If you are reading this, it means you are here because something, somewhere got you interested in a BA career. Reading this article, you will get the gist of what it means and takes to be an IT Business Analyst.
Commencement of your career as a BA could be a smart move since the world is in need of BAs now more than ever. Especially with the prevailing remote working situation, organizations are looking for ways to digitalize their businesses, optimize their processes, and to continuously improve their critical business processes. In addition to this, I have come across plenty of entrepreneurial individuals who are keen to develop products that improve quality of life through software. In a nutshell, your job is to enable this in the right way.
What a BA does?
So, before we dive right in, let's look at a high-level summary of the typical work a BA performs. The BA,
- Bridges the gap between the stakeholders and the rest of the team
- Moves the client towards achieving their goals and objectives
- Elicit, research, analyze, validate requirements utilizing a plethora of tools and engaging techniques
- At times, act as a proxy product owner whenever the client-side Product Owner (The key stakeholder who has the vision to drive the project to achieve business goals) is not present
- Take real ownership of the project or product being built.
Some common misconceptions about a BA:
- Being a BA is easy!
- Business Analysis is the same as Business Development.
- BAs are needed only at the commencement of the project
- BAs only write requirements
Okay! So, are you interested?
You should be! Being a BA is one of the most rewarding jobs. I can tell you that much.
Why become a BA?
As a BA, you get to interact with a lot of different people - most often from various parts of the world. You get to brainstorm interesting ideas and see your efforts turning into real value - in terms of money, efficiency, people and the list goes on. It is fascinating to work with a team, be involved and face new interesting challenges. Be passionate about what you choose and your professional life will never be boring. Especially as a Business Analyst. 😉
The most important step - Confirm your career choice as a business analyst.
Starting your career as a BA:
Honestly, it is the will and the skill that is simply required to become a BA. With years of experience gained, you become better at it.
1. To kickstart, a relevant degree will be a nice to have but is again, not a must. Again, this degree need not always be a Business Management or an administration degree. If you have a degree in a different field of study, it is still completely fine. Having earned a degree is just one way to show your commitment and that you are capable of being a star.
2. To be a Business Analyst in the IT field, you need to have some knowledge of how software and related processes work. As a software engineering graduate myself, I have found this knowledge quite handy most of the time. As BA's we don't just write requirements and wash our hands off. We are very involved with the rest of the team. 😎
3. Do your homework
That is reading plenty of articles, blogs, following BA's on channels such as YouTube, reading the BABOK by IIBA.
So, if you are already at this stage, here are some things that may come in handy in your career as a starter. So I suggest you do your research on the below.
- SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)
- Waterfall Methodology - This is the traditional way of software development that works for projects where requirements are not bound to change (which in my opinion, is quite rare).
- Agile Methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, ScrumBan) - A lot of companies in the modern-day, practice agility. It is a rapidly changing world and with this, new demands, new areas of interest, new requirements are bound to come up at a very fast pace!
- What is a Minimum Viable Product?
- Role of a Product Owner
- Who is a Stakeholder?
- Business Analyst Glossary - Good to know some buzzwords so you wouldn't be startled when they are being used. 😆
- Techniques for Requirement Elicitation
- How to Prioritize requirements - because you are about to be bombarded with a LOT of ideas, requirements, budgetary and time constraints. Hence, it will not make sense to focus on everything at the same time.
- UML (Unified Modelling Language)
- How to depict business processes in a FlowChart
- Requirement Workshops
- SRS (System Requirement Specification) - commonly used in traditional software development.
Research on an industry that heavily relies on IT, and assign yourself the task of improving a business process, drawing a few flowcharts, or any other diagrams of interest you come across.
It is also not a bad idea to practice being your own BA. That is, if you have your own business idea, start laying out its requirements. Use your knowledge to analyze your own requirements and build your documentation. Do your research and layout your writings on some tool that someday you could potentially use to bring your idea to life!
Approach everything with a critical mindset. Read your outputs in the angle of a stakeholder. Get feedback from your friends or colleagues!
5. Optionally, you can take an entry-level certification course, but remember, this is NOT a must.
ECBA (Entry Certificate in Business Analysis)
This credential, offered by IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis), covers the foundational knowledge you need. All the information is available on the above link.
6. Find your Starter BA job!
There are numerous different portals to hunt for jobs, depending on where in the world you are based on! It's simple as doing a Google search to find them out.
Prepare a killer CV! Here is a sample CV format but feel free to get creative.
Write a good cover letter. Make sure you stand out. 💪
Apply for related jobs. A good idea could be to start off as a Junior Business Analyst. Good luck! 👊
Stay tuned for an article on - How to face your BA interview!
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