How to Learn a New Domain as a Business Analyst?

When I commenced my career as a Business Analyst, I did not know this term and how this related to a Business Analyst. However, as you keep reading, you will find that this is not rocket science and it is a generic term that is applied in your day to day life. What is important though, is the tactics you can employ to learn different domains. 

What is a 'Domain'?

A domain refers to a specific industry (e.g.: Law, Manufacturing, Gaming and the list goes on). As you can clearly see by now, it is just another fancy word. 

When you are assigned a new project or when you acquire one, it is important for one to get up to speed with their business domain. 

Although the core principles of business analysis are common across all industries, as a BA you have to have an in-depth understanding of some facets in the domain of work you are assigned. Since as BA's we get to work with a diverse set of domains, more often than you may think, we need to be effective in embracing it. 

Why learn the project domain?

As business analysts, we should:

• Translate the business requirements into elicit requirements that are digestible by all stakeholders including the development team. 
• Suggest improvements and add value to the solution your client or you want to build. 
• Analyze situations to understand the logics better to streamline solutions

How to improve your domain knowledge? 

It is quite normal for one to feel a little uneasy at the start of a new project where they know very little about. Don't let this stop you. 

1. Identify your domain

This may not seem like a difficult task and it's not. However, this fact is stressed because it gets a little tricky. Since there could be several industries contributing to one of your projects. It is important you pay more attention to the core. 

Start with identifying what exactly your domain is. Also, there are some domains that have significant differences across different countries. For. e.g.: If your project is related to law, airlines, or logistics there are factors that are considerably different between countries. It is important you identify and educate yourself on the said distinctions. 

2. Do your research 

In my context, there are 2 different types of people in the world. Those who like to read and those who like to learn by watching videos. 

For those who love reading, a simple google search would do. Search for blogs and free books on the domain. 

Most importantly, make notes. It would be a good idea to have a dedicated space to make your new knowledge notes. Make sure this is easily accessible. Hence, more than writing this in a notebook, I have my own encyclopedia - 'Evernote'. My Evernote space has a neat section for all the new domain knowledge I gather. Everything here is easily searchable using hashtags. 

Set Research Objectives

Here are some objectives I set when I am researching a new domain:

• Identify and understand the user journey on that domain. 

For e.g. If it is an insurance domain, make sure you know how the customers obtain new insurance and make insurance claims. Try to know what their pain points are and what could be possibly improved. 

You can even make use of social media such as Reddit and Twitter to hunt down user frustrations. 

• Understand the commonly used buzzwords

Now here's the thing. It is fine for you to question your stakeholders if they speak in industry terms. However, for me personally, it comes in handy to perform the due diligence required. This saves time and also shows that you have had a deep interest in the domain. First impressions on your interest goes a long way! 

• Understand supporting documents for the project

Inspect any documents that your client would have sent you and understand them beforehand. Obviously, there could be things you cannot grasp. In this case, make it a point to have a separate document (a simple spreadsheet or even a piece of paper) to note down related questions to ask the stakeholders during your requirement elicitation workshops and to record their answers to the same. 

3. Ask people around you

There are always colleagues who could be familiar with the domain and they can impose some tacit knowledge on the subject matter upon you. 

It's also a good idea to talk and connect with business analysts, project managers or employees in that industry. This is one reason why professional networking sites such as LinkedIn exists. Be sure to make good use of them!