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Hi,
I am currently working as a BA.
I am wanting to set some career goals but have no idea how to go about it.
What are the question should I be asking myself in order to set these goals for the next 12 months or 3 years?
thank you.
Theres |
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| Re: Career goals for a BA |
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Hi Theres,
I'll have a go since Adrian hasn't jumped in yet.
Personally I think there are several streams to being a BA:
1. Technical BA - this is someone who works with the business to elicit requirements then models them with a view to getting business signoff and passing the model to development for their design and build. Many approaches available for this. UML / use cases, Data flow diagrams, etc. Wherever you are in the world you may have a different name for this. Technical BA is the term in Australia. I've also seen Business Systems Analyst mean roughly the same thing.
2. Business BA - generally someone with in depth business knowledge about a particular vertical market e.g. insurance, banking governance, etc. They tend to write product documents e.g. insurance product description document (like a fire policy coverage). There is probably an extra stage between their output and the developers. Maybe a technical BA.
3. Business Process Analyst - elicits and models business processes both at macro and micro company levels. Many approaches for this including UML's activity diagram, IDEFO, and others. Craig mentioned Six Sigma in another forum so perhaps that one too.
Now of course the boundaries in all this are blurred. I personally am a technical BA and a Business Process Analyst. Pure Business BA's may also be able to do the technical side but I find that is a bit rare.
In terms of career, if you are a developer then I guess logically you'd move into the technical BA stream.
Then there are:
1. Generalist BA's - someone with no special industry or package knowledge
2. Industry specialists - someone with deep knowledge in one area - e.g. trading systems, electricity companies
3. Package specialists - someone with deep knowledge of one package - e.g. SAP HR, Oracle financials
So there are many ways to go in your career Theres. Often it is circumstances that dictate your direction e.g. if you work at a company that gets oracle financials you'll naturally become good at that. If you move jobs or are an independent contractor you should at least have a vague idea of where you want to go and look for companies that continue your career path. Asks lots of questions at the interview to make sure its the correct fit.
In case you're interested, I'm a generalist technical BA. My main selling points (i.e. career points) are wide experience of multiple industries (24 years), UML / use cases and business process mapping. BPM is my favourite at the moment.
Kimbo |
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| Re: Career goals for a BA |
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Hi Theres,
I agree with Kimbo. She identified two dimensions:
- Business Analyst Role: Technical BA (aka. IT Business Analyst), Business BA, Business Process Analyst, etc.
- Type of Specialization: General BA, Industry Specialist, Package Specialist
I would add a third dimension: Professional Level
- Junior Business Analyst - entry level with not much experience
- Mid-level Business Analyst - can do most work without supervision
- Senior Business Analyst - does not require supervision, can manage analysis projects on their own and can coach others
- Lead Business Analyst - seasoned business analyst who can not only coach others but who can manage and lead a small team
- Business Analysis Manager - probably someone with 10+ years of business analysis experience who can not only manage and lead but can also build up an entire team through coaching, mentoring, training, etc. Well versed in a variety of business analysis methodologies, artifacts, tools and techniques.
- Business Analysis Director/Practice Leader - this is the person in charge of all business analysis related activities for a given organization. This is the guy or gal who has it all: in-depth knowledge, experience, and abilities in business analysis; managerial and leadership skills; vision; stewardship; etc.
- Business Analysis Consultant - I see this being more of the independent consultant who is looking for flexibility and who doesn't mind jumping from project to project and traveling a lot. From a competency level, this can be any of level starting with Sr. Business Analyst and up. The consultant may be involved in a variety of tasks depending on need and knowledge such as: performing actual business analysis, training and coaching in-house business analysts, helping organizations establish standard business analysis processes and procedures, working to create a new team (interviewing/hiring/etc.).
So to start, ask yourself questions related to these three dimensions such as:
- What Business Analysis Role do I want to be in? What skills, books, and courses should I focus on to get there?
- Do I want to be a Generalist or focus on a particular application or vertical industry? If you have an interest in a particular industry (e.g. banking) find out the professional associates, magazines, sites, etc. related to banking and learn as much as you can. Of course, get a job as a business analyst in that industry, if possible.
- What professional level do you want to attain in 12, 24, 60 months, etc.? What specific skills and competencies do you need to acquire in order to attain those goals? For example: if you want to become a Business Analysis Manager, do you need to work on your leadership skills, what about your managing skills?
Hope this gives you some more food for thought!
- Adrian
Adrian Marchis
Business Analyst Community Blog - Post your thoughts! |
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| Re: Career goals for a BA |
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| adrian wrote
Hi Theres,
I agree with Kimbo. She identified two dimensions:
- Business Analyst Role: Technical BA (aka. IT Business Analyst), Business BA, Business Process Analyst, etc.
- Type of Specialization: General BA, Industry Specialist, Package Specialist
I would add a third dimension: Professional Level
- Junior Business Analyst - entry level with not much experience
- Mid-level Business Analyst - can do most work without supervision
- Senior Business Analyst - does not require supervision, can manage analysis projects on their own and can coach others
- Lead Business Analyst - seasoned business analyst who can not only coach others but who can manage and lead a small team
- Business Analysis Manager - probably someone with 10+ years of business analysis experience who can not only manage and lead but can also build up an entire team through coaching, mentoring, training, etc. Well versed in a variety of business analysis methodologies, artifacts, tools and techniques.
- Business Analysis Director/Practice Leader - this is the person in charge of all business analysis related activities for a given organization. This is the guy or gal who has it all: in-depth knowledge, experience, and abilities in business analysis; managerial and leadership skills; vision; stewardship; etc.
- Business Analysis Consultant - I see this being more of the independent consultant who is looking for flexibility and who doesn't mind jumping from project to project and traveling a lot. From a competency level, this can be any of level starting with Sr. Business Analyst and up. The consultant may be involved in a variety of tasks depending on need and knowledge such as: performing actual business analysis, training and coaching in-house business analysts, helping organizations establish standard business analysis processes and procedures, working to create a new team (interviewing/hiring/etc.).
So to start, ask yourself questions related to these three dimensions such as:
- What Business Analysis Role do I want to be in? What skills, books, and courses should I focus on to get there?
- Do I want to be a Generalist or focus on a particular application or vertical industry? If you have an interest in a particular industry (e.g. banking) find out the professional associates, magazines, sites, etc. related to banking and learn as much as you can. Of course, get a job as a business analyst in that industry, if possible.
- What professional level do you want to attain in 12, 24, 60 months, etc.? What specific skills and competencies do you need to acquire in order to attain those goals? For example: if you want to become a Business Analysis Manager, do you need to work on your leadership skills, what about your managing skills?
Hope this gives you some more food for thought!
- Adrian
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Dear friends
Thank very much for sharing. I like Career goals for a BA very much.
Very useful for me.
Apart from that, you also can ref more resource at: Career goals
Rgs |
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| Re: Career goals for a BA |
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Hi
BA is a good career path for many senior positions, including product management, product strategy, product marketing, or even corporate strategy.
Mostly, product manager positions require BA experience. So if you have interest in research market and competition and technology trends, PM is a good choice for you. Otherwise, product marketing is also good.
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