Blueprint For Success Starting A Business Analyst Career PDF
Blueprint For Success Starting A Business Analyst Career PDF
Blueprint For Success Starting A Business Analyst Career PDF
starting a Business
Analyst Career
The step by step guide to starting a successful career as a business
analyst including training, gaining experience, searching for your first
job, preparing your CV and ensuring success in your first interview.
Business Analyst Mentor | Blueprint for Success starting a Business Analyst Career Page 1
About Business Analyst Mentor
Business Analyst Mentor was launched in October 2008 to support business
analysts in their professional development.
Business Analyst Mentor was created by Alex Papworth and most of the
articles have been provided by him from his own experience in his ten
years as a business analyst both as a permanent employee and freelancer
(consultant).
Alex has worked for many blue chip companies including Bass Taverns,
Frans Maas, Glaxo Smith Kline, Sky, Lloyds Banking Group (as was
LloydsTSB). He has also worked in two startup ventures so he has
experience of both the process-oriented and risk-focussed environment of
large corporates and the agility and risk taking approach of very small
ventures.
His authoring of the blog and desire to look further afield for professional
development has revealed many resources available on the internet and
made him aware of the IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis)
and the UK chapter in particular.
Note: Any books or training courses recommended in this guide have been
personally tested by me and/or one or more of my mentees.
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About this guide
This advice in this guide is the result of combining my knowledge and
experience of the business analyst role with the knowledge acquired from
helping a number of individuals who want to become business analysts. I
have also consulted recruitment consultants and other specialists in the
field of business analysis.
This guide is deliberately brief so that it can be read quickly and easily.
If you feel the need for more detail or guidance in any of the areas, please
let me know by providing feedback here.
This is the first version of this guide and I intend to continually improve it
and release new versions as I help individuals who wish to become
successful new business analysts. Your help is key in achieving this. Please
contact me at [email protected] with stories, recommendations and
advice on training, gaining experience and presenting yourself as a
credible business analyst.
It’s a common misconception
unsure how to go about it.
You have some experience of business analysis but have not had
that you need technical the formal title and/or had no or limited formal training
knowledge to be a business
analyst. You have business experience and want to leverage this as a
This is not true. business analyst
(your experience is a huge asset as a business analyst)
It can be helpful but is not
essential.
You are brand new to business analysis with no or limited business
experience
I recommend you read the guide from start to finish in order. Most sections
are relevant if you fit into one of the categories above.
If you are short of time and feel you know plenty about business analysis
already and just want to get started, go straight to page 6, Roadmap to
Success. It’s an action plan to achieve success in becoming a business
analyst.
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Why become a business analyst?
This is a good question as you need to know your motivations are right
before you invest time and money in becoming a successful business
analyst.
Growth market
In the UK, the e-skills
Business analysis is a growth market. This role used not to be highly valued
and poorly understood but many companies are starting to realise the
value of skilled business analysts. Good business analysts have the skills to
initiative has commissioned a ensure businesses invest their most precious resources of manpower and
report on the IT & Telecoms money wisely. Indeed, time is an even more precious resource in today’s
sector (of which business marketplace where poor investment decisions allow the competition to
analysis forms a part), which gain advantage.
shows that jobs in this area
will grow at a rate of 2.5% per
annum for the next decade
rather than 0.5% in jobs in the Low barriers to entry
rest of the economy.
At present, the role is still very immature compared to that of other
professions (e.g. architect, engineer or accountant). Professional
qualifications are not necessary but this is changing rapidly with the rise in
importance of the IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis) and the
CBAP accreditation (Certified Business Analysis Professional) and, in the
UK, the ISEB qualification and other national equivalents.
The skills you acquire as a business analyst are very useful in many other
roles and will provide you with opportunities to move into higher profile,
Industry knowledge and
well rewarded roles in project management, programme management,
business architecture and strategy.
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Who can become a business
analyst?
Anyone can become a business analyst but you need to have certain
characteristics and it is important that you check these are skills you have
Do you really want to be a or can and want to develop before you commit your valuable time and
business analyst? Find out money.
what it takes before investing
time and money. These are the characteristics of a good business analyst:
Analytical thinker
Good communicator
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Roadmap to success
There are a number of milestones you need to hit to enter the career of
business analyst:
A mentor doesn’t have to be
Find a mentor who is an experienced business analyst
This eBook is a very good starting point but you would benefit from
advice from someone who’s been there to provide/advise on
training, evaluate and suggest courses, suggest books and give
one person, it could be several
people who are willing to give
general career advice.
you a little of their time.
Treat this as a long term objective and continue with pursuing the
Recruitment consultants have other objectives
informed me that employers
look very favourably on people Action Plan Done?
with mentoring experience –
use this as motivation for any Join the local IIBA chapter (see list of chapters under the
potential mentors. Chapters link here.)
I recommend you join your Attend local IIBA meetings and ask about mentoring
local chapter and attend
meetings Speak to current contacts, especially current or recent
employers
www.BusinessAnalystMentor.com
www.ModernAnalyst.com
http://www.iiba.org/
Professional groups on www.LinkedIn.com including BA Forum,
Business Analyst Professional, Modern Analyst, IIBA
www.requirementsnetwork.com
www.practicalanalyst.com
www.bridging-the-gap.com
www.betterprojects.net
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Get training
This step isn’t obligatory but strongly recommended. You may feel
you know a lot about business analysis already BUT it is important
for successful job hunting because:
Invest in training to give you a
makes you more credible
EITHER
AND/OR
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Visit online resources and ask for advice on training at these
sites including:
www.BusinessAnalystMentor.com
www.ModernAnalyst.com
http://www.iiba.com
www.requirementsnetwork.com
www.practicalanalyst.com
www.bridging-the-gap.com
www.betterprojects.net
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Acquire experience
This step isn’t obligatory but highly recommended. You will spend
the rest of your career acquiring experience BUT it does help job
hunting because:
It is easier to pursue
below) or whilst looking for work (see next page)
opportunities to gain Look for opportunities to gain experience within your current
experience from inside an organisation.
organisation. You will also
have income which gives you Ask around to find out if IT projects take place within your
choices and doesn’t force you organisation and ask for names of people who are involved.
into making risky choices
If your organisation outsources IT projects they will still need
business analysts to ensure their business objectives are
delivered and requirements are managed
Request to participate in a project, possibly as a subject
matter expert. This is someone who knows some or all aspects
of the impacted business area. When in the role, ask to help
with the business analysis.
Business analysts who are also
subject matter experts are very
Request to shadow a business analyst on a part time basis
valuable as they have insights
not available to BA’s with no
whilst still doing your day job
industry experience ‘from the
inside’. I would describe this
Offer to assist in planning and participating in the ‘user
sort of BA as an industry acceptance testing’ as this will require contact with the
specialist BA as opposed to a business analyst. This is a reasonable request for anyone who
generalist BA. understands the user’s point of view
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Action Plan (looking for work) Done
Network with current contacts and IIBA for opportunities
Take advice from the local Smaller companies undertake less projects in house but will be
IIBA chapter on the best much more flexible and keen to accept cheap/free help. They
agencies will still need business analysis skills (as well as project
management) to work with an external supplier.
The IIBA should be keen to Draw up a short list of companies to target that you would be
accept support from business happy to work for and any contacts in those organisations
analysts in, for example,
modelling their own processes Decide which ways of gaining experience would work for you:
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Action Plan (looking for work) Done
OR
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Action Plan Done
Industry knowledge and
- Applying for normal BA positions where you know the
industry well. This a great selling point, make the most
of it!!
insight makes you very
- Applying for normal BA position as a consultant. This is
valuable.
high risk – you need to be confident of your strengths
Use this to your advantage and have good support
when applying for jobs (This is what I did but only after several years of
participating on IT projects as
analyst/designer/developer)
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Demonstrate your credibility
Use your resume to sell
the business analysis role whether the employer as heard of it
or not!
Interviewing experience;
listening skills, especially active listening;
facilitation experience (e.g. brainstorming, walk throughs,
focus groups);
data gathering – surveys, questionnaires;
team work skills - collaboration, flexibility, helping others and
knowing how to ask for help;
relationship building (e.g. senior and junior colleagues);
negotiation - achieving consensus over prioritising
requirements, resolving conflicts;
communication skills, written and verbal – ability to express
yourself simply and concisely to different audiences using
words and models (any type of model)
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Action Plan Done
Well done, you’ve made it but it doesn’t end here. Your professional
development is just started. Continue to use the resources you have
identified acquiring your first job.
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Free online resources
www.BusinessAnalystMentor.com
www.ModernAnalyst.com
www.theIIBA.org
www.requirementsnetwork.com
www.practicalanalyst.com
www.bridging-the-gap.com
www.betterprojects.net
Recommended training
Attending an eLearning course to introduce you to business analysis
Recommended reading
The Software Requirements Memory Jogger
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