How to Be the Best Business Analyst (BA)

Let's look at some common definitions and resources that define a Business Analyst (BA). Then we'll cover roles, competencies and diversity that exists in the real world. Finally I'll put it all together to try to describe what makes the best BAs and how they add value to the Business they Analyze.

Definitions

What is a Business Analyst (BA)? Is it merely a scribe who does "little more than just documentation", per The Myth called 'BA'? Certainly not. That would be a Technical Writer or anyone in business tasked with simply documenting current procedures or future requests.

Is it obvious, someone who analyzes the business?

Perhaps, but that label could be an actuary, an underwriter or even someone who evaluates business IPOs.

Let's look at some popular definitions, and highlight key characteristics in bold.

• Wiki gives a general definition:

A business analyst is someone who analyzes an organization or business domain (real or hypothetical) and documents its business or processes or systems, assessing the business model or its integration with technology.

• The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), BABOK? Guide (version 2) described the BA role as:

"A liaison among stakeholders in order to understand the structure, policies, and operations of an organization, and to recommend solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals."

• More recently, version 3 revised the BA definition to this:

 "Business analysts are responsible for discovering, synthesizing, and analyzing information from a variety of sources within an enterprise, including tools, processes, documentation, and stakeholders... eliciting the actual needs of stakeholders—which frequently involves investigating and clarifying their expressed desires—to determine underlying issues and causes... aligning the designed and delivered solutions with the needs of stakeholders."

• Perhaps the best definition of a BA comes from Yaaqub Mohamed (Yamo) of TheBACoach:

“Having superior knowledge of the inner workings of the business (or a business unit), the value propositions (products & services) that are supported, along with how different components interact with one another to create positive outcomes for the business and its key stakeholders."

There are many more definitions out there. I'd offer some common conclusions are understanding the business needs, eliciting, analyzing, then questioning and documenting real requirements that add value...

Diversity

Now comes the hard part. How can one person be all these different descriptions or handle all the inherent diversity in business today? What is value to a business?

• CEB talks about the five BA specialist roles that have emerged to meet the increasingly diversified requirements of projects and delivery channels: Business Domain Specialist BA, Data Specialist BA, Anthropologist/Broker BA, Agile Specialist BA and BA/Project Manager Hybrid.

"The typical BA has proficiency in two specialist roles." - CEB

• IIBA outlines 6 Underlying Competencies. Plus, there are are seven knowledge areas of the BABOK? Guide - Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring, Elicitation and Collaboration, Requirements Life Cycle Management, Strategy Analysis, Requirements Analysis and Design Definition (RADD), and Solution Evaluation.
• Kupe Kupersmith describes The six key characteristics of a senior business analyst, which are Breadth and Depth of Knowledge and Experience, Project Types and Business Area Experience, Business Analysis Planning, Strategic Thinking, Advocate and Advisor and Ability to Learn a New Domain.

With all of this diversity, it seems a BA might want to focus on one of these specialist roles, some of these competencies, or do their best to handle all the characteristics.

Character Traits

I have focused more on the physical traits. I'd be remiss not to point out that they also have great character traits to go with these diverse skills...

What is Best?!

What is best - do it all adequately, or some of it really well? Do they need many of these aspects, for different times or projects? 

This brings me back to my main question, "What makes the best BA?" If you go by all the diversity, specialties, competencies and traits above, you'd better hire a specific BA for a specific need/project.

However, I'd argue that the best BA is someone who can jump in and figure out the business, its needs and add value, no matter what the project or need...

Good, Better, BEST!

How can such a BA be truly great? I like to simplify it with general descriptions.

• A good BA is curious and not afraid to ask questions. They should have some skill at documenting the answers to help define business requirements. However, they may not truly get at the heart of the real business needs or even understand the business. They need guidance from the business or a mentor and need to reference a lot of the information above.
• A better BA questions business wants and can translate them to deliverables. However, they may still miss the mark even though they are following best practices and getting it straight from the horse's mouth. Why? Sometimes the business doesn't know what they really need.
• The BEST BA is able to ask great questions up front, sometimes simply observing and listening, clarify with more questions, turn wants to real needs/requirements... and ultimately articulate and champion with all stakeholders - truly defining the business requirements and value.

Version 1, 2, 3

Another way to look at it is using levels or versions. I list the BA's background, typical deliverables and their impact on business.

BA 1.0: 

• Background: Never had the BA title and were thrown into documenting requirements. They "do what they are told."
• Deliverables: They simply list requirements they hear, or maybe make them up. They document as they go, with no clear structure. 
• Impact: The business gets some documents and calls them "requirements." Yet, stakeholders often feel or state at the end of projects that requirements were not met.

BA 2.0:

• Background: An experienced or even Certified BA Professional (CBAP) uses a set of commonly accepted BA practices. They know better than just to document what they are told. They dig in with curiosity and process.
• Deliverables: They use templates and maybe even tweak them, as needed. They are proficient at eliciting, analyzing and only then documenting.
• Impact: The business gets stated requirements. Projects move along sufficiently. Projects are usually considered a success.

BA 3.0:

• Background: A seasoned 2.0 BA, perhaps with specialized competencies. They can run with things to drive the project and deliverables. They find experts or become one.
• Deliverables: They get at the real requirements (not just those that are stated). They adapt deliverables to the real world. They often create their own documents, even when not asked.
• Impact: They truly show value propositions to a business. They practically run a project, working with all stakeholders and ensuring successful outcomes. They put it all together, making sure the end result is relevant to the needed requirements, not just the requested ones.

For another perspective, check out this post...

Conclusions

We looked at some common definitions... covered roles, competencies and diversity in today's world. You can either find a specialized BA and hope they can handle changing business needs. Or, you can look for the "best BA" - someone who "runs with it" to discover, document and add value to the Business they Analyze.

I'd put it all together and suggest:

Business Analysts adapt to find, champion and add business value - no matter what the project!

See the conversation “How to be the best BA...” in the IIBA group for a lively – or dare I say, effective - discussion!

#BusinessAnalysis #Requirements #BusinessAnalyst #Agile #IIBA #BA

Thoughts?

See my other popular BA articles, a podcast and presentation...