Dan Corbett
THE CURRENT MARKET IS ONE WHERE THERE ARE A PLETHORA OF PROJECTS ACROSS MULTIPLE BUSINESS TRANSFORMATIONS, OPERATIONAL REVIEWS AND ERP IMPLEMENTATIONS. CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF ALL THESE BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY ALIGNED PROJECTS IS THE NEED FOR BUSINESS ANALYST WHO CAN GO ABOVE AND BEYOND. GONE ARE THE DAYS WHEN A BUSINESS ANALYST WOULD SIMPLY COME IN, GATHER, DOCUMENT AND ANALYSE BUSINESS NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS BEFORE PROVIDING A SOLUTION IN ORDER TO DEFINE OR MODIFY A BUSINESS IT SYSTEM.
Yes, a Business Analyst needs to be able to do that, but they need to be able to add so much more. Their commerciality and ability to understand not only what is needed, but why it is needed is key. It is the softer skills that will differentiate Business Analysts in the eyes of our Clients.
Given that, what do Project Resource Partners see as the three most important traits that a successful Business Analyst needs to be able to demonstrate?
Understand the Why?
The Business Analysts that we find to be the most successful are those who appreciate every role will be different. What is required in terms of the day to day responsibilities may be the same, but you need to understand why a business is modifying or implementing that new business or IT system. What are they trying to achieve? Why are they trying to achieve it? What happens if they don’t? It’s about more than asking your customer a question and writing down what is asked for. Understand the real requirement – your customer’s need.
Constant Communication
Businesses like people have a habit of changing their minds, so don’t set and forget. It is important that you or someone in your project are constantly talking to stakeholders to ensure that their needs have not changed, or even that the why has not changed. Equally it is essential that you ensure you have fully understood the requirements and the why. That means keep asking questions, and keep communicating with your customers, the stakeholders and the sponsors.
Simple Solutions
Once you understand the why, you’ve done the requirements gathering, analysed the needs and come up with a solution – make sure it is simple. In the background it may be highly complex, but your customer, stakeholder and sponsors need to be able to understand it and make sense of it. They want to know that it meets the why and delivers to the requirements. Can you communicate a complex solution to someone who doesn’t need to know all the detail, and ensure that it is credible and coherent?
Whilst there are many other skills and competencies that go in to making a great Business Analyst, we are finding that it is the people who can demonstrate the ability to ask why, constantly communicate and deliver simple solutions who are in the highest demand. These allow a Business Analyst to be more tailored in their approach and be a more value add proposition to a business or technology transformation.
If you are looking for your next move, if you would like more insight or if you're simply seeking advice as to what's happening in this space, please do reach out.
Dan Corbett
Consultant
Project Resource Partners
Level 29, 360 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 Australia
T +61 3 9949 8100 D +61 3 9949 8105
E dcorbett@projectresourcepartners.com.au