Why YOU need to own your VALUE as a business analyst!

One thing I feel is important is that as a business analyst you feel crystal clear on why you are doing this work and how it adds value to your organization. That may feel super obvious, but how often do you look for external validation of your value?

Because the reality is that it’s likely you are going to face some resistance. Perhaps a lot of it. The resistance will not only slow you down, but it can also cause you to doubt yourself and your abilities by throwing you off-center.

You need to be 100% sold on the value of business analysis practices so you can effectively sell others on the value as well, and persevere in the face of resistance.

I want you to feel so grounded and centered in the value of doing business analysis work that you palpably emanate confidence. I want you to feel like Kira. (You can read/watch Kira's full success story here.)

Before Kira went through our business analysis training program, she experienced a lot of self-doubt when it came to sending out requirements-related emails. She’d struggle with who all to copy on an email because she didn’t want to waste their time.

After getting clear on the value she was creating, she worried so much less about this detail, because she knew each email she was sending was important and moved the project forward. She knew she was making a difference.

And now she is excelling in her career and making a HUGE difference in multiple different ways.

You need to feel this way about each and every tool, technique, and document you put in front of your stakeholders. So when your stakeholders pressure you to just get the requirements done already (even though they aren’t aligned and there are gaps in everyone’s understanding), you are committed to getting everyone on the same page - in the most expedient way possible.

There are several ways that business analysts add value. And here are the primary ones that tend to really get attention:

• Reducing rework that result from unclear or missing requirements.
• Reducing communication issues, especially through diverse stakeholder groups.
• Finding more cost-effective solutions, particularly those that do not require a software component.
• Saving costs that would have been invested in external consulting.
• Discovering new business benefits.
• Prioritizing the highest value requirements so the most possible value is created.
• Stopping or modifying project that does not have a positive ROI.
• Helping the business leverage solutions.

Which of these value propositions resonate with you? What else would you add to this list? Do you clearly appreciate the ways your work adds value to you organization? Do you emanate the confidence knowing that these are the results you create?

For a deeper dive, check out this video/blog post looking at the ROI on Business Analysis.