In the world of Business Analysis, where interpersonal skills, communication skills, and analytical acumen are celebrated, there exists a silent yet enormous barrier that often goes unnoticed—the barrier of “Fear.”  To ascend from being a proficient business analyst to a truly exceptional one, it is important to confront and conquer the Top 10 Fears...

In complex environments, cognitive load (relating to tax complexity and multiple inputs that affect decision-making) can significantly hamper the quality and efficiency of project choices. High-performance business analysts can play an integral and important role to avoid this issue by advocating for the adoption of a decision-making compass to deliver insight to stakeholders about how well their objectives may be satisfied by potential alternative courses of action. The next time you’re embarking on a high-stakes project, make sure you have a decision-making compass ready to use, even if only informally defined. While there is no guarantee that applying it to project choices will completely eliminate the risk of mistakes, it will no doubt help move things in the right direction and maximize performance.

As a seasoned application architect who once walked in the shoes of a business analyst, I understand the desire to embark on a career transition journey. Making the leap from analyzing business processes to designing intricate software systems may seem daunting, but I'm here to tell you that it's not only possible but also incredibly rewarding. Drawing from my own personal experience, I want to offer some advice and encouragement to fellow business analysts who aspire to become application architects.

As a member of a team of systems analysts, I recently embarked on a challenging project involving mortgage origination systems. Little did we know, this journey would be characterized by uncertainty at every turn. Assigned with deciphering complex requirements and translating them into a functional system, we found ourselves navigating unfamiliar territory with a mix of excitement and apprehension.