I have been in the profession of Business Analysis for close to 20 years, and during this time I have witnessed many different myths come and go about this role. In today’s blog, I break down 20 myths and debunk them. Enjoy!
- To be a Business Analyst, you must have a job title containing these words. Nope. Not true. Anyone can perform Business Analysis tasks, regardless of their job title. There are many roles in which people are practicing the profession without even realizing it (this is what I did for the first part of my technology career).
- Business Analysis is only about writing requirements. Also, emphatically not true. While eliciting, modeling, and documenting requirements can be a part of the job, it’s certainly not the only part. Business Analysts do much, much more than just pumping out long lists of written requirements.
- You can’t become a business analyst without a college bachelor’s degree. Nope. I didn’t even have an Associate Degree when I became a Business Analyst (I have since earned by Bachelor Degree). I started out on the technical side and transitioned to Business Analysis due to a merger and acquisition. While a 4-year degree might give you a good foundation, you’re almost better off going to a technical college and getting a 2-year Business Analysis degree that aligns with the BABOK® so when you graduate, you already meet the criteria to sit the mid-level BA certification exam (CCBA).
- Data is central to being a Business Analyst. Nope – not necessarily true. While some BAs may use data in their context, it really depends on the role and the organization. If you’re a Business Analyst on a Business Intelligence team, you may very well live and breathe data all day, every day, but in other settings and situations, you might never look at data.
- SQL is a required skill to be a successful Business Analyst. Again, this is NOT a necessary requirement to become a Business Analyst. While it can be useful to have technical skills like this, they’re certainly not foundational to being a BA. And, assuming you’re a continuous learner due to your curious nature, you can always add this skill to your toolbelt should the need arise!
- You can’t get ahead in the profession without being certified. This is not necessarily true. Some of the top names in our profession who have authored books and run their own consultancies do not possess a single Business Analysis certification. While there are many benefits of being certified, it’s certainly not the only path to success when it comes to the BA profession.
- You must be technical to become a Business Analyst. Also, not true. It can be useful to come from a technological background, depending on what kind of industry you’re in, but a lot of the best BAs have no tech history. Business Analysts can come from the business side as well, and in some ways, this is advantageous.
- Business Analysis is a stepping stone to a career in Project Management. In my mind, nothing could be further from the truth. These two professions are almost exactly the opposite. Business Analysis is a creative pursuit for the curious among us. As BAs, we love to ask questions and keep probing to find the answers, whereas Project Managers are very high-level, focusing on the [boring] aspects of project delivery including scope, budget, and timeline.
- Business Analysts are subordinate to Project Managers. Again, totally untrue from my perspective. I consider these roles to be peer roles, and together, they can combine to create a dynamic duo. There is some level of overlap between the roles, which are opportunities for collaboration.
- Business Analysts are the decision makers. Nope. This is one of the main distinctions between Product Owners and Business Analysts. As an analyst, you must clearly define the problem or opportunity, and present solution options for the person who is authorized to make the decision. A Business Analyst may make a recommendation based on the findings of their analysis, but the ultimate choice is made by someone else.
- Business Analysts are not leaders. Absolutely, totally false. Leadership is inherent in being a Business Analyst. We have the skills to facilitate and drive toward successful outcomes – you can’t do this successfully without being a leader.
- Business Analysts must be extroverts to be successful. Nope. In fact, I would almost bet money that there are many more introverted Business Analysts than extroverts. It seems counterintuitive in many ways, because of how important it is to communicate and collaborate with stakeholders and others in this role, but analysts require quiet alone time to process the data they elicit and analyze their findings.
- You must have a deep knowledge of the business domain to be successful as a Business Analyst. Maybe, maybe not. In recent days, there have been debates about the generalization versus specialization topic. It really depends on your context and your organization. I have spent the last ten years as a consultant, so it was not to my advantage to do too deep a dive into the businesses of any of my clients. I needed to know “just enough, just in time” to get the job done. However, if you’re an employee of a company in a specific industry, for example healthcare, finance, or insurance, you may benefit from also being a subject matter expert. This could involve getting a deep education and understanding of your industry, which would probably make you more effective and efficient in your role.
- Business Analysts are not involved in testing. While the act of performing quality assurance activities is not necessarily part of a BA’s job description, their work products are integral to the development of test cases and solution verification and validation. Whether it’s a traditional requirements document or an agile set of acceptance criteria for a user story, the Business Analyst’s work drives the delivery of a quality product. In some organizations and contexts, a BA would in fact also perform a QA role, which is common (but doesn’t mean that this is a core skill a Business Analyst must possess).
- Business Analysts are only needed on large projects. I don’t care how big or small the effort is, any project or product can benefit from the skills of business analysis. Depending on the size of your organization, Business Analysis may be performed by any number of different roles. In super small companies, people often wear multiple hats, and it’s common for developers to also function as Business Analysts. In larger organizations, you could have multiple levels of Business Analysts, from lead positions to entry-level associates.
- Anyone can be a Business Analyst. Actually… not so fast. In fact, no. Not just anyone can be a Business Analyst. This profession requires a broad breadth of knowledge and skills, in addition to many underlying competencies (aka soft skills) that are necessary for someone to competently perform in this role. It’s not easy, but it is rewarding!
- Business Analysts are merely order takers. This has always been one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to misunderstandings about Business Analysis. In the early days of the profession, this may have been somewhat true, but in today’s world, nothing could be further from the truth. BAs must always question the stated need to get to the root cause, which is the actual business need (and usually different from the original request).
- Organizations can be successful without Business Analysis. Nope. I don’t care whether the company recognizes it or not, but somehow, some way, someone is performing Business Analysis, however rudimentary it may be, to achieve any level of success. Companies that recognize the value of business analysis are typically orders of magnitude more successful than institutions that do not acknowledge or invest in these skills.
- Business Analysts follow a prescriptive process that is the same for each project. False, false, false. There’s absolutely nothing in the BABOK® that requires anyone to follow a repeatable, stepwise process. Each project and product are different, as is the context in which the work is done. Business Analysis is about choosing the right approaches, tools, and methods for the problem at hand. Every effort performed by a Business Analyst is tailored to the unique situation.
- Business Analysis activities are “one and done.” Nope. Business Analysts are ideally involved throughout the entire life cycle of a project or product, which involves continual Business Analysis. Regardless of whether the project is agile or more traditional waterfall, the analyst is important to the verification and validation of the solution to ensure it meets the business needs of the organization.
Final Thoughts
There you have it! 20 Myths about Business Analysis – debunked! I hope you have a better understanding about what the profession is, and isn’t, now! Are there any other myths I missed? If so, let me know in the comments below!