Career as a Business Systems Analyst

In the July 07 newsletter of the International Legal Technology Association (ITLA) there is an article explaining the difference between the PM and BA role. It appears the ITLA is interested in improving clarity on the value of the BA.In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the important roles business analysts (BA...

Today the term Business Analyst is synonymous with a career in the IT industry but the most successful and valuable analysts are those who understand the 'business' rather than those who understand IT. So what exactly is a Business Analyst? What is the Business Analyst’s role? What is the best background for this job? What skill set is required? What type of person is the best fit? What training is required and available?

Each organisation seems to have its own ideas about the role, skills, responsibilities and expectations of the Business Analyst. Given the importance of the job, a common definition would assist both practitioners and employers. We explore some of the issues here.

Written by Derrick Brown, IRM's Director and instructional designer, it shares first hand observations and experience gained from training thousands of Business Analysts since 1980, first in the UK and since 1984 in Australia.

Author: Derrick Brown

People come to the job of Business Analyst in many different ways. Some people graduate from college and immediately start to work as a junior Analyst for a major corporation. Often a Business Analyst has some years of work experience in some related field before starting to work as an analyst.

You may choose to work for a company in the role of Business Analyst, or you may be a consultant and some of what you do is work as a Business Analyst.

Once you are working as a Business Analyst, what can you expect in terms of career growth?

Author: Geri Schneider Winters

Each year, organizations across the globe face astronomical project failure rates, often wasting millions of dollars per failed project. This paper examines the roots of project failure and centers in on the elusive, often undefined role of the business analyst. In response to research showing that many organizations have not set concrete requireme...

The talents, competencies and heroics of project managers and technologists alone cannot drive value into the organization. For business needs and goals to be converted into innovative solutions that truly bring wealth to the enterprise, a stronger bridge must be built between the business and the technical communities. Enter the business analyst. ...

This article provides a high level description of the job of the Business Analyst as well as summary answers on questions such as "Why you need a business analyst?", "What are the desired skills for a business analyst?", "How to find business analysts?", etc. Author: Katherine Walsh

As outsourcing, global commerce and constantly improving technology continue to change the business world, specialized professionals like scientists, engineers and information technology (IT) workers (including business systems analysts) are increasingly being asked to take on more business-oriented tasks. These tasks can include communicating...