Career in Business Analysis: The Complete Guide - Self-Help E117

To celebrate Global Business Analysis Day (1st November), we rounded up 12 experts to create a complete guide on the Business Analysis profession. Each expert is a respected Business Analysis practitioner. Some are authors, public speakers, educators, coaches and above all, advocates of the Business Analysis profession.

This episode is for you if you are curious about changing careers or simply if you want to deepen your knowledge about the role. We explore the following topics in this episode:

* What do Business Analysts do?

* The History of the BA role

* Essential skills for BA’s

* Popular BA techniques

* How to become a BA

* Training pathways and resources for BA’s

* Future of the BA role

A huge thank you to all of the guests who dedicated their time and energy to help create this episode. If you found any of the insights useful and would like to explore these topics further, then please connect with the expert directly using their LinkedIn profiles below:

Adrian Reed

Angela Wick

Bronia Anderson-Kelly

Christina Lovelock

Fabricio Laguna

Grant Wright

Jamie Toyne

Jared Gorai

Linda Parker

Nick de Voil

Sam Merrick

Vincent Mirabelli

⚡️ In each episode, Paddy Dhanda deep dives into a new human Superpower and gives practical advice on how you can apply it immediately.

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Transcription:

[00:00:29] Paddy Dhanda: Dear friend it's a very special day today. Not only is it the day after Halloween? It's the birthday of Apple's CEO, Tim cook. So if you're listening to him, Many happy returns of the day. But no, that's not what I'm talking about. Today is global business analysis day. And we'll see thousands of business analysts across the world coming together to celebrate. And only personally have a long connection with this amazing profession. In a previous episode, I shared my journey of going from a professional introvert to a conversational addict. Well, the BA role was pivotal in helping me build the confidence to come out of my shell. And helping me harness my human skills. Over the years I've had the pleasure of meeting, amazing people in this profession. That have helped inspire me. But also we've given back so much to the community, through sharing their knowledge and insights. So I wanted to give back in my own small, but important way. And to put it out there.

This has been the most challenging episode I've ever put together. I wasn't happy to interview just one, two or three guests. I wanted to go big or go home. So in this episode, I've managed to round up 12 of my favorite business analysis thought-leaders. And I use the word thought leader in its truest sense. Between them they probably have more knowledge about business analysis than ChatGPT's, grandparents. They are authors public speakers, educators, coaches and above all advocates of business analysis. Who are passionate about helping others?

So in alphabetical order I am privileged to be joined by Adrian Reed, Angela Wick, Bronia Anderson-Kelly,. Christina Lovelock, Fabricio Laguna, Grant Wright, Jamie Toyne, Jared Gorai. Linda Parker. Nick de Voil. Sam Merrick and last but not least Vincent Mirabelli.

So if you're thinking about a career change and curious to know if business analysis is the right career for you, then this episode is a must listen episode for you. And if you're already a business analyst, but want to know how can you take your career to the next level, then I'm confident you'll discover some golden nuggets of wisdom in this episode. But before we dive in to some of my burning questions. I thought I would test out our experts sense of humor and this is what they came up with.

BA Jokes

[00:03:31] Linda Parker: I'm pretty sure there must be a, how many BA's does it take to change a light bulb joke, but I don't know it. Obviously we'd need to do a requirements analysis to know that, and as you can tell, I'm not really known for my comedy.

[00:03:46] Sam Merrick: a good project manager makes updates. A bad project manager makes updates. Yes, it is terrible. I know. Sorry.

 A BA walks into a bar. They spend the next 15 minutes wondering why someone would leave a metal bar in such a stupid place. They then repeat this five times just to make sure they understand the root cause.

 What do you call a delivery team without a business analyst? My response would be brave. So you can chuckle away at that one if you find it funny.

 So I thought I would go and have a look at chat G p T

a business analyst was asked what he does for a living. He replied, I turn confusion into clarity and problems into solutions. The person asked, so you're a magician.

The business analyst replies, no, I'm a ba. We don't make things disappear. We just make them visible. It's okay.

What is the role of a BA?

[00:04:51] Paddy Dhanda: Okay. I don't think any standup comics need to be worried about their jobs. But one of the key traits of a good business analyst is being able to deal with uncomfortable situations. And possessing a sense of humor also helps to keep the team motivated during the tough times. So thank you experts for stepping up to the challenge and going beyond your comfort zone. On a serious note. I find there's often a misunderstanding about the key responsibilities of a BA. And the value that they can bring to a project. So what does a business analyst actually do?

[00:05:31] Angela Wick: I really think it comes down to facilitating the process of problem solving or opportunities, right? So that includes things like making decisions that lead to process changes, system changes, product changes, and all those details we commonly refer to as requirements or discovery work.

It's also facilitating the discovery of the impacts of that change. Who is it impacting and what does that mean to them and what are the impacts to the data, the tech, the people, the process, the policies, the rules.

It's quite far reaching can go in so many directions, in so many different contexts.

[00:06:06] Jared Gorai: I think if I look at the BABOK guide, you know it states that business analysis is the practice of enabling change in the enterprise by defining needs of recommending solutions that deliver value to the stakeholders.

And I think business analysis always been about understand the needs of an organization, whether that's at a strategic, operational or project level, right?

[00:06:28] Linda Parker: Another one I came across is this, A business analyst is a person who processes, interprets and documents business processes, products, services, and software through the analysis of data. This is okay, but only goes part of the way to describing what we do. What's important though are the key responsibilities and these wide and varied.

For example, at a high level, we define strategy, set goals, develop target operating models, do benefit realization and business plans.

[00:07:05] Sam Merrick: And as you kind of move down that, that scale from strategy into requirements and design, you're probably hitting the more traditional BA or maybe even service design type roles where you're thinking about, meeting those needs. I guess from a stakeholder point of view. And then you end up in that sort of deep solution mode at the other end of the scale, which has kind of got more of a systems focus.

[00:07:26] Christina Lovelock: I often talk about bas being the conscience of a project or product to make sure that we're doing things right and doing the right thing.

[00:07:34] Grant Wright: A good metaphor for business analysis is that of a doctor with the patient in our context being the business or the organization or a part of an organization that we're working with to solve their problems.

A patient may report symptoms of their problems. They may even tell you what they think the solution is. I think I need to take this medicine. But the good doctor has to validate that they have to probe a little deeper, ask a few questions and confirm what the true needs or problems are that they're trying to solve.

[00:08:12] Adrian Reed: I really think a lot of it is about the human side. It's about understanding stakeholders, understanding their perspectives, working with them often in quite challenging circumstances and utilizing that broad BA toolkit that I'm sure will we'll hear more about and come on to talk about during this podcast.

History of the BA role

[00:08:32] Paddy Dhanda: So, what I'm hearing is that the BA role is extremely diverse. They get involved in everything from discovery work, facilitating problem solving. Uh, working with stakeholders to elicit requirements.

They can work at different levels, such as strategy, operational and project level. I also really like the metaphor of viewing the business analyst as a doctor diagnosing business problems and acting as the conscience of a project. Fabrizio, I'm intrigued to find out the history of the BA role and how it's evolved over the years.

[00:09:11] Fabrício Laguna: In the first step of a software development, they have to define the needs of that software. And the definition of those needs is based on the specification of requirements. And they understood that specifying requirements is not an easy task. So they created this discipline called requirements engineering and requirements engineering had some processes as well and some default techniques you can use to elicit requirements, to analyze requirements, to specify requirements to validate, manage requirements.

But as you can see, the need of understanding and looking for business has become so much greater than looking for how we develop software that. It ask it for a new discipline.

That's how business analysis was born. And that's the way that business analysis is evolving, trying to bring better business outcomes, trying to understand all stakeholders connected to those business and what do they value and how can we give them the best value that they're looking for.

[00:10:24] Nick de Voil: Some people will tell you that business analysis is a new profession that's only emerged in this century. That's not quite the case. I was certainly working with people called business analysts back in the 1980s, and at that time we also had people called systems analysts.

Again, people might tell you these days that a systems analyst is someone who concerns themselves with the technical details of an IT system, but that wasn't necessarily the case back then. A systems analyst was someone who concerned themselves with systems in the broadest sense, but gradually the term business analyst became more and more widely used for those people, and it was given a massive boost in the by two things, really the establishment of the IIBA and the creation of BA BOK, the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge and the Creation in the UK of the BCS Certifications in Business

Analysis. And I think those two things together have brought about a real consensus on what the business analysis profession is.

[00:11:35] Angela Wick: In the early two thousands,

I I B A of course came on the scene, the Agile manifesto came on the scene. I really think it's those early two thousands where we just really seriously start to go, whoa, this is way bigger than a systems' analyst or someone analyzing one system. So the complexity keeps snowballing, right? And that just keeps happening more and more. And that's where this field is so amazing and so complex and continues to change, is that no longer can we look at it as I'm

analyzing a single system or a system integrating with this system.

There's just so much to analyze and that's where nobody today can be a subject matter expert and a business analyst, right? That would be a very difficult role to be in because nobody knows all the information. In the seventies, if you were supporting one system and one user group, you could know it all.

You can't though. Today when we're talking business model changes and constant integrations and automatic updates, artificial intelligence, robotics, and all the capabilities of today. It just makes the idea that we need to have these elicitation and analysis techniques and this problem solving decision making mindset and the user mindset so much more important than it has ever been.

Should BA's be technical or non-technical?

[00:12:53] Paddy Dhanda: As Angela mentioned, we currently live in a technology led world. Things are moving at such a rapid pace and I can understand having someone on the team such as a business analyst who keeps up to date on new developments. To ensure that we've considered their impacts to inform our decision-making. So does that mean all BA's have to geek out on techie stuff and how important is it? That we build technical skills.

[00:13:23] Linda Parker: Personally, I don't believe it matters whether you are technical or non-technical, or indeed, whether you are a business expert in a particular field. What drives your ability to be a great BA are the skills that mean people want to engage with you.

Once again, it's back to your emotional intelligence or your abilities to empathize and build rapport. In essence, do you know how to talk to people, ask questions, and create and hold a space? Enabling people to feel comfortable enough to share information with you?

[00:14:03] Bronia Anderson-Kelly:

So I would say problem solving and communication skills and being organized are probably key things.

And being able to kind of step back from the picture and really see things, see the context that we think, we call it helicopter view, to be able to see things from above. Being adaptable is really important. And it is useful to have domain knowledge and it, that doesn't mean the specific exact technology or the specific industry that you're in, but understanding the concepts of business and technology I think they're really key.

This is a really interesting question because I think that the BA role is so broad, as I said before, that it can suit technical, non-technical people. It can suit people that are very analysis oriented. That are very creative. It can suit people that like detail, that don't like detail. It's so broad.

Angela:

 I mean, I came into the role as no technical skills whatsoever. Like this might age me, but I really struggled to even save something on a floppy disk when I started out in business analysis.

At the same time, what I was told when I joined the team was I asked such great questions that they loved that I didn't have all that technical knowledge, but as I grew in my career and I started learning the technical things, I also saw how that helped me. I learned ask SQL L really fast. I learned about technical architectures really fast and how code is structured and the whole software development life cycle.

Those things absolutely have helped me in my career as well. So I think it's a balance, but I don't think you need one or the other to get started. I think both and the balance of both help you succeed in the field.

You do need to be happy working with people and communicating with people, and you generally need to have a good grasp of detail. But apart from that, I don't think there's such a thing as an BA and it would be a bit sad if it was.

 The top three things that I personally look for and I think are invaluable.

If you're wanting to start out in the profession. One of those is curiosity. So the first C is curiosity. And I think having that curious mindset is really. Difficult to teach or to learn. I don't think, it's not really a learn behavior as such. I think it's something that you either have or you don't have.

And, you know, curiosity can be described in lots of different ways. It could be inquisitiveness, it could be nosy. But ultimately I think you know, curiosity is such an invaluable behavior that without it, it's very tough to excel in the world of business analysis.

The second C is, you know, having a collaborative nature. And I think, you know, being able to get on with people we're often, you know, working with lots of different people in, you know, in, in a time that can be quite scary for some, you know, we were changing stuff in an organization, so when you're working with stakeholders or users I think being able to get on with people is really important.

And I think also that's true as, you know, as you're working with more senior people in the organization too, being able to have that rapport and and find that common ground and network is key. And my third one is sometimes a controversial one and courage is. You know, really for me, what brings curiosity and collaboration together. Often as a business analyst, you have to be the one in the room who ask those DAF questions or that aren't really DAF questions, but can be perceived as DAF questions to bring it back something clearer and simpler.

Creativity actually, I think is really key. I don't actually think there's any one set of, you know, previous jobs and previous skills. You find bas have come from all sorts of different backgrounds. I remember once speaking to someone who wanted to be a BA and they were working in a ticket office at a train station at the time.

And you would think, well, what possible similarities are there with working at a ticket office? But they explained to me about how they'd worked on, what I would call process improvement opportunities, albeit at a local level. They had that improvement mindset. They talked about how they'd resolved different conflicts with customers.

So actually, I think it's very much about that curiosity, that analytical and analysis mindset and carrying those transferable skills forward. I don't think there's any single, like in inverted commas, best type of person for business analysis. In fact, I think one of the great things about the BA community is how diverse we really all are. And I think that diversity is something that is, is worth a huge amount to our community.

 I know excellent bas who have done all sorts of things, including being a town planner, a paramedic, and a PhD chemist.

We're starting to welcome new generation of bas through apprenticeships and other entry level roles who have only ever been a ba And I'm interested to see how that influences the profession going forward.

 I don't know that there is a type of person suitable for becoming a business analysis professional. I think everyone does business analysis, but those that do it professionally embrace a particular mindset. They question and analyze situations to understand and drive change.

It's about continually asking why as well, and why not to enable better business outcomes.

Role of the BA in Agile

[00:19:33] Paddy Dhanda: I remember working in an organization previously, and the leaders decided everyone who wasn't in a dedicated agile role would be rebranded as engineers including business analysts.

I've also heard people say there is no role for a business analyst in an agile team. So what's your thinking around this and that's to Jamie.

[00:19:58] Jamie Toyne: I'll start off by saying is that if I had a quid had won the British Pound for every time I'd heard that bas don't exist in Agile because they don't appear on the scrum list of roles, I'll probably be sitting somewhere much warmer than just outside Sheffield right now.

And I think just to quickly hone in onto the, that scrum list of roles that, particularly those quite new to Agile seem to focus and talk about a lot, is that actually many of the roles that exist in an agile multidisciplinary team aren't mentioned on that list. User researchers aren't called out.

Content designers aren't mentioned. Service designers, business architects, interaction designers, all those roles, which. Many of us work with day in, day out, don't exist according to Scrum. And of course those roles are hugely important to success of any digital delivery, any agile delivery in the same way that business analysts are.

[00:20:54] Bronia Anderson-Kelly: Yeah, so I think similar themes really to a ba in a non-ag agile world.

I think that the skills are transferrable between the different development environments. So things like ensuring and understanding business needs and the requirements they transfer across both. And you've got to bring them into play in a, in an agile world too. And things like supporting the solution design to make sure that they meet those needs.

But we just have to in an agile world, we just have to have an eye there on incremental delivery. And the continuous improvement aspect that you get within Agile I firmly believe that bas deliver their value within the framework of an org organization. No matter how that organization prefers to work and develop, you know, deliver their software.

[00:21:38] Adrian Reed: So BA's an agile, oh, am I gonna open that? Hornet's nest. Oh, go on then. I always remember a, a friend of mine and Paddy, I'm sure a friend of yours Paul Turner who's you know, always got insightful things to say. I remember him saying once, do you know what, you might not need a business analyst on an Agile project, but you do need business analysis.

And I'm firmly of the view that's true. I don't care what the person's job title is. You absolutely need business analysis. And if you think about you know, like. Scrum as an example, there ought to be some kind of product vision, right? So actually even before you've got to the point of saying, we're gonna do this in an agile way, someone's gotta have like understood the problems and opportunities.

That's strategic analysis, right? That is a form of business analysis. It's a form that pre-project or pre-product problem analysis is analysis that isn't always done very well, right? And you and I know this and that's a whole area where we can add value. It's like, well actually, you know, if we actually know where we are going, then maybe we'll get there a little bit quicker.

I remember someone saying, you know, requirements are not a documentation problem. They are a communication problem. And it's about creating shared understanding. And sometimes it's about challenging and making sure we go right back to that strategic view and say, okay, yeah, at this micro level does it connect up?

Are we in the right direction? Has something changed?

[00:23:12] Grant Wright: Fundamentally the BA role is still there to support and add value. Now, some may argue that's a product owner's role in Agile, I think. It, depending on your setup, BAS can step up into that product in the role. They can almost be part of a product team where they support the product owner and help refine and elaborate user stories to get them ready for sprints.

Bas can add value during the sprints to clarify acceptance criteria in a three amigos conversation with the Devon test teams, and they can help with that kind of transition of the ready stories into the business by explaining what functionality has been drip fed through to help with business readiness and acceptance.

[00:23:56] Christina Lovelock: One of the principles of the Agile manifesto states that the best architectures, requirements and designs emerge from self organizing teams. There's so much emphasis placed on the last part of that principle, the concept of self organizing teams that a lot of organizations have forgotten that they be, should be striving for the best architectures, requirements and designs to inform those teams.

User stories are not really analysis, and if that's all that bas are being asked to do on a project, that's a fraction of what they're capable of and it's unlikely that those teams are achieving the best results.

[00:24:30] Jared Gorai: Organizations are now bringing back the business analysis skillset cuz they understand that business analysis must happen on a project and that the title of the practitioner doesn't really matter.

Many business analysis professionals have become product owners where they take on a leadership role within an agile team, while other teams have found the need to add business analysis professionals to their project teams. Success begins with business analysis.

Steps to how you can become a BA

[00:24:54] Paddy Dhanda: Thank you experts. I'm glad we cleared that one up and I hope we've closed that question once and for all. And if you have anyone in your organization telling you otherwise, then please send them a polite email, informing them. They may want to reconsider their thinking. And share this episode. Now, if you've enjoyed what you've heard so far about the role and feel you'd like to make the move to becoming a business analyst then where should you start? So experts. What two or three steps can someone take to starting a career in business analysis?

[00:25:32] Fabrício Laguna: If you are interested in becoming a ba, I invite you to join the business analysis community. There are a lot of people talking about business analysis, sharing their experience, showing how they are doing business analysis, teaching how to do business analysis using different techniques and concepts.

 Go for conference. Try to see everything you can find. There's a lot of good podcasts, YouTube channels and courses online. There's a lot of good content around you can find the best thing for you, but try to be close to this community. Try to share their mindset and make that mindset part of you.

[00:26:19] Jared Gorai: as Director of Chapters and Member Engagement IIBA, I think one of the first steps would be to join IIBA and your local chapter.

Download your copy of the BABOK Guide and learn the techniques and jargon contained within it. Then I'd suggest that you attend business analysis events and meet other practitioners. Foster the business analysis mindset and seek ways in which you can affect change. Be curious, ask questions and really jump into the profession with both feet.

Cuz if you don't immerse yourself in the profession, you'll miss out on much of what it has to offer.

[00:26:49] Jamie Toyne: I think my main bit of advice would be if you can try and find a structured way to learn and grow something that allows you to build your knowledge. Then supports you to find opportunities to test out your new knowledge, your new tools and techniques in applying it in a practical sense.

And alongside that, equally as importantly is it allows you to build your confidence. And for me, you know, skills are confidence and knowledge applied in a real world setting. So that's your, where is elevate something that's theoretical and gain that experience firsthand.

[00:27:22] Christina Lovelock: In every role there is the opportunity to apply business analysis skills, whether that's approaching a problem, logically seeking different viewpoints and perspectives, or improving processes.

Someone who wants to become a BA needs to look at some of the common criteria on BA job descriptions and see how they can find ways to demonstrate and gain those skills and experience from the job that they're currently doing. I've seen teaching assistance and window cleaners move into a business analyst role by demonstrating a curious and analytical mindset.

And I personally gained so many of my skills relevant to business analysis when I was stacking shelves in st including customer relationships and looking for business efficiencies.

[00:28:03] Adrian Reed: You've got the bcs, the Chartered Institute for It, which has a, although that's IT based, and business analysis is broader, of course but it has a broad business analysis diploma program. Engage with the meetups and the many good online communities that are out there. Such as you know, you are listening to this this podcast now you might want to look at websites like BA times. I, you know, I'm biased in saying this, but Ba Digest as well, the quarterly free magazine is a good thing to look into, connect with others.

[00:28:34] Linda Parker: If you are a new to being a ba, I think it's useful to follow a BA pathway and for organizations to set one up so their bas know how the role might progress from trainee or junior all the way to senior ba.

A pathway provides a framework for BAS to follow, focusing their learning so there is an understanding of what skills should be known at what stage in their career. The key thing is to have a route to follow, but also don't allow it to constrain your training as a BA with so much learning available.

What training courses would you recommend?

[00:29:11] Paddy Dhanda: Some fantastic advice from our experts there and I absolutely agree with everything they've shared. There's just something really special about the BA community. There's a real sense of wanting to help each other. We can see this firsthand, even on this episode where every one of our experts has been so forthcoming in sharing their top tips. Now the BA role requires us to develop a whole host of new skills. And apply a bunch of different analysis techniques. So, where do you start when considering business analysis training? Over to you, Sam, let's hear some of your thinking on this.

[00:29:53] Sam Merrick: My mind is completely clear on this question, so I think there's two pathways that you should be looking at.

There's the IIBA E C B A, the entry certificate for business analysis course pathway. I mean, courses are about the BABOK and trying to understand the kind of conceptual view of what business analysis is and how that hangs together from the IIBA's point of view. That's really good cause there's a bunch of techniques, different knowledge areas to consider.

Lots of different tasks you may or may not do as a BA in different contexts. So that's a great way if you like, reading and building a kind of conceptual model in your mind. If you're looking for something a bit more accessible, then I would say take a look at the BCS courses. You know, provides a process for business analysis, which I think is, you know, really easy to digest and a good set of techniques in order to get you going.

So yeah, look at both of those things. I think it depends on the kind of learner you are, kind of mind that you've got, whether you're more logical or more more kind of flexible. So yeah, take a look at those. I think that's the best way.

[00:30:54] Christina Lovelock:

I'm a big advocate for professional certification, for business analysis, and in fact, all roles in tech and digital. In my experience, professional qualifications improve the confidence and competence of business analysts, and they improve the consistency of business analysis across an organization.

So I think it's so valuable. I also have to do a plug here for the level four apprenticeship standard in business analysis, which is a great route for people to be really well supported, to become a ba and there is no age limit on apprenticeships. Anyone can do one, and there's also funding available in the UK for employers to support this.

[00:31:29] Fabrício Laguna: If you are looking for a content in business analysis, I invite you to subscribe to the Brazilian BA YouTube channel. There is a lot of good videos, small videos with concepts related to business analysis there, and also some good interviews with business analysis experts from all around the world.

[00:31:51] Angela Wick: I would recommend for someone starting out the LinkedIn Microsoft certification to start, and that's a LinkedIn learning Microsoft collaboration. You can find it on opportunity.linkedin.com. It's a free learning path to start that journey. I would also recommend BACubed.com. I am the host of BACubed.com where our motto is we empower the best and modern business analysis of tomorrow and help bas thrive.

So if you're new to business analysis, it's a great place to learn more from others, from experts. It's on demand courses, it's live events, it's cohort learning, there's templates, everything you would need to really thrive in a thriving community to get support from as well.

[00:32:35] Grant Wright: So I'm a little torn on this one because I don't have any formal BA qualifications. I haven't done my BCS exams. I haven't done my IIBA exams and it's never really helped me back in being able to get work in the BA space.

But I guess what I did have was I had some formal training early on in use cases in U M L that gave me a good foundation. And I've always just researched and read up myself about different BA techniques. But I do absolutely recognize that, you know, that some bas really benefit from the more structured learning that some of those courses offer.

I was working on an interim basis one of my clients heading up their BA function, and we actively encouraged the BAS at that organization to take their BCS diplomas in business analysis. And the people that did those exams, you know, they really got value from them. Likewise, I know a few people who've done their C B A P through the I B A and again, that they've found that really valuable.

So I think there is value in doing those courses. But I personally have managed fine without them. What I have done is I've invested in training that I think allows me to grow above and beyond the basics of business analysis. So I did do some product ownership training, some user experience design training.

I've done a lot of work in the last few years on visual thinking as a skill that I think can really amplify and enhance the BA skillset. So I'd recommend also looking at those kind of those kind of softer supporting skills as well as just the core ba kind of, discipline and the courses that go with that.

Favourite BA Techniques

[00:34:44] Paddy Dhanda: Thanks Grant. Now something that BAS love to talk about is techniques. So I'm keen to hear from our experts, what some of their favorite. Business analysis techniques are. Bronia what have you got for us?

[00:34:58] Bronia Anderson-Kelly: A lot of people hate rich pictures. I suppose with your visual thinking skills though, Paddy, I'm sure you'll probably be aligned more with me because I love them.

I understand why people don't like them because they're not formal. They've got virtually no rules to help you produce them. And to a BA professional they can be seen as a bit juvenile, but I think they're really powerful. As an example many years ago I worked on a listing requirements to improve a payments process I could process in.

I met with the stakeholders, but then I produced a rich picture afterwards to explain all the complex things that happened kind of in their process. Sort of like a fun flow diagram. And guess what? I got confirmation back from them within minutes to confirm that it was correct. Why? Because they're engaging and because they're easy to interpret.

[00:35:52] Sam Merrick: So Rich Pitch is absolutely, is one of my favorites. But then the other favorite that I've got weirdly is data flow diagrams.

I think that's because for me, processes. And if we're making a change that's significant enough to affect the operating model, you're gonna start looking at process. And the data flow diagram is very much a process model. So you draw out your processes, but you consider the data flow and the data storage within that.

And I think that allows us to be able to think a bit more about what the requirements are of the information that's within that system. And broadly speaking, we bas are involved in information systems projects. So for me, yeah, data flow diagrams helps to kind of logically think about information and process together as well as people who are obviously, you know, making, you know, a lot of cases, making the information, man managing the information and the technology as well.

[00:36:43] Grant Wright: So I highly recommend learning about visual thinking and how to apply visual thinking to express yourself using rich pictures. And the other one was story mapping. If you're working in an agile way, and for me, even if you're not working in an agile way, I just like the way that story mapping allows you to externalize your thoughts, again, in quite a visual way.

And you can use online tools as well as physical post-it notes to make sense of the scope of something, and choose. Which high level activities you want to expand upon and when. So that allows you to then start thinking about planning in a more agile way. I just think it's such a powerful technique and I'd highly recommend people having a look at Jeff Patton's book and user story mapping if they wanna find out more about that.

[00:37:34] Angela Wick: Only one or two techniques, that's just not fair. There's so many more goodness. I would've to say, okay, I'm gonna name 3. They're all visual models. I swear I use them nonstop with clients and projects. And it always creates light bulb moments for everybody. Number one, a scope or context diagram.

Make it from a user perspective. Number two, a state diagram or state transition diagram. Number three, decision tables. Those are my three favorite visual models to really get at so many details that go unstated finds so many requirements that folks are just not thinking about and really gets the right conversations going.

[00:38:14] Linda Parker: I'm old school, so I still love a process model. If I'm stuck, I'll sketch one out or search for an existing process. This helps me understand the business area I'm trying to deal with. It may not be very detailed at the start, but it helps to focus my mind and is a good way of introducing myself to the business area.

[00:38:36] Fabrício Laguna: Concept modeling is a technique where you can define a business vocabulary using a diagram that connects nouns through verbs.

So you may have two nouns connected by a verb, and that defines an expression that you can use in your process development, in your requirements, specifications in your business rules, specifications, or even just to talk about your business. And besides the diagram, you also have a glossary where you define the meaning or the definition of every long term.

So concept models can help your organization to have a well structured and clear vocabulary to talk about business.

[00:39:25] Nick de Voil: The thing that I absolutely love is workshops. I love doing workshops. So when I'm working as a consultant with customers I try to have a workshop as early as possible in the process. Get as many stakeholders as possible together in one room and start working things through together.

And the level of energy that you can get going in a workshop is such fun. It really is. It's like the air that I breathe when I'm doing a project that the energy that you get in workshops, there's lots and lots of other techniques I suppose, you know, some of the more technical detailed techniques.

I suppose the one that I've used more than anything else over the years is data modeling. And it sounds like rather an arcane idea. Data modeling sounds rather technical, but the great thing about it is you can apply it at many different levels. So yes, you can create a data model to describe a database that needs to be built, but you can also create a data model using the same ideas to explore what are the information needs of people in the organization and what are the things in their business, in their world, if you like that are important to them.

[00:40:46] Jared Gorai: Describe one or two of my favorite techniques. The guide has 50 techniques in it, and I remember being in a conference a number of years ago and they were the speaker was saying that, you know, of the 50 techniques, the typical business analysis professional uses maybe eight or nine of them and then challenged us to increase that.

Grab one more technique that you've never used before. So of the 50 techniques I do have a couple of favorites. Brainstorming is one of them. I love getting into a group of individuals and we would talk about, you know, here's the problem, how can we solve it? And just throw out ideas.

There are some amazing stories. I remember hearing one story in, well, the northeast part of the United States, where they were having problems with ice accumulating on transmission wires. And what they did is they had a brainstorming session for like, how do we get this ice off?

And at one point someone said, well, hold on a second. What if we got bears to climb the poles and, you know, the action of them climbing the poles, they would knock the ice off the lines. Well, believe it or not, that brainstorming actually worked because the way it worked is, well, okay, but how do you get the honey on top of the poles?

So the bear wants to climb it. I'll use a helicopter to, to put these pots of honey on the poles. Well, they soon found out that the rotors of the helicopter would actually come shake the ice off the lines. So it's one of my favorite stories and obviously one of my favorite techniques as well.

[00:42:17] Christina Lovelock: So I have been known to create a force field analysis or a decision tree to help me with a decision I'm trying to make.

A force field analysis allows you to think about and visualize the opposing forces acting on a decision or a change, and you can quantify the different forces and think about how different aspects can be addressed or overcome.

[00:42:35] Jamie Toyne: Capability mapping. So, you know, dare say venting more into the world of business architecture in some ways.

But understanding how an organization is made up, the, you know, the capabilities, the components of what an organization does is something I just find really, you know, essential to do when I'm working with any new organization. Whether that be for the first time, one I'm coming back to and I'm less familiar with it.

So I think that's such an important technique to able to, I think it's one which can be helpful, particularly as you grow in the career business analysis and start working maybe more in strategic sphere. It's hugely helpful.

[00:43:12] Vincent Mirabelli: Okay, so this is one I always answer whenever I see these polls what's your favorite BA technique?

My answer is always coffee. And everyone goes, ha. Because, you know, maybe they think it's because of the caffeine or whatever. No, coffee is a great way to get to know your stakeholders, get to know their needs, get to know what their stakeholder requirements are, not just what the business requirements are to help get to know them as an individual, which then helps to build trust and buy in from your stakeholders.

So coffee is a great technique. If you want something, you know, more formal, I'm a big fan of those enterprise techniques. So SWOT is a great. Technique for understanding the strengths and weaknesses and opportunities and threats of any given option or solution. I'm a big fan of PESTLE, which is very broad in the enterprise or strategy analysis space.

So pests a great tool for understanding, you know, the lay of the land from political and economic and legal and technological, and I'm gonna run through the whole acronym, but, you know, it's a great way to understand what's going on in the market and what's going on out in the world.

So, those are my favorite too. But number one is always coffee.

[00:44:32] Paddy Dhanda: Okay, so you've heard it here. If you want to be an awesome BA then you have to fall in love with coffee. Let's now look at the future with all of the advances in AI it's probably left many of us are a little uncertain about the future of work. And what all of this means specifically for the BA role. Linda. Can you tell us more?

Future of the BA role

[00:44:57] Linda Parker: I think the need and importance of the BA role is stronger than ever. Currently, there is a mix of organizations working in different ways, some more traditional approaches like Waterfall and some more agile techniques. These organizations really need bas, and as a contractor, I see firsthand the drive for more business analysis.

However, this ever increasing demand is outstripping availability, and so the market is in danger of being flooded with under-skilled bas. If you are a ba, be a skilled ba. Embrace learning and not just traditional business analysis ideas and techniques. Work with and learn from your closest allies like UXs, product owners, content writers.

Anyone that is really close or on the fringes of what we do similarly, develop your people and communication skills. You will then be worth your weight in gold. Additionally, keep in mind future technologies and ensure you remain current. Do not shy away from topics like cybersecurity, analytics or AI to name just a few.

Just because they seem more technical or edgy. These areas will still need requirements. There will still be users who the organization needs to understand.

[00:46:26] Fabrício Laguna: I see the role of the business analyst is growing far more away from the original. It. Perspective or software projects where it was first born.

I see business analysis being using for very different kind of professionals. Recently, I B A just closed the a partnership with human Resource Association explaining how human resources analysts can use business analysis, or in other words, how can they also be business analysts trying to understand the needs of an organization in the aspect of a human resources and defining solution for those needs.

A solution in a human resource perspective could be a training or hiring a new employee or defining a career path. You can have different kinds of solution, but what we are doing when we are analyzing these kind of needs is business analysis. So business analysis as a role is becoming more and more useful for different kinds of professionals.

That's why I argue that we should look for business analysis more. As a mindset than a role.

[00:47:51] Vincent Mirabelli: I always credit Jared Garry from IIBA he's got this great line around, you know, we're not business analysts, we're business analysis professionals and everybody, when you're in business, you are a business analyst or you are a business analysis professional. So I don't think that part of it is going away.

What I think is really interesting I for bas as we, you know, navigate towards the future is, you know, how are we going to adjust to things like chat, G P T? And if you haven't played with that yet it's a fantastic. AI tool how are we going to benefit from it? Let's not be afraid of it, but how are we gonna benefit from it?

Can we use it or can we leverage AI and bots to do a lot of the mundane work? Now that being said, now that I'm saying this, what does mundane mean? So I think of someone like, you know, Jamie Champaign who seems to, and I don't know how love writing, validating and building traceability into h