Will you make a good business analyst? Is this profession for you? Will you enjoy it?
With more people changing careers multiple times, and with major changes in the job markets recently, these are important questions for any profession.
If you decide to switch from a safe and familiar occupation to something new, will it be exciting or intimidating? Will you enjoy it every day, or will you find it more and more frustrating?
Let’s talk about business analysis.
Who will make a good analyst?
What are the different backgrounds that business analysts come from?
And the most popular question of all, can I be a business analyst if I don’t have an information technology background?
I have a simple answer to that. “Business analysis” has two words in it – “business” and “analysis”.
Business analysts help to analyze and solve business problems:
- Discover information, interview experts and ask many questions
- Analyze the information to understand the current state and the business problem
- Use analysis and modelling tools to capture the current state and break down the problem into manageable pieces
- With this understanding, help clients define what needs to be done to solve the problem and get the business where it needs to go – its target state
- Capture what needs to be done as business requirements
Business analysis is required any time a business needs to plan and implement a change. Here are just a few examples:
What do business analysts actually do? If you like variety, you will enjoy the wide range of tasks that a business analyst may perform:
- Interview and shadow business experts
- Search and scour for information, investigate
- Learn about business and create business models
- Facilitate requirement workshops
- Analyze processes and create process flow diagrams
- Analyze scenarios, data, and reports
- Capture assumptions, constraints, and requirements
- Create screen mock-ups and storyboards
- Explain technical details to business
- Explain business process & requirements to IT
- Review solution design
- Review test scenarios and test cases
- Train
- Create documentation and presentations
While information technology knowledge comes in handy for a business analyst, the lack of IT background is not a barrier. A lot of business analysis competencies are also taught in business, management, engineering, and science programs.
I know excellent business analysts that came from statistical, marketing, teaching, and political science backgrounds. What matters most is the ability and desire to solve problems and to help clients do their job more efficiently. The key ingredient of success is possessing a business analyst mindset.
How do you know if you will enjoy business analysis? Consider whether you like doing the following:
- Solve problems
- Figure out things work
- Explain and teach
- Simplify
- Talk to people
- Find ways to get along with different personalities
- Learn about new technologies, concepts, and ideas
- See the results of your work
Are you good at (or would you like to become good at):
- Writing articulately
- Creating simple pictures
- Getting your point across
- Listening
- Asking questions
- Standing your ground for what you believe in
- Speaking in front of the audience
- Managing groups of people
If you have agreed with most of the points, then the business analysis may be a great career option for you to explore.
More resources on business analysis career.
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