ANSWER

This may seem like an odd question to ask an analyst, but the reality is that many positions will require some knowledge of technical concepts.  While they might not expect the business analyst to do programming, they may need them to understand programming principles.  Even if you don’t have programming experience, you can provide an answer which builds the interviewer’s confidence in your abilities.  Here is an example of each.

Yes.  Excluding the handful of procedural languages that I’ve used, I also have programming experience with object oriented languages such as Java and Objective C. This has lead to my understanding of related technical concepts such as:

• Object Oriented Analysis and Design
• Logical Data Modeling
• Class Inheritance
• Data Encapsulation
• Design Patterns (e.g., Model-View-Controller)
• Error Handling
• Relational Database Design
• Database Views, etc.

No. While I don’t have actual programming experience, I have taken the time to learn many of the technical concepts and principles that are related to programming such as:

• Object Oriented Analysis and Design
• Logical Data Modeling
• Class Inheritance
• Data Encapsulation
• Design Patterns (e.g., Model-View-Controller)
• Error Handling
• Relational Database Design
• Database Views, etc.

Notice that the answer is not that different.  Of course, you should never claim to have knowledge of a topic unless you can support the claim.  This underlines the need for analysts to constantly educate themselves and learn technical concepts and principles ahead of time.  Understanding this information can go a long way to improving your analysis skills.