Global Pains of Business Analysts

// small insert 🙂 Hello everyone! My name is Bogdan, and from some perspective I consider myself a “beginner” business analyst (BA is short for business analyst). This is my first article, and in it I want to talk about the pain and misunderstanding that many in this profession face. Of course, this is my personal opinion, and perhaps someone will disagree with it. I will not go deep into specific tasks or cases, but will try to describe the problem superficially so that it is clear to both beginners and experienced specialists. For convenience, I will divide the article into several parts.

Part 1. What and why?

When I first became interested in the profession of a business analyst, everything seemed quite simple: you go to the Internet, look for information about BA – responsibilities, areas of responsibility, technology stack. At first glance, everything is clear. Then you begin to dive deeper into the profession, reading articles, studying specific cases, and gradually forming a complete picture in your head of who the BA is. After I felt that I already had sufficient knowledge, the next step naturally arose – searching for vacancies. Of course, a lot here depends on your background: some don’t have it, others have just started studying the profession, but I already had a certain knowledge base. The fact is that I studied business computer science, and many subjects overlapped with the BA stack. Therefore, I began the study with a good theoretical background and some work experience (which I’ll tell you about in the next article, if I can ;)) I told this to make it easier to navigate the next part of the story.

Part 2. First problems

When I started looking for a job, I was surprised by one observation – many employers themselves do not fully understand who a business analyst is. I came across many vacancies that required a BA, but the job description most often mentioned a systems analyst or even a data analyst stack. It was a bit of a shock for me, so to speak. What's the problem? Employers often do not seem to fully understand who they are looking for and what problems a business analyst should solve.

This happens for several reasons. Firstly, many companies see a business analyst as simply a “universal soldier” who can perform the functions of a systems analyst, a data analyst, and even a project manager. When they hear the term “business analyst,” they think not of a clear business function, but of someone who can do “everything.” Sometimes this is due to the fact that the company does not have a structured understanding of its own business processes, so they are not looking for someone who will help figure it out, but someone who will simply “close” any problems.

Secondly, it is often the case that business analysts are associated with technical roles. Employers may think: if you are an analyst, then you must understand technologies, systems, and be an expert user of various tools and software products. This takes the focus away from the fact that a business analyst is, first and foremost, a person who connects business and technology solutions, analyzes requirements and helps optimize processes. But when the company does not understand these nuances, the analyst begins to be required to solve problems that go far beyond his area of ​​responsibility.

As a result, this creates certain difficulties: you learn one thing, but they demand something else from you. And when you see such a range of expectations, it is tempting to study everything at once in order to meet the most varied requirements.

Part 3. Is there a solution?

After some self-reflection, I came to the conclusion that it is impossible to learn everything, and here you need to make a conscious decision. If the employer does not know who he is looking for, then I should know what I want. One of my solutions is to study the stack for a specific vacancy. This may not be the best option because you are wasting time learning new skills for one position. But if the stack and the company are really interesting, why not?

A more logical approach is to focus on what you really like and be able to adapt your knowledge to the needs of the employer. Let's say you're told that your experience isn't relevant, but you can explain how your skills will help the company. You may not have direct experience with a particular technology, but have similar knowledge that you can apply to that area.

A very cool advantage will be the analysis of ready-made cases. There are a lot of high-quality cases that may be useful to you (I would also like to talk about them separately in the article).

Part 4. Bottom line?

So far these are the only solutions that I could find, perhaps you have encountered such a problem and do you have possible solutions? The main thing I understood is not to give up, to catch the feeling of flow. Conduct a review of yourself, what perhaps you are not yet strong in or, on the contrary, your strengths. There will be work, and there will always be those who need you. Don’t chase high salaries at the start – they will come later when you become a sought-after specialist.