeholders to solve business challenges. Click here to learn more
- Design Thinking for Business Innovation: Learn how to use this methodology to analyze a problem and recommend a solution. Click here to learn more
There are many more, but I’ve personally registered for these and will share my experiences in future posts. Join me Friday, January 30 for Am I a Business Analyst – Part III.
Related Articles
Laura Brandenburg “How to Discover Your Transferable Skills”
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