It always makes me draw a breath when I hear people say the work of a Business Analyst involves technology. It demonstrates a lack of understanding and architecture. Look at the the following survey from LinkedIn, after over 400 respondents gave their opinion!
The true art of Business Analysis
The true art of Business Analysis is to create a Current State & Future State Business Models, involving all dimensions.
Downstream of Business Analysis: Solution Architects
Although many BA’s look at the application and tech stack, it often confuses and diminishes their value. Applications and technology are really the job of a Solution Architect, who should do two things:
- A Conceptual Solution to talk about the CLASS of building blocks required
- A Solution Architecture to talk about the specific instances of these classes in order to make the solution a reality.
It’s actually a shame that BAs don’t draw this line as it diminishes the value of their BA work. It is fine if a BA engages in CA & SA phases if they have technical skills; but it often causes the eyes of the Project Manager and senior management to go off the ball and onto the short term gain of the applications (which will again be replaced!).
The Real Aspiration of a Business Analyst!
The real aspiration and talent of a pure BA is to be the BUSINESS ARCHITECT!
If your organisation lacks someone with this understanding and vision, then perhaps you need to engage me to help
- clarify your vision
- align your organisation
- set appropriate KPIs
- review your processes
It doesn’t take someone with real experience that long to see where things are going well, and where others are falling over!