Bakerman

Any business analysts out there ?
Currently an analyst programmer/systems analyst and have been for years and been offered a BA role with a different company. Little bit worried about being able to cope but surely can't be that different ? Any advice ...........

Thanks

GCollier

I've a pretty low opinion of the value of business analysts. I develop trading systems for a living and always found it much better to be able to talk to the trader or quant directly. I'd stick with development work if I were you.

Gary.

ChefDude

In my experience Analyst/Programmers are just programmers.

Can you talk to the business on their terms?

SJ_Skyline

BA roles can encompass quite a range - from onsite customer engagement to writing use cases for developers.

Our BAs primarily articulate the requirements of our customers into artefacts used within a project or bid (data dictionaries, use cases, statement of understanding, etc).

I guess it depends on the culture of your employer what the BA role is used for and the terms of reference for your role.

Bakerman

Sounds ideal then !
I can blag it with the rest of them ............ i do agree that a lot of BAs don't know diddly about the business they are in but I have loads of business experience in the relevant sector so hopefully should fit in OK.
If it all falls apart then I can go back to coding I suppose, much more money in business analysis though.

scoob_babe

Dave - I know what you mean...I suspect it's a name conjured up to make people feel better about what they do - a bit like a hygiene technician for a cleaner I suspect it's pretty much what I do - support and implementation of software for our company but there's never been a good definition as far as I can see!

urban

iTrader: (1)

I deal with so called business analysts pretty much every day.

As posted earlier - made up name.

Its exactly as scoob babe posted, with potentially "liaising" with the software supplier

James Neill

iTrader: (1)

I'm not a BA but work with some really good ones. Understanding points of view and as-is processes, documenting requirements, communicating options and facilitating decision making is what being a BA is all about. Experience of the subject is secondary to the skills associated with simplifying what everyone else sees as complex.

A lot of people think it's bull**** - just means they don't understand what a BA is or should be doing.

TopBanana

It could well be a dead-end. When you want to move on, you may have a much smaller market for your skills.

scoob_babe

Looks like my role outside of my company would be classed as BA then and bung in PM work too

Bakerman

Not so I think, bas start from say £40k upto anything you like for the really good ones (easily 6 figures). For somebody who is not a graduate nor professionally qualified it is as good a salary level that I can achieve. Given my 15years of life and pension experience it should serve me for as long as I choose.

Any of the IT job vacancy sites are screaming out for decent bas.

Working on a legacy platform using cobol85 .............. now that could be dead end !! Most big companies and particularly those who outsource are looking to retain bas in the UK whereas the code development goes offshore. My current role includes some looking after offshore developers which to be frank are less than good.

I will be earning a lot more for being a ba than I will be an ap.

Removed.

My official title is "Senior Business Support Analyst", before we were taken over by Yanks, it was "Server Services Manager", in other words, I look after servers! Quite how that relates to my title