Chapter 7

Evolving from Business Analyst to
Business Strategist

In This Chapter:

• Self-education

• Professional Associations

• Experience

• Training and Accreditation

• Mentoring

Sometimes it is tempting—and even necessary—to invest heavily in IT-enabled business processes designed merely to sustain the business. However, while some of these investments are necessary or even critical, investing only in continuous sustenance is a failing business strategy. The current fast-changing business environment requires that a much larger portion of investments in projects be aimed at innovation and business growth. It is through value-based portfolio management that organizations are unlocking the value of business improvement and IT investments.

Senior business analysts play a critical role in the portfolio management process. Indeed, it would be difficult to overstate the value of business analysts to businesses today. According to Brenda Kerton, a senior research analyst with Info-Tech Research Group, “Several factors have converged to create the perfect storm for BAs who will see increased salaries and increased demand for their skills. Experienced BAs will get more difficult to find.”¹

The question is, how can analysts, who are often seen as IT resources, transition into senior business analysts serving their organizations as internal business/technology consultants? According to a 2006 survey by CIO Magazine, 55 percent of IT executives plan to increase their IT staff by an average of 11 percent, and roles in the highest demand combine business and technological expertise—the emerging role of the business analyst.²

To increase your ability to represent both IT and business perspectives, you can explore several avenues of professional development, including:

•    Self-education

•    Professional associations

•    Experience

•    Training and accreditation

•    Mentoring

Self-education

The most successful people find time to focus on their professional development. Become passionate about your work and continually update your knowledge to stay current. An array of articles, books, and conferences addressing the subjects of portfolio management, business analysis, and business transformation best practices are coming to the fore. Industry conferences, for example, include:

•    Project Summit and Business Analyst World

•    Project World and the World Congress for Business Analysis

•    PMI Global Congress

Industry conferences not only provide an opportunity to transfer knowledge, they are also beneficial for their networking opportunities. Aggressively pursue building a strong network of business analysis professionals.

Although the role of the business analyst is foremost a business-related role, the more you know about IT, the more value you will provide to your organization. The growing maturity of IT practices is important because IT management and governance are now increasingly critical to organization strategic success: IT best practices are crucial in establishing effective information governance. These IT best practices have become significant as organizations demand better returns from IT investments. Organizations must strategically align their IT projects to deliver value through project outcomes. They can do this by managing risk, resources, and performance, and by introducing improvements in business efficiency to gain trust from business partners and respect from customers.

Professional Associations

In addition to professional development through self-study, educate yourself on the many organizations and institutes dedicated to the advancement of best practices for IT-enabled business solutions, including the following:

•    The Systems and Software Consortium, or SSCI, provides industry and government the insight, advice, and tools needed to help them address the complex and dynamic world of software and systems development. For more information, refer to the website www.software.org.

•    The IT Governance Institute, or ITGI^™, was founded in 1998 to advance international thinking and standards in directing and controlling IT groups to ensure that IT supports business goals, optimizes business investment in IT, and appropriately manages IT-related risks and opportunities. Also from ITGI^™, the Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT^ê) provides a comprehensive framework for managing and delivering high-quality IT-based services. For more information, refer to the website www.itgi.org.

•    IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Version 2, and IT Service Management (ITSM) document best practices for IT service management. For more information about these resources and for information about IT transformation, refer to the websites www.itil-itsm-world.com and www.itsm.info/home.htm.

•    The Project Management Institute, long acknowledged as a pioneer in the field of project management, has a truly global membership of more than 200,000 professionals representing 125 countries. PMI offers certification for project management professionals (PMPs). For more information, refer to the website www.pmi.org.

•    The recently formed International Institute for Business Analysis is the leading worldwide professional association that develops and maintains standards for the practice of business analysis and for the certification of practitioners. The IIBA offers certification for business analysis professionals (CBAP). For more information, refer to the website www.theiiba.org.

Experience

There is no substitute for experience! Self-education, professional associations, and certifications alone cannot replace the value of lessons learned. As organizations continue to improve their portfolio management processes, there will be a critical shortage of highly seasoned business analysts and project managers to lead strategic projects. So don’t waste a moment. Jump in head first and seek out assignments to learn the craft.

Training and Accreditation

Impressive professional business analysis training programs are available. Look for leading-edge courses that focus on increased performance, best practices, and project results. The courses should be based on sound systems engineering principles, focus on leadership and facilitation skills, be rich in lean-thinking and agile tool sets, and be filled with tailoring techniques for small, medium, and large, high-risk projects.

Seek out course offerings that are designed to provide practical guidelines and skills that lead to immediate results for writing, defining, analyzing, and managing IT-enabled business solutions requirements. They should be based on real-world experiences and case studies, and offer practical strategies, well-tested methods, and tools for implementing requirements management techniques.

Mentoring

Searching for and building a strong relationship with a mentor is one of the most rewarding and valuable strategies toward advancing your career. The mentor should be a senior professional in your organization who understands the critical needs of business-focused, IT-enabled projects. Aligning yourself with senior and more experienced business and/or IT professionals will expose you to an array of information, tools, techniques, and best practices learned and successfully applied throughout the mentor’s career.

Consulting a mentor not only exposes you to more senior members of the organization, but it can also increase project performance, helping the organization realize its expected return on project investments. Additional benefits include:

•    Increased confidence and motivation

•    Effective and efficient approaches to business analysis

•    Opportunities to use tools and practice techniques

•    Protected feedback, i.e., “no-risk” reviews

•    Networking through access to other professionals

•    Access to information and best practices

•    Support to ensure successful project performance

So there you have it. The journey from business analyst to business strategist is a fulfilling and challenging ride. Don’t hesitate to take it—if you blink, you may miss the career of a lifetime!

Endnotes

1. Brenda Kerton. Analyst Role Is In Demand, 2006. Toronto: Info-Tech Research Group.

2. Edward Prewitt and Lorraine Cosgrove Ware. “The State of the CIO, Survey ‘06,” CIO Magazine, 2006. Online at http://www.cio.com/archive/010106/JAN1SOC.pdf (accessed September 2007).