How To Put your Career in Overdrive » business analysts http://www.it-career-coach.net IT Career Coach Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:14:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 The Business Analysts Role In Facilitating Data Warehouse Projects http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/03/10/the-business-analyst-role-in-facilitating-data-warehouse-projects/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/03/10/the-business-analyst-role-in-facilitating-data-warehouse-projects/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:29:39 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2868 Business Analyst Role In Data Warehouse Projects

Business Analyst Role In Data Warehouse Projects

The Business Analysts Role In Bringing Data Warehousing To Your Office

Today’s business executives spend a ton of cash on data warehouse projects because that is a big, key, strategic business initiative; the success of which weighs heavily on their minds.

Data warehousing is important because it saves or aggregates information in a manner that allows executives, management or office users to make strategic business decisions faster, better and more easily!

No More Silos In The Workplace

Data warehousing is critical to business success because it presents a way for executives or management to view or manage their corporation as a whole unit instead of in silos.

What data warehousing offers decision makers is the ability to break out of departmental information silos and see the big picture.

One of the key objectives facilitated by business analysts in data warehousing roles is that of bridging the gap between enterprise databases (marketing, finance, inventory, customer relationship management, etc.) so that decision makers or office users can ask questions or get a comprehensive, 360 degree insight across corporate / departmental databases with one query or question!

Introducing OLAP, Business Intelligence (BI) Or Data Warehousing To Business Analysts

Business Analysts assigned to data warehouse projects may be surprised to know that traditional, day-to-day relational (online transaction processing (OLTP)) databases are not optimized for querying or reporting of data for business or decision making purposes.

Databases that are actually optimized for data analysis, reporting and business intelligence are known as Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) databases.

So, another key benefit of data warehousing is that it provides decision makers with real-time business intelligence at optimal speeds through the used of OLTP systems.

Finally, Data Warehousing is important from the standpoint of facilitating forecasting trends or getting performance metrics for the entire organization.

Data warehousing provides senior management with intelligence required to see the company’s performance from a 30,000 foot level instead of being buried under a mountain of data at sea level.

Will The Real Enterprise Business Analyst Stand Up Please?

Organizations implementing business intelligence or data-warehousing projects are looking for a significant boost in their business intelligence or decision making capabilities.

Savvy business analysts pulled into data-warehousing / BI projects would fare well to keep this at the back of their mind from the git-go!

So, here are some key roles for business analysts in data warehouse projects

  • The Data Warehouse Business Analysts role includes helping the business team identify key opportunities for boosting revenue, increasing sales, decreasing operational costs or achieving some other important organizatioinal or business objective.

  • The Business Analyst bridges the gap between the business or executive management office and the data warehousing / BI Implementation Team.

  • The Business Analyst identifies the business intelligence needs of the organization. This includes eliciting BI requirements from executives, managers or office users and then working with the data warehouse project team to identify, define or implement these business requirements.

The Enterprise Business Analyst Role In Data Warehousing Projects

Data warehousing projects are all about building, integrating, analyzing or reporting on large, complex, corporate databases.

So, Business Analysts working in such domains will be well-advised to fortify their database skills as that is the real-world domain or context of data warehousing.

Because of the strategic importance or the scope of data warehousing / business intelligence (BI) projects, the business analyst typically functions as a key member of a larger data warehouse project team.

The data warehouse project team may include the Project Manager, Data Modeler, Data Architect, Data Analyst , Tester, Report Writer, Database Developer and last but not least … the data warehousing / business intelligence (BI) business analyst.

With that in mind, here are the business analyst’s roles in the context of an enterprise data-warehousing project implementation team.

  • Management Role: working with executives, management or the business team, the business analyst identifies the gaps in corporate intelligence / reporting capabilities.

  • Data Analyst Role: working with data analysts, the business analyst identifies, understands and documents the sources of data discrepancies or gaps in business intelligence.

    The actual work of identifying data sources may be assigned to the data analysts or Extraction, Transform Load (ETL) developers while that of documenting or modeling the data transformations assigned to a business analyst comfortable with creating data models.

  • Data Modeler / Data Architect / Database Developer Role: The business analyst works with the data modeler, data architect or database developer to create the logical or conceptual data model.

    The business analyst also validates that the data model meets business requirements before it is implemented.

The Data Warehouse Business Analyst Skill Sets

The enterprise data warehouse business analyst is not your traditional business analyst. so, here are some of the skill-set requirements for business analysts in a data warehouse project.

  • The business analyst needs a thorough understanding of Extraction, Transform and Load (ETL) processes.

  • The business analyst also needs a strong understanding of the logical database design process, data modeling, data-mart design and a good understanding of OLAP compared to OLTP systems.

  • The business analyst needs to be comfortable with the business intelligence tools used in delivering corporate intelligence to decision makers which may be as simple as a Microsoft Excel-based Business Intelligence (tool).

  • The business analyst also needs a good understanding of data warehousing terminology as well as the corporate data being analyzed by the business.

    In other words, familiarity with the data is important whether one’s eliciting requirements from the business team or validating data models and ETL processes with the Data Warehouse implementation team.

Bringing Business Intelligence (BI) To The Office

An increasing number of organizations are either planning or implementing BI projects with the objective of improving the quality of corporate intelligence available to decision makers.

As a business analyst, it’s your duty to assist your organization with their BI / Data Warehouse endeavors.

You can achieve this by learning as much as you can about databases, data warehousing, business intelligence, data analysis and decision making processes.

The data warehouse business analyst job description includes a cross-functional suite of skills in Relational Database Development, SQL Query Writing, Data Analysis and Business Analysis.

You can get more information on this from both the Data Analyst Boot Camp and the Business Analyst Boot Camp.

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Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/03/10/the-business-analyst-role-in-facilitating-data-warehouse-projects/feed/ 0 The Agile Business Analyst, A Customer Advocate? http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/22/the-agile-business-analyst-a-customer-advocate/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/22/the-agile-business-analyst-a-customer-advocate/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:13:22 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2846 The Agile Business Analyst

The Agile Business Analyst

The Agile Business Analyst plays a key role in facilitating conversations between stakeholders, quality assurance / testing teams, customers, subject matter experts (SMEs) and software developers in an incremental, iterative fast-paced product development environment.

So, who is the Agile Business Analyst and why should business analysts who are already comfortable with the process of eliciting requirements in a traditional product development environment be concerned about becoming more agile?

Introducing The Agile Business Analyst Role

The Agile Business Analyst’s role includes facilitating communication, reducing the reliance on extensive documentation and reducing the length of the feedback loop in product development projects.

  1. Collaborative - The Agile Business Analyst works closely with software developers, stakeholders, project managers and software testers and relies less on comprehensive requirements documentation at the inception of the project.

  2. Flexible and Adaptable - Unlike a more traditional software development project, an agile business analyst expects and welcomes changes in requirements. Being Agile means that changing requirements is not made difficult because of extensive documentation, communication cycles or change management processes.

  3. Just In Time Requirements – An Agile Business Analyst knows what is the right amount of requirements documentation to gather for a development cycle or iteration.

  4. More Face to Face Meetings – Because the Agile Business Analyst focuses on less documentation and more face to face meetings or interviews with stakeholders, software developers or testers, Agile Business Analysts make use of more User Stories and less Use Cases for documenting requirements.

  5. Iterative Development – And unlike requirements management practiced in a traditional waterfall software development life cycle, the agile business analyst only focuses on gathering, analyzing or validating the requirements needed in each iteration.

Between The Agile Business Analyst and Traditional BA

So, the Agile Business Analyst focuses on the deliverables for each iteration to o facilitate a faster development process.

Another key difference with agile business analysts is that they work with software testers or quality assurance professionals to elicit Test Cases directly from User Stories instead of from Use Cases.

Because Agile Business Analysts rely on face to face meetings and in-person communication, they work better in teams where the developers, stakeholders, project managers and testers are located in the same place and are committed to being involved on a continuous basis through the life time of the project.

The Agile Business Analyst gathers just-in-time (JIT) requirements through intense collaboration with customers, customer advocates, software architects, stakeholders and software testers.

Why Are We Not More Agile?

Traditionally, a business analyst is expected to gather all the requirements for a project at the beginning. These requirements are then shared with the Project Manager and Stakeholders as a static, fixed or immutable set of requirements.

This type of requirements gathering is common in product or software development project that make any or all of the following assumptions:

  1. Business Analyst – The business analyst can gather, analyze, validate and specify all the requirements at the beginning of the project and before a single line of code is written.

  2. Project Manager – The project manager needs to have a complete set of requirements to facilitate accurate project planning.

  3. Software Tester / QA – The software tester needs to have a complete set of requirements before creating a test plan and user acceptance or QA tests.

  4. Software Architect – The software architect needs to design the entire software system at the beginning of the project befor e a line of code is written.

  5. Computer Programmers – That computer programmers need to receive an extensive and complete set of requirements preferably in Use Cases format before they start coding.

    Traditional software or product development projects also assume that for developers to create a working product, they need to be told in detail, every basic, alternate path and exception flow through the system.

  6. Customers – That customers have a mind, wants, needs and desires that can be completely known at the beginning of the project through extensive requirements gathering and documentation.

    This also means that once the customer’s requirements is gathered or documented, it will not change during the life cycle of the product or software development cycle … at least not without extensive negotiation, documentation and signing-off.

The Role of The Customer Advocate

But is this true? Can the customer’s mind, needs, wants or desires be known and documented completely at the beginning of the project?

Does setting the customer’s requirements in stone assure a better product, a more satisfied customer and increase the chances of project success?

  1. The needs of today’s customers are not set in stone. Far from it, the very process of gathering customers requirements can change what the customer wants.

  2. The marketplace is always changing and product features become less important or even irrelevant in short periods of time.

  3. The practice of planning projects or designing entire software systems completely, at the inception of a project is fraught with risks, estimates and guesses.

    This practice often leads to more software features that are out of touch with the customer’s needs and more project failures.

    Considering that so many projects planned this way fail, Business Analysts need to consider utilizing more agile communication skills to supply requirements when they are needed.

Unlike the traditional business analyst who works from the assumption that requirements once signed off on are fixed in stone or immutable, the agile business analyst plays the role of a customer advocate by assuming that requirements can and will change during the life cycle of the product development effort.

The agile business analyst welcomes changes in the customer’s requirements because they reflect what the customer really wants and not what was documented.

In doing this, the agile business analyst elevates the customer’s needs above the needs for more documentation.

The agile business analyst understands that there is always some uncertainty in the marketplace, so the planned features of a product or software application cannot be set in stone!

The agile business analyst understand that software developers do not need to have 100% of a product or project’s requirements extensively documented using Use Cases before they begin coding.

So the Agile Business Analyst relies more on communication, presentation and facilitation skills than written documentation in communicating with software / product developers.

Today’s constantly changing marketplace requires the Agile Business Analyst A customer advocate who elevates the customer’s needs above that of extensive requirements documentation!

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Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/22/the-agile-business-analyst-a-customer-advocate/feed/ 6 The Six Sigma Business Analyst http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/12/the-six-sigma-business-analyst/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/12/the-six-sigma-business-analyst/#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:09:54 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2817

Six Sigma Business Analyst

Six Sigma Business Analyst

The Six Sigma career path intersects or shares a number of tools, processes, goals and techniques with the business analyst career path.

So, in this post I would like to introduce you to the … Six Sigma Business Analyst.

Ask IT Career Coach

This post answers the question submitted by a business analyst who is enrolled at the business analyst boot camp.

If you have a question or challenge, be sure to send it using: Ask IT Career Coach and we will answer it for you, just as we are answering the question below!

Here is the question submitted by the Business Analyst Boot Camp Participant …

Hi Kingsley,

I had applied to a BA position and … and the response was they were looking for people …. who had Six Sigma certifications.

Is the 6 Sigma now the new minimal benchmark for getting a BA job?

If so, I’d better get cracking on it.

What’s involved?

cheers

What Is Six Sigma To Start With?

Six Sigma is a business management discipline that seeks to improve quality by removing the causes of defects, errors or variation in manufacturing and business processes.

Six Sigma uses quality management, statistical and business analysis methods to empower six sigma professionals designated in martial arts like terms as black belt, green belt and yellow belt.

Each Six Sigma project uses a sequence of steps to achieve quantified goal (cost reduction or profit increase) critical to a customer of the business process under consideration (cycle time, safety, delivery, etc.).

Six Sigma was originally designed to eliminate defects in manufacturing processes, but it is now widely applied to other business processes as a tool for improving the quality of a business process.

How Is The Business Analyst Involved In Six Sigma?

I have given you a pretty good picture of what a six sigma business analyst does. Now, I will answer the question of whether Siz Sigma is the new minimal standard for getting a business analyst job.

  • Who Is The Six Sigma Domain Business Analyst?

    Six Sigma is one of the business analyst domain career paths.

    You are not required to become a domain business analyst or to become a six sigma business analyst.

    However, if you decide not to specialize in a business analyst domain, you have to master the skills required to become an IT Business Analyst.

    However, before you decide to become a six sigma business analyst, you need to get a good understanding of your skill sets, internal and external business environment.

  • Do You Have A Statistical / Quality Management Background?

    You can decide if a six sigma business analyst career path is good for you by taking a look at your educational background, training, work experience or skill sets.

    If you already have some statistical and quality management background (I gained mine as a management trainee in Procter & Gamble), you may find that becoming a six sigma business analyst is a logical decision for you.

    If you do not have this backgound, then you have to factor in the cost of learning statistical and quality improvement from scratch.

  • Can You Meet Internal Customer Expectations Using Cross Functional Business Analysis Skills?

    I don’t recommend that you evaluate becoming a six sigma business analyst solely from the point of view of … “what’s in it for me!“

    Because the Six Sigma Methodology emphasizes the very opposite … that you focus on meeting your customer’s needs, wants or requirements.

    So, you may start by asking yourself this question: will my customer’s needs be better met if I become a six sigma business analyst?.

    Sometime ago, I functioned as the IT Director for an Electronics Manufacturing Firm in the Midwest. One of my customers was the Quality Assurance Director who I assisted with improving the quality of the plant’s electronic components.

    In this role, it would have made sense for me to become a six sigma business analyst, considering that one of my major internal customers was the Quality Assurance director.

  • Can You Meet External Business Requirements With Six Sigma BA Skills?

    Finally, you may also approach becoming a six sigma business analyst by reviewing the business analyst hiring trend in your city.

    This makes sense especially in a situation where you are out of work and you have no internal customers to satisfy.

    However, you also need to make sure that six sigma business analyst skills is in higher demand than IT business Analyis skills or some other BA domain!

    This matters because mis-interpreting the demands of employers or hiring managers can have a serious consequence on your career. So, don’t make conclusions for a couple of interviews. Apply for more jobs, analyze every business analyst job in your city and make then make an informed decision.

The technique that I used in answering this question is taken from a business analysis tools known as SWOT Analysis.

SWOT Analysis teaches you among other things to match your strengths and weaknesses against opportunities and threats in your internal and external environment.

I will be bringing out more information on using SWOT Analysis in Decision Making in a Soon Coming Post :-)

This post answers a question submitted by a business analyst looking at transitioning into the six sigma business analyst role. Be sure to leave your comments or questions at the end of this post and I will answer it for you.

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Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/12/the-six-sigma-business-analyst/feed/ 0 Can a Developer Make a Good Business Analyst? http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/02/can-developers-make-good-business-analysts/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/02/can-developers-make-good-business-analysts/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:59:37 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2774

Computer Programmers Learning Business Analysis

Computer Programmers Learning Business Analysis

I have been talking to a number of software developers, interested in changing roles to business analysis. If you are one of those software developers, then this post is written to show you how to switch careers from software development :-)

There seems to be some bias against switching roles to business analysis from software development. It’s a subtle form of discrimination from folks who stereotype all software developers as nerds with poor presentation and communication skills!

But is that really true? Are you poorly suited for a business analysis role just because you’re a software developer?

On the contrary, software developers can make good business analysts and I will dedicate the rest of this post to debunking this myth … just as I have done with several urban legends on this blog :-)

There are several reasons why a software developer like you would be interested in changing careers to business analysis and some of these could be:

  1. The Junior Programmer: you are new to computer programming and you are not enjoying it. Hence you wonder if you will be better suited for business analysis

  2. The Experienced Software Developer: you have learned all you can about software development and would like to start a new, challenging career in business analysis.

  3. The Accidental Business Analyst: you take on the roles of a business analyst at your company and you want to get formal recognition as a business analyst for your efforts.

  4. The Soft Skilled Developer: based on your communication, presentation or analysis skills, you feel that you will make a good business analyst.

  5. The Competent Developer: you are seen as being highly competent or responsible by your manager and because of that, you have been tasked with additional business analysis responsibilities..

Whatever the reasons for changing roles to business analysis, you are in for some good news … you are wanted by the job market!

Contrary to what you may think, having a formal software development background can actually prove to be a bonus or an advantage and here are some of the reasons why:

  • Right Background: IT business analysts are required to have a good understanding of the software development life cycle.

    Your background in software development can be used to fulfill that requirement easily.

  • Better Fit: IT managers need business analysts who can understand developers and talk with them at the system level.

    That means having enough technical knowledge to create UML diagrams or entity relationship models or even help translate business requirements into technical specifications.

  • Reduce Risk: IT shops need business analysts with a technical or systems background so that they won’t be at a lost in a challenging or complex software development project.

    When managers undertake a complex software development process, they want to reduce risk by hiring business analysts who can bridge the gap between the software development team and business because of their software developer background.

So, having a software development background puts you at an advantage in such situations.

Can you Market Yourself: The good news is that your software developer background does not have to count against you at the job interview and that is where this article becomes quite helpful!

First, you have to be sure of the value you will bring to your job if you are hired as a business analyst. Next, you have to convey that value clearly to the hiring manager!

So, using this article as reference, elicit all the reasons why hiring you will be helpful and then work on how to convey that to your hiring manager.

Now you’ve learnt how to switch from a traditional software developer role to a business analyst role … it is time to take action!

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Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/02/can-developers-make-good-business-analysts/feed/ 0 8 Tips for Business Analysts: How to Stand Out in a Crowded Job Market http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/10/26/8-tips-for-business-analysts-how-to-stand-out-in-a-crowded-job-market/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/10/26/8-tips-for-business-analysts-how-to-stand-out-in-a-crowded-job-market/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:03:30 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2639 stand out in a business analyst job market

This question was submitted by Merry who wants to know “how to become the best business analyst in a competitive business analyst job market.”

If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering Merry’s questions below!

Here is Merry’s Question on Becoming The Best Business Analyst

Hi

I recently graduated from university with a BSc degree in Computer Science. I am now doing a Business Analyst Internship at an IT company in RSA. My contract with the company is expiring in the next four months.

My greatest concern now is how do I go about finding the perfect position that meets my qualifications,skills and experience. The other challenge is that hiring managers or companies themselves are looking for people who are highly experienced and I only have one year experience.

As I was reading some of the articles published here, I learned that you say people should not aim at getting Junior Business Analyst positions as employers are not really looking for Junior Business Analysts.

Now my questions are with the little experience that I have and still need more exposure in this field(IT Business Analysis) what kind of positions should I apply for? and which steps must I take in order to become the best business analyst and for me to be considered for Business Analyst positions?

Thank you for your time. Looking forward to your response

Regards

How to Stand Out in a Crowded Business Analyst Job Market

    In a competitive business analyst job market, only the best business analyst candidates will succeed.

    So, here are a few things that you may do to become a stronger or better business analyst:

  1. Learn more about business analysis – become the best business analyst by getting a well-rounded in-depth understanding of core BA subjects.

  2. Improve your presentation or communication skills – employers hire business analysts with strong verbal communication skills.

    Click here to join your local Toastmasters club for one of the best communication skills training programs … it costs next to nothing!

  3. Become a better business writer – one of the senior business analysts I interviewed and recommended, got the job on the basis of her strong documentation or writing skills.

    Click here to join a training program like the business analysts boot camp which incorporates a lot of hands-on business analyst documentation or writing projects.

  4. Make your resume stand out – your resume or cover letter is the first point of contact with potential employers.

    There are two simple but effective things that can improve your business analyst resume immediately:

    • Incorporate your personal brand into your resume and do not present a chronological but boring list of previous business analyst jobs.

    • Use an appropriate layout and format your resume to make it attractive.

    • Use the correct verb tenses and tailor your resume for each job description.

    • A poorly written or formatted resume signals weak business writing skills, so learn how to write your resume properly or hire someone to do it for you.

    • Resume writers charge as much as $600 and if you have to re-write your resume for each business analyst job, the cost quickly adds up.

      Click here to use the limited-time discount code: resumeONEX for up to two (2) resume rewrites.

  5. Get a lot of hands on experience – employers are not comfortable hiring business analysts without strong hands-on experience regardless of their certification or academic qualifications.

    The demand for hands-on experience is so strong that college graduates are now paying for internship services!

    Click here to read how college graduates are paying for internship opportunities.

    So, do whatever it takes to get hands-on business analysis experience through training, volunteer, internship or personal leadership projects.

    Unlike some training programs, the business analyst boot camp incorporates hands-on projects, assignments and activities at no extra cost.

    So, for a limited-time, you may click here to register at the current low price.

  6. Become a Leader In Your Industry – don’t depend only on your resume for a job.

    Employers now research potential candidates on social networking sites. So, if you don’t have a well-crafted personal brand, you’re letting employers make up their mind before you have a chance to tell your story.

    Learn how to establish your personal brand or tell your story by reading this now;

  7. Prepare in advance for your business analyst job interview – start preparing for your business analyst job interviews several months ahead.

    Use business analyst practice tests to memorize, understand and recite the correct answers to potential interview questions.

    Click here; to read how scientific studies prove that using practice tests or quizzes boost retention, memory and recall.

    Note that the business analyst boot camp incorporates quizzes or practice tests as part of the process.

  8. Don’t be so narrow minded, get some technical skils - employers are hiring for broader skill sets in a bid to cut down costs.

    What that means is that business analysts are increasing being asked to demonstrate technical or programming skills.

    Broaden your skill sets by learning SQL, relational databases and HTML. If you’re brave enough, learn some computer programming.

    If your objective is to get a business analyst job, then give employers what they want and don’t be insisting that technical skills are for programmers only!

    Currently there is a 2 for 1 promotional discount which allows you to register for any technical training program at no additional costs … don’t miss it!

The reality is, “you have to work hard at standing out in a competitive job market“!

I have made this easier by explaining what employers are looking for, so, the rest is up to you.

Remember that the market doesn’t lie. Don’t invest time on how to circumvent business analyst job descriptions. Save time and effort by giving employers what they want.

This post answers a question on how to become the best business analyst in a crowded job market.

If you have a question or a challenge about your career, post it as a comment and I will answer it for you!

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Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/10/26/8-tips-for-business-analysts-how-to-stand-out-in-a-crowded-job-market/feed/ 1 How To Become A CRM Business Analyst Consultant http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/09/29/how-to-become-a-crm-business-analyst-consultant/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/09/29/how-to-become-a-crm-business-analyst-consultant/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:58:56 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2600 customer relationship management business analyst

customer relationship management business analyst

This question was posted by Sri who needs advice on “how to transition careers to customer relationship management (CRM) business analysis.”

If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering Sri’s questions below!

Please, send this post to your friends using the “Tell a Friend” Button button below.

You earn points or cash each time you refer an article to your friends using the Tell a Friend Button.

Here is Sri’s Question on Becoming A Domain Business Analyst

Hi Kingsley,

The reason I wanted to move into CRM is that it being an evergreen field, thats what I feel from my understanding that for any business to be successful it must be customer centric.

And how else can a business be successful without serving its customers better through their processes which revolve around customer and thus automating those processes in order to manage their relationships with customers in an efficient manner.

Also since recession has hit an all time high thus companies have a better role to play in order to retain their existing customers by integrating Customer Relationship Management tools in their organization and realizing the benefits of it.

I wanted to do a SAP-CRM but dont know how to go about it since SAP industry doesnt take in freshers for such domains without a life cycle implementation experience.

So I would like you to advise how I can go ahead with my CRM career with or without SAP or what others tools knowlege is better in order to get into BA-CRM role.

Thanks and Regards,

Sri

How To Become A CRM Business Analyst

Recent reports suggest that the world-wide CRM market will double in a short time driven by CRM projects in every industry including Healthcare and Life sciences.

For example, the consulting firm KensingtonHouse estimates that the percentage of companies deploying, upgrading, or actively considering a CRM purchase stands at 38 percent.

Against this background, Gartner recently predicted that “25 percent of CRM projects will be postponed or canceled because of the CRM skill shortage in consultants and systems integrators.”

So, you are right in saying that there are good opportunities in the CRM Industry for business analysts.

I would like to offer you a surprise, free coaching session on “How You Can Transition To A CRM Business Analyst Career”.

Here is what your customized coaching plan will cover:

  1. Hands-On Domain Experience: how to get CRM business analysis hands-on domain experience without first getting a full-time job

  2. Resume Makeover: how to customize your resume with the relevant CRM experience

  3. CRM Skills: how to figure out which CRM tools or CRM processes you should learn based on a SWOT analysis

  4. Career Marketing: how to market your customized CRM resume or skills directly to hiring managers or clients!

I will be contacting or corresponding with you directly on the details of your “CRM Businesss Analysis Coaching plan“.

Here is some additional information for you to consider before we start your customized CRM career coaching session

What Is The State of The CRM Job Market?

The CRM Job market is divided into a demand for business analysts and system integrators who work on improving or implementing CRM packages and CRM Developers who work on customizing CRM existing packages or creating CRM software solutions from scratch.

Which CRM Tools Should I Learn?

You need to evaluate both the popularity of a CRM tool in as well as the cost of learning the tool.

Because some CRM software packages require extensive investments of time and money to learn. Other are much more affordable for the client who’s adopting it and for the Business Analyst who’s learning it.

Regardless of the CRM package you choose to learn, you need to get a clear understanding of specific CRM processes like Sales Force Automation (SFA) which can be implemented in any tool.

After learning one or more CRM Software Packages, apply for CRM business analyst jobs by emphasizing your knowledge of CRM processes over the tools except when you have strong first hand knowledge of the CRM tool mentioned in the Job opening.

Here are a few CRM business analyst career paths for you to consider:

  1. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Business Analyst

  2. Salesforce.com CRM Business Analyst

  3. Oracle (PeopleSoft CRM / Siebel CRM) Business Analyst

  4. Sugar CRM Business Analyst Business Analyst

How To Become A CRM Domain Business Analyst

Have you considered going beyond the traditional CRM business analyst career path by consulting or freelancing on CRM issues. .. this is an example of a question you need to evaluate for our custom business analysis coaching session!

You also have to ignore using a traditional job search! Prepare a marketing plan that defines who your target market is amongst other things and how you would market your resume (advertising, networking, cold calling, speaking, etc.) to them.

If you want to consider a non-traditional CRM business analyst consulting path, you should prepare a business plan that addresses questions like:

  1. Are you going to provide CRM consulting services by yourself or

  2. Hire employees, consultants or contractors to provide CRM services to clients through your business

Finally, consider using the power of the web, internet and social media to market your services.

This post answers a question on how to transition careers to CRM business analysis.

If you have a question or a challenge about your career, post it as a comment and I will answer it for you!

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Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/09/29/how-to-become-a-crm-business-analyst-consultant/feed/ 3 How To Answer Business Analyst Job Interview Questions http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/09/28/how-to-answer-business-analyst-job-interview-questions/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/09/28/how-to-answer-business-analyst-job-interview-questions/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:50:12 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2565
How To Answer Business Analyst Job Interview Questions

How To Answer Business Analyst Job Interview Questions

I’ve taken dozens of IT job interviews with various IT departments ranging from small IT shops to Fortune 500 IT departments to non-profits to consulting firms to staffing or recruitment agencies!

I’ve been interviewed and hired for both management and non-management IT positions. I’ve personally interviewed, hired and also coached IT Professionals who’ve gone on to wow their interviewers or ace the IT positions they wanted.

I’ve been in several situations where to get the next consulting assignment, I interviewed with several firms and also received multiple, competing job offers!

I’ve been in situations where firms competed for my services by trying to hire me away or by going out of their way to impress me with pretty good offers.

I’ve been hired for high visibility IT jobs in large organizations with just one single phone interview … and without going through a face to face interview.

I’ve taken more IT interviews than I care to count … closing and getting job offers 9 times out of ten.

I’ve even taken and aced phone interviews while driving and while on vacation.

I’ve been interviewed by a team of not one single person but a team of professionals several times during my career and sometimes without any warning and still wowed the team of interviewers without any additional notice or preparation!

As far as IT job interviews are concerned, I’ve been there and I have been there and I’ve done it.

I Have Something To Say

I have a lot to say about job interviews and I’m asking you to learn from me, so that you can truly be the master of your own fortune.

Are you are ready to be all you can be, break out of your personal limitations and experience the success you want?

Begin by learning how to your business analyst job interviews”.

Are you teachable and open to learning? If you are, read the rest of this article on How To Ace Business Analyst Job Interviews.

Boost your Business Analyst Job Interviews Using The Scientific Method

If you are looking for a scientific way to boost your Business analysis skills or ace your Business Analyst job interviews, start using practice tests.

Research has shown that practice tests or quizzes improve retention, recall or understanding.

Research has also proven that workers who study and take quizzes have better long-term recall than their colleagues who study without taking quizzes.

Don’t use practice tests only in preparation for certification exams because they are useful for much more than that!

Practice tests or quizzes are effective for improving Business Analyst skills, retention or recall which helps you ace your Business Analyst job interviews!

Let’s go ahead and review how you may used practice tests to improve your skills or advance your Business Analyst Career or get a Business Analyst job.

Use Quizzes to Ace Business Analyst Job Interviews

Quizzes or practice tests are effective because they mimic the question and answer format of Business Analyst job interviews.

In Practice Tests, the Quiz software usually presents random questions to you, rates your answers as correct or incorrect and then displays correct answers for your benefit!

Practice Tests simulate Business Analyst job interviews by presenting the different types of questions interviewers ask including Single Choice, Multiple Choice or Open-ended interview questions.

In a Business Analyst job interview, the potential employer will ask a question and then review your answers for correctness, promptness of reply and comprehensiveness.

Lack of correctness (wrong answers), promptness (slow responses) and comprehensiveness (not enough details) may cause you to lose your Business Analyst job interview or give you a bad rating!

So, how would you prepare for your next job interview using this new information?

Start by using practice tests which can;

  • Present potential Business Analyst job interview questions in random order

  • Rate answers to single-choice, multiple-choice and open-ended interview questions … so you get used to answering them in interviews

  • Present the correct Business Analyst job interview answer with additional explanations so you familiarize yourself with the correct answers

Use Quizzes to Sharpen Your Business Analyst Job Interviewing Skills

Practice tests actually improve your ability to remember or recall correct answers in your interviews.

Use them extensively to prepare for your interviews weeks or months before you need a job!

Practice tests are effective because you answer a set of questions multiple times until they sink in and become second nature!

How Sharp Are Your Business Analyst Skills?

During your Business Analyst interviews, you are evaluated based on the correctness, promptness of reply and comprehensiveness of your answers.

Correctness:

Your answers are evaluated based on how precise or correct they are. Even when the Business Analyst interview questions are open ended, your answers are still evaluated as correct or incorrect.

You impress your interviewer when you can answer most or all of the questions you’re asked correctly. Not getting your facts straight or not knowing your material will certainly cost you the interview!

Promptness:

You are evaluated based on how quickly you respond to Business Analyst interview questions.

The quicker you are in responding to Business Analyst interview questions, the sharper your skills are perceived to be.

So, you lose points when you take too long to answer a Business Analyst question and you gain points or credibility, when your answers are quick or instinctive.

Comprehensiveness:

Your interviewer evaluates your Business analysis level of knowledge when you answer a Business Analyst question.

So, a comprehensive, detailed or factual answer will score more points than a sketchy, skimpy answer.

When you are asked a Business Analyst question, you really need to wow your interviewer by demonstrating that you have more than a superficial understanding of the topic.

You need to do this by giving the correct answer promptly and comprehensively (with as much detail as the time you are given permits).

How To Answer Business Analyst Interview Questions Correctly

Business Analyst Testing Software programs present a list of Business Analyst interview questions and then evaluates your answer to each question as either true of false … which helps you identify the correct answers.

You need to study each answer’s explanation, understand why it is correct and why the other answers are not correct.

You also need to attempt the same question several times until your answers are consistently correct.

Practicing with Business Analyst Testing Software will help you respond back promptly, correctly, comprehensively in a live Business Analyst interview.

How to Answer Business Analyst Interview Questions Promptly

Because practice questions are presented in a quiz software, you have a reliable way of recording, tracking or monitoring your training sessions and improvement.

Your ability to answer Business Analyst interview questions promptly is a function of your familiarity with the question or topic.

As your level of familiarity with Business Analyst questions increases, your promptness in answering also increases. So, practice taking Business analyst interviews using Business Analysis Testing software

In this article, we discussed how to boost your skills and ace your Business job interview using a proven scientific technique.

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Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/09/28/how-to-answer-business-analyst-job-interview-questions/feed/ 0 Do Business Analysts Need Computer Programmer Skills? http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/08/19/do-business-analysts-need-computer-programmer-skills/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/08/19/do-business-analysts-need-computer-programmer-skills/#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:43:55 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2268
Business Analysts Learn Computer Programming

Business Analysts Learn Computer Programming

Are database development, computer programming, data analysis or web development required skills for Business Analysts?

Perhaps you’ve seen, heard about or applied for jobs asking for a broad or seemingly impossible range of skill sets?

Like those job descriptions for business analysts requiring computer programming skills or those for PMP Certified Project Managers with 5 years of software development experience!

This post addresses “how to bridge the gap between business analyst skills and unfair job descriptions written-up by Information Technology (IT) departments”

Bridging The Gap Between Business And Information Technology (IT) Careers

I would like to know if Business analysts are expected to know more about programming.

I attended a job interview last week and the interviewer was hesitant to consider me for the post of business analyst (BA) as i have no coding experience.

Do i need to know about database design, structure etc for me to be a good BA?

All along in my previous projects the database design, architecture and technology were decided by the technical team and DBA’s and i come into the picture as BA only after everything has been finalized.

But i was a Junior (jr.) BA and now im applying for the position of senior BA and people point out my lack of coding experience.

“Here is the answer to the challenges created by business analyst job descriptions which are worded to include programming and database skills”!

  1. Looking from the business analysts (job seekers) perspective, you may be tempted to say NO. You may also argue that computer programming tasks should be left ONLY to software developer job descriptions.

  2. Looking from the perspective of employers, recruiters and hiring managers, you may say YES because business analyst job descriptions are just a means to an end!

    For employers or hiring managers, the end is always the same (the job that needs to be done) … and job descriptions are just a means to achieving that!

So, which of these two perspectives (the employers or the job seekers) is the right one?

  1. The employer who only cares about getting work done and will use anyone or any job description to achieve that end or …

  2. The business analyst who feels overwhelmed by requirements for computer programming skills on business analyst job descriptions?

To this question correctly, we need to understand the roots of the conflict! So, let’s take a look at the source of gaps between IT Job Descriptions and Business Analyst Careers.

Introducing The IT Business Analyst

  • The IT Business Analyst Role is slowly coming to maturity. As the roles of the computer programmer, database developer and systems analyst become matured, the “IT Business Analyst” role evolves to fill analysis and requirements tasks left out of software development roles.

  • Who Is The Accidental Business Analyst? As software development teams improve their requirements management or software development processes, some computer programmers begin picking up the requirements gathering and analysis tasks left undone by their team members.

    These Accidental Business Analysts are usually computer programmers or systems analysts with strong people, communication, business and requirements management skills who transition into or assume the role of the IT Business Analyst.

Some employers have not achieved a separation between “IT Business Analyst Roles” and “Computer Programmer Roles” in their minds.

For these employers, the distinctions between IT Business Analysts and Computer Programmers are a superficial play on words … hence the business analyst job description written-up to include computer programming languages!

So, back again to the question; “should a business analyst learn computer programming languages or acquire database development skills”?