Who in your organization is a great BA?  What Business Analyst do you know who loves what they do and are amazing at it?  Who is your Super BA? In good spirit nominate your favorite BA by submitting entries to the BA Collective. To elect your candidate send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it in the subject line state ‘(candidate’s name) BA of the Year Nomination’. Also in the email state why you feel your candidate is an amazing BA and what attributes makes them the Business Analyst of the Year!  The BA Collective panel will evaluate nominees based on the quality of the information provided. There is no fee associated with nominating a candidate or in being honored as a recipient. The deadline for nominations is May 31st 2008.  The nominator of the selected Business Analyst of the Year 2007 will be given $50.00 gift certificate to Best Buy.  So nominate your Super BA today!

Remember Pavlov's experiments with dogs, demonstrating that they could be classically conditioned? With no negative undertone intended, this classical conditioning can provide a very positive effect to readers when used throughout documentation. What I mean by this is, classical conditioning by way of consistency, so the reader understands a document's layout, structure, formatting, terminology, and design so well, that they unconsciously know what is coming next. Using consistency creates a flow for the reader, allowing them to focus more on the requirements and solution design than trying to understand the flow of the document and how the pieces fit together.

This consistency is sometimes difficult to achieve, especially when multiple people are working on the same project, incorporating their own writing and design styles. This inconsistency can be and should be avoided with a single reviewer, or by creating and adhering to a set of consistency "best practices." The following can easily be used to start creating this set of "best practices" for large teams, or even for a single-BA-shop looking for document standardization:

Experience is king. Attempting to perform a task, learning from your mistakes, and applying new learned ideas and strategies to solving the next challenge is not unique to being a business analyst (BA). While hands-on learning is one of the best ways to accumulate BA knowledge, picking up (and reading) a BA-related book has to be a close second. Reading gives the BA a way to learn new ideas from other experienced professionals who have been through the battles before and can point out common pitfalls and mistakes to avoid. Below are some of the books that have helped me most during my career as a business analyst.

The IT industry is plagued by outdated-waterfall methodologies rooted in manufacturing paradigms. If I had a nickel for every home construction or moon landing metaphor referenced in my professional life, the weight of my pockets would rip my pants off. The problem is not that these types of comparisons are completely irrelevant, it’s that they lack imagination and keep us from adopting flexible and people-oriented methodologies. Software development is NOT like deploying the MARS land rover. It’s much simpler than that. By remaining stalwart supporters of waterfall methodologies we overcomplicate what can be a very organic process. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Business Intelligence space. Iterative development can be a magical alternative to antiquated-waterfall methodologies, particularly for BI work, but your potion will require a few key ingredients to work: an awesome team, a transparent budget, structure, and trust.

There certainly is a time and place for “ye-old waterfall” project. Mission critical applications where mistakes can result in loss of revenue, customer dissatisfaction, jail time, or death are well suited for ridged, measurable, and risk-averse methodologies. However, some organizations are so entrenched in this line of thinking that every project is subjected to the tortures of the waterfall. In nature, a rushing waterfall is fluid and fast. In the business world waterfalls are clunky and slow.

 
In my last article I wrote on how different roles within projects and organizations view BAs. An important part of being a Business Analyst is understanding how we are perceived and how we fit in with those around us. As the career and roles of Business Analysts evolve we also need to look at our experience as a BA and reflect. Reflect on where we fit, the next step, and how we prepare for the next role we want. At some point the industry, ourselves, the company we work for, or the role itself evolves. No matter where we are in our evolution as a BA we wear many hats, how does each of these hats contribute and influence project results?  What makes a BA the one that leaders use as the example of value that BAs bring?

The idea of what makes a great BA has changed over time as we grow in our careers. Much of this has been due to how the IT industry has evolved and how business groups have changed in relation to IT.  In this article I attempt to follow the growth of a “typical” BA through various stages of progression in the BA skill set. Realizing that we all have a different path and the skills and experience we gain depends on project complexity and the cultural environments we learn these skills in.