I am not sure if there are many other fields in corporate America that require the finesse necessary to execute the professional pushback as greatly as business analysis. Just by the shear nature of what analysts do, we are constantly uncovering inefficiencies and making recommendations for improvements or enhancements. Sometimes those recommendations are system-focused but they can also be people and process focused.
I have to admit, I was not skilled at this art early in my career to my own detriment. It took me a while to figure out that being “smart” was not the only requirement necessary to be successful in my chosen field. Being able to professionally provide the facts about a specific problem / opportunity that may a) uncover harsh realities in the organization b) pull back the political hierarchy impeding progress on something or c) just be plain unpopular – is truly an art.
There are many skills you can focus on to enhance your repertoire in this area: professionalism, focusing on the facts, ignoring the politics, and providing a balanced view. The earlier in your career that you can master these skills, the more successful you will be in your business analyst career.
Professionalism
So, how do you improve or practice the art of professional pushback?
The answer starts with the keyword: Professional.
Regardless of how people may behave in your organization, it is imperative that you remain professional at all times. I have fallen down here once or twice as well and learned valuable lessons from it. The most important thing to realize is nothing is that important.
I think at times, we as BA’s tend to get into a “sky is falling mode” because a requirement was missed, or a process is all wrong, or vendor relationship is difficult to manage. The reality is information technology projects are all about change and managing it properly is the mark of good BA. It is very easy when we get into these difficult predicaments to lose perspective and have passionate reactions. It is important to remain calm, cool, and collected to continue to build credibility with your project teams and business customers. This is the mark of a true leader.
Focus on the Facts
Without stating the obvious, BA’s are very analytic and we can be somewhat esoteric, at times, when what we really need to do is focus on the facts. We will sometimes have to present unpopular information but if we can focus on the facts and let the “powers that be” make the decisions, we will alleviate a lot of the stress and pressure we put on ourselves.
The challenge after the facts are presented is to be at peace with whatever decisions are made (unless you know that the world as we know it will never be the same until “they just get it” – which I will write about another time under the title of “How to sing the same song different ways”). This is an important point because as analysts’ opportunities and / or problems and ways to solve them may be so obvious to us (likely because we have been analyzing it while we take a shower, drive to work, drive home, etc.) but it is not always so obvious to others. Many times it is to our advantage to provide back up data to support our recommendations. I have found numerous times over my career that although the answer seems so obvious, I get more traction if I have the facts to back it up.
Ignore the Politics
To the degree that you possibly can, ignore the politics…
You don’t want to get sucked into the endless and negative hole that is corporate politics. You have an advantage in this arena because you can use the “I’m only an analyst” card to your advantage. Basically, that means you don’t have anything to win or lose based on the information you are presenting. Analysts in fact are in a unique position because we can provide data / facts from a neutral position.
An example would be, you are reviewing the current state process flow for a project you are on, and you uncover several inefficiencies in how the process is being done. Based on the above recommendations, you put together a professional presentation, pulled together the appropriate stakeholders, and present the facts. The decision makers then have a decision to make – to do something about it or not, but you have done your job and done it quite well.
Provide Balanced Views
It is very easy in corporate America to align yourself with the most vocal of customers, and to propagate their agenda.
These are the customers that say, “I need a website”. Yes, but what are your business requirements. “I just need a website to do x,y,z.” This is a classic example of where the professional pushback is not just necessary, it’s mandatory. If you find yourself in this situation (as many of us do), gently pushback and say, “It is really important I understand the business problem you are trying to solve, so I can help you think through the best possible solution”.
Once you have uncovered the true business problem, then you should make recommendations that are well balanced to your business partner. For example, we could create a website and it will cost this much, and take this long to develop, or we could just add a new report which will cost this much and take this long to develop. It’s providing that balanced view, giving stakeholders the facts, and then letting them make the best decision based on all the information provided.
If you have already mastered some of these skills then you are likely already experiencing great success in the business analysis field. If some of these situations feel familiar but you haven’t figured out the best approach to addressing them, I hope this provides some guidance. And if you are brand new to the field of business analysis, this should give you great insight on this profession and what you will likely face in the years ahead – hopefully this information equips you to face those challenges.
Author: Kimberly Terribile is a Manager of Business Analysis in the Clinical Trial Operations group within Development and Medical Informatics at Pfizer. She began her career with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young in 2000 and spent 5 years working on a wide variety of large scale software implementations across telecommunications, government, and health care insurance. In 2005, she went to ESPN where she became the Manager of the Business Analysis group. Subsequently, she accepted a position to teach business analysis with a niche training vendor. She also did curriculum development as the Director of Product Development.