Business Analyst 2.0 and BAO - Business Analyst Office
The role of “business analyst” is getting more and more important as product/package companies are passing more control from IT to the hands of business users. Things like maintaining business rules, changing workflows or adding new fields on a screen - things that involved IT just few years back are now comfortably being done by business analysts. The toolset based products which can be changed via “configuration” through UI, rather than “customization” through code is helping the paradigm shift. The catch is very often it requires some IT skills like knowledge of XML or learning a scripting language which an ordinary business user (like an underwriter) may not be able to do. To make this happen a new set of “trained” business analysts are evolving who have good understanding of both business and IT. Let’s call them “Business Analyst 2.0”.
So who are these people and what skills they need? Typically they come from two different backgrounds. First set of people are business users who have used the systems for a long time and then learned the “back end stuff” through projects. So they started from business and moved towards IT. Second set of people are IT developers who have acquired the business knowledge through their interaction with business users. So they started from IT and moved towards business. So the business analyst 2.0 is someone who has the right balance of experience & expertise in both IT & business. Remind me of “blue flame” – just the right balance of air & fuel which produces maximum light.
Now, we are all very familiar with the concept of PMO – Project/Program Management Office. The concept of the PMO, having a centralized unit with focused approach, can very well be applied to business analysts also. And companies have started having a common team of business analysts - trained & managed centrally and serving wide variety of projects. And I bet we will hear the term BAO – Business Analyst Office more & more in future. You may call it differently but the core concept will be very similar.
Wanted to know from you – does your company or your client is making use of the Business Analyst 2.0 or BAO? Please share your thoughts and experience related to this concept.
Comments
So true, the businesses of today need someone who understands both IT and business. I think the IT industry needs more such people as you call them Business Analyst 2.0 or BAO to make sure that businesses leverage IT systems in their decision making effective and fast way.
Posted by: Prasad Bhoosnurmath | March 23, 2010 1:18 PM
Implementations of changes to “code” are typically outside of a BA's responsibility. The IIBA BABOK doesn't include a task for configuration of software packages, but detailing and documenting those changes are part of requirements management.
As the definition of the BA role becomes more consistent among organizations (thanks in large part to a formal BA body of knowledge and a certification based on it), the trend is likely to continue towards "centers of practice", which could manifest themselves on the org chart structures. However, in project work the BA is seen as subordinate to the Project Manager role and, viewed as such, would not be granted an “office” equal in stature to a typical PMO.
Clearly, the benefits of a center of practice include common process standards and templates that can be leveraged throughout an enterprise, but as control of application configuration moves into the business users’ domain, the perceived need for formal requirements management and analysis declines. The rationale in the user’s mind is, “If I can change this, why do I need documentation?” This is a challenge to a centralized BA group and a good topic for further discussion.
Posted by: Eugene Hoffman | March 31, 2010 6:32 PM
BA or BAO or BA 2.0 or whatever you may call it, are really special people with special skills that doesn't come out of any academic assembly line. The role typically demands a combination of analytical skills, social interaction skills, diplomatic acumen, negotiation skills, technology awareness and last but not the least; an idea of how information systems work. Obviously, these guys are rarer breeds than technology experts and and spotting a BA talent is critical to any organization today. An average BA or an ambiguously defined BA role can easily ruin any software project.
Posted by: Kaushik Bhattacharya | January 19, 2012 5:50 AM