Practical Analyst - Latest Comments

Re: Advantages of E-mail Communication

Smith Bill — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:51:07 -0000

faster communication with people far far away.Please visit at 2ezasia website for magento services.

Re: How “agile” is Important to Business Analysts

andreia silva — Thu, 03 May 2012 05:35:08 -0000

Thanks for the Article- Could not agree more – for me Agile
approach is being agile as for the word definition, valuable approach I s the
one that adds value to the project, so if its waterfall, let it be- but won’t
prevent us of being agile.

Andreia

Re: How “agile” is Important to Business Analysts

jbabcock — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:53:28 -0000

Thanks for the comment(s) Dougie, and welcome to Practical Analyst! You're right. We're communication experts - facilitators of knowledge transfer. In order to get what in our heads (from the stakeholders) into the heads of those who will do the work, we defiitely have to tailor the message!

Re: The Business Analyst’s “Other Customer”

dougieb5000 — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:33:44 -0000

I am an analyst for a higher learning institute and here it is not yet required to look at the developers as a customer but it is a mindset I am trying to remedy. If the people who are creating the project solution aren't clearly informed of what they are trying to do the whole process falls apart. That is why after our projects are concluded i have instituted a "Lessons Learned" information gathering that includes both the end user the project was for a developers to see how we could improve the process next time. I know it's not new but it was new to this place, and it has been a great help already.

Re: Tools: Risk Matrix

dougieb5000 — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:06:48 -0000

I love this matrix! Clear, simple, and useable. I have been using a model similar to this for a while but I like the graphical nature of this, I just might have to borrow that :)

Re: Patterns and the Evolving Business Analyst

dougieb5000 — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:46:25 -0000

I am so glad you mentioned that patterns are guides not rules. That is important to note because setting up a business strategy or even a project that is based solely on patterns is a little risky because patterns change frequently that's why they are patterns not engrained behaviors.

Re: Four Key Knowledge Areas for Business Analysts

dougieb5000 — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:42:12 -0000

Wow! I have been looking for a good way to communicate the facets of what I do and here it is, but even more than that you have aided me in questions to help extend my job knowledge by giving me checklist questions to help me become more valuable to the institute! Thank you

Re: How “agile” is Important to Business Analysts

dougieb5000 — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:30:12 -0000

Changing the delivery method is right on target. If I'm talking to a customer at Best Buy about a laptop and they have no idea how to turn it on I have to change how I explain things to them so they can understand, but if I am talking to a Geek Squad member I need to increase the tech talk so I can more efficiently explain my issues to them. The presentation should always be catered to the audience or else it's just wasted time.

Re: Business Analysts, Be Kind to your Stakeholders!

dougieb5000 — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:27:54 -0000

K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid, it was a motto I learned from football practice but one I still employ at work everyday. You can drown the best work in details if you try to tell a customer every tiny step in the process. However, I say that to say this, over communicate! The key is to communicate on their level. If they are not technical then explaining to them how you have to move to SharePoint 2010 for back end server client dedication and SSL certificates will be a huge waste of time and more likely then not complicate an otherwise wonderful project.

Re: Give ‘em Pictures!

dougieb5000 — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:25:09 -0000

I could not agree more! People are very visual and describing things, even very well, can still leave things up to their own interpretations for the details. I make it a point to have a mockup of the product or process as soon as possible after the requirements have been gathered in order to help the customer truly understand what I am talking about. It eases a lot of fears and clears up communication time for more important questions.

Re: Requirements Elicitation: "Most Valuable" Questions

dougieb5000 — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:21:58 -0000

I have been an analyst for a little while now and I have to say this is a perfectly succinct starting point for requirements gathering! Well done

Re: I want to be a great business analyst. Help!

Harry — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:41:36 -0000

Is a career in business analysis only for IT people?

Re: McDonald's Burgers and High-Quality Business Analysts

crafter11 — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:28:45 -0000

Jonathan,

I was heading in a totally different direction by the time I realized that you were discussing the actual quality of a business analyst's service to its stakeholders rather than the actual effectiveness of the product in action.

When I picture McDonald's consistency as an effective method of delivering reliable quality, I think of the systems that are put in place for the employees that operate each franchise - take orders, make the food, etc.The company has a remarkable ability to hire almost anyone from anywhere with no experience whatsoever and deliver a product to its customers without little discernible difference from the receiving end.

Translate this outlook into an office setting with the operators at the low end delivering information/data/input (food) to the customers (actual client). The company in question has complete control over how the food is made. McDonald's approach was to remove any possibility of making the food differently. The easiest possible way, the path of least resistance, is for the employees to do it the RIGHT way because Corporate McDonalds handles all of the tough stuff making the process mind-numbingly simple to replicate every day by every person. Incrementally establishing automated systems that limit variation on the bottom will (should) gradually purify results. This makes outcomes of decisions more measurable/predictable and allows for improved high-level decision making.

From a purist perspective, I figured that your above reference to customers' expectation was directly related to how well they wanted their company to perform after you, the analyst are finished with a task. However, I do understand that the management of their expectations is equally as important ;)

Just my 2 cents. Let me know what you think....

Re: Business Analyst Job Description

007anantnag — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:24:59 -0000

I am bit confused i want to grow myself in a BA field but i am not at all good in technically, is technical sound mandatory to become BA, i completed MBA with marketing as a specialization n also i want to know what r d job description for BA in a Recruitment firm.. plz help me

Re: Business Analyst Job Description

007anantnag — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:20:24 -0000

Dear Jonathan,

What will be roles n responsibilities in a recruitment firm?

Re: I want to be a great business analyst. Help!

Business Analyst Certification — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:00:55 -0000

I think Business Analyst Certification can be a prove that I have enough ability to be a great business analyst.

Re: Agile and Traditional Methodologies Compared…. Again

Business Analyst Certification — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 13:45:09 -0000

Yes I absolutely agree with you, as a business analyst in the 21st century, I think it is beneficial to
understand the positives and negatives of all the various ways of
delivering software. I think that these methodologies have arisen
because the software engineering market had a need that demanded them.
They fill a very important niche and help address some problems that
have been around for a very long time.

Re: Business Analyst Job Description

Vishal — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:48:30 -0000

Thanks for this article... Also, the links you have share are quite useful for me as I am working as BA in BNP Paribas.

Re: Business Analyst Job Description

chococat — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:40:58 -0000

Hi Jonathan!

Very detailed job description. It actually sounds very much like my role as a User Experience Designer.

How is it different? What is the education and background of a BA? What qualifies them to speak for the user?

Re: Business Analysts, Be Kind to your Stakeholders!

daniel fender — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:25:29 -0000

I've found that, particularly on larger projects, some of the stakeholders required to provide review/feedback only have some sections of the document that are relevant to them. When that's the case I will inform each stakeholder exactly which section they should reivew. It may sound like a no-brainer but it has certainly helped get review and subsequent approval on some of the larger docs.

Re: Business Analyst Job Description

Grant Hendriks — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:34:57 -0000

Your BA postings are fantastic, thanks.

We are implementing a support team in our Asset Management business and your articles are very helpful.

Thanks
Grant

Re: Business Analyst Job Description

Karumurimouli — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:32:47 -0000

dear ,

Presently i am working under Insurance operations and i did my MBA and B.Sc Electronics. I have been working in insurance from 2 years. I am interested to learn this course. Can you update is it compulsory to know the compute languages. how much it is use full for BA and which institution is best for this?

karumurimouli@gmail.com

Re: I want to be a great business analyst. Help!

Jonathan Babcock — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:34:06 -0000

Nice insights, guys! Thanks for the comments!

Re: Business Analyst Job Description

Susharaj — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:44:03 -0000

Thanks for the description
Susharaj

Re: So, what do you do, exactly?

Mostafa Abd Elnasser — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:56:02 -0000

I love it ,
This who i am but before i read this article i don't know my job title :D