After years working in various Business Analyst (BA) roles within software teams, the time as come for me to get past my imposter syndrome – the one that makes me think that other really good BA’s are going to catch me out and tell everyone I don’t really know anything. One way I’m hoping to be able to back myself more is by obtaining a formal accreditation in Business Analysis (https://www.iiba.org/certification/iiba-certifications/cbap/) – maybe having the certificate will give me a confidence boost and I’ll learn some stuff along the way.

BA’s I know and have enjoyed working with have come from very varied backgrounds, I don’t think I have ever met one who went to Uni and studied “Business Analysis” and chose this as a career path. Town Planning, Chemistry, Business Management, Economics and Project Management are some of the degrees that people in this career path started out in. At the heart of it, BA’s need to investigate, understand, analyse, interpret and communicate – all basic skills someone should come away from any university degree with.

While working towards the accreditation, and learning the industry terms for the things I have been doing for years, I started thinking about what I’ve learned about being a BA. Things that don’t necessarily come from books or training.

1. Be prepared for feedback

As a business analyst it’s your job to investigate and interpret a set of requirements or a process, understand how it works now and how it needs to work in the future. Asking people to tell you what they do usually won’t get you all of the answers you need.

Taking the time to write down what you think the process is, how you think it should work in the future, and presenting that to subject matter experts is a sure fire way to figure out what you have gotten wrong. Being able to take the feedback and incorporate it into your work without taking it a personal criticism is an important skill.

2. Be an advocate for more Technical team members

The more technical members of a team sometimes get a reputation for being a little unapproachable – they talk a different language and their focus is different to other areas of a business. As a BA you will probably be the one to provide external updates, perform product demonstrations and collect feedback on the work produced by the team. Work should be presented as a team effort, with any feedback taken on behalf of the whole team – nothing should be singled out as being the responsibility of one person.

That being said, praise for particular work items that you know team members worked on should be passed on.

3. Have a good memory or ‘fake it till you make it’

Being able to recall details, answer questions and generally know a lot of stuff has always been part of any BA role I have had. If you are blessed with a good memory this shouldn’t be a problem. If not, you need to be able to structure your work environment (ie the environment within your computer) in a way that will make storing and retrieving information easy. Write everything down and share it with your teams, maybe they will look at it and maybe (and probably) they won’t – but at least you will know where it is and can recall it when required. Be prepared to bask in the praises “Oooh your so smart” and “I knew you would know that, you know everything”.

4. Knowing what you need to know

Having a high level knowledge of how everything work is really useful. Having detailed knowledge of how everything works is impossible and a lot of pressure to put on yourself. Letting go of needing to know the minute detail on everything can sometimes be hard, but it will make life easier as a BA. Knowing what technology is being used, where the code is stored and the process for releasing the product are all really handy. Leave the platform selection, branding strategy and the actual coding to the experts.

5. Curiosity is a skill…

The importance of asking “Why?” cannot be underestimated as a tool for gathering and interpreting requirements. Having genuine curiosity will help to search out the factors that are important to the process or product you might be working on. Asking people their thoughts and opinions in a way that shows them you are genuienly interested in their ideas, encourages honest conversations that can get you to the information you need.

The role of a Business Analyst can be varied, as it sits between IT and Business to help deliver efficiencies. The organisation, project, product and purpose all influence the role the BA will play within an organisation. Understanding your skills and what is required of you as a BA will help shape your approach to each role.