Characteristics of the professional BA

In my last post, I wrote about the characteristics of a profession, and how business analysis measures up. In this post, I’d like to explore the characteristics of the professional BA. There are established references on individual competency, such as the IIBA Business Analysis Competency Model, which describes competency as the combination of:

• Knowledge areas – i.e. knowledge of the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge
• Performance competencies – how well the tasks in the BABOK Knowledge Areas are performed
• Underlying competencies – including analytical thinking and problem solving, behavioural characteristics, business knowledge, communication skills, interaction skills, tools and technology
• Techniques – the ways that a Knowledge Area task can be performed

The Competency Model by definition has to assume that there is an existing level of business analysis knowledge, so it probably only relevant for established BAs.

Graduates, junior consultants, recruiters and aspiring business analysts might need something a bit more universal to guide them in identifying and progressing a career in business analysis.

In no particular order, here are my thoughts on the characteristics of the professional BA.

Communication

If nothing else, business analysts must excel at communication. BAs bring together stakeholders in a meeting of minds to arrive at shared understandings of motivations, goals, vision, outcomes, benefits and value of change. BAs must be masters of written, verbal and non-verbal communication to bring stakeholders on that journey. Yes, this means grammar and punctuation is crucial.

Random Capital Letters, misplaced apostrophe’s, just plane wrong words – these all dilute your meaning and make it hard to take you’re work srsly (irony intentional).

Consultancy

Business analysts are advisors and influencers. They don’t necessarily make decisions, but they inform and consult those that do. They do this through expert knowledge, building trust and doing more than required.

Curiosity

Professional curiosity means that the individual has an awareness of the context that they work in, they seek knowledge and experience, and want to expand their sphere of interest. Professional curiosity is the modern day equivalent of the polymath. An effective business analyst is not just good at being a BA, they have breadth of skills in disciplines such as change management, communications, agile delivery, quality assurance or software development.

Are there characteristics I haven’t covered?