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Career Path- Business Process Analyst to Business Analyst

A lot of business process analysts aspire to be BAs. Is that the right career move? How similar and how dissimilar are these two professions? Let’s explore.

A Business Process Analysis (BPA) is a special Business Analyst Role that involves “thinking processes”. BPAs model and analyze business processes. They use the process/workflow software to create process models that can be simulated, analyzed, and even executed directly by the business. The BPAs help the BAs in decision making by modeling/simulating “what-if” scenarios. BPAs focus on improving the efficiencies of business processes.

Business analysts look at business problems and opportunities and suggest suitable solutions to achieve them. Often, achieving business goals require the improvement of business processes and automating business processes. Business analysts are closure to the development team to develop technological solutions.

To summarize, a BPA is typically focused on activities occurring outside of an automated system. Automation is often an integral part of a BA’s role. BPAs need to learn tools on system modeling, data modeling apart from process modeling. Business Process Analysis acts as a perfect stepping stone for the Business Analyst profession.

Here is a summary of the similarities and differences between BPA & BA.

A couple of years of experience as a Business Process Analyst while learning the other skill sets which a BA needs will surely help in stepping up to a Business Analyst role. Moving to a BA role is a very natural progression for a BPA.

About Adaptive US

As a Premier Endorsed Education Provider (EEP) for the IIBA, Adaptive US, helps professionals to prepare for and succeed in their certification exams. Adaptive US is one of the market leaders when it comes to BA online training in ECBA, CCBA, AAC, and CBAP and also gives the option of success guarantee where without paying an extra penny you can undergo the training all over again if you fail.

For more details about plans and registration, you can visit the Workshop Calendar.

#business analyst #Business Analyst Online Training #business analyst certifications #iibii

https://youtu.be/wTFnhTnVzYg

How Much Technical Skills is Right for a Business Analyst?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k5DZ5gbESFWYhlTG8vm0-jID4grXlLvpeIlQEW3xiU0/edit?usp=sharing)

Should business analysts learn data analytics – This is a question I encounter quite often, should a business analyst be technical or learn technical skills.

I would not say no to it and then the next question comes how much technical skills are right for a Business analyst.

This is what a business analyst asked me recently:

“What’s your take? What is your take on a BA’s role in data analytics? Should business analysts learn analytics (business analytics or data analytics)? Or there is a good amount of demand for pure play BA’s still and will it continue to have the demand. Can I continue being a pure play BA, documenting and modeling requirements for applications or should I learn data analytics and allied tools?

My answer to this:

Business analysis is an emerging and evolving role and growing rapidly.

That’s precisely the reason why you see global bodies like IIBA and PMI investing heavily into it.

Business analysis as a role may vary a lot from one organization to another, and there are wide variations in them.

Since this is an evolving and growing field, the roles and boundaries are still not well defined.

Business analysts do a lot of things.

They gather, elicit and document requirements

They ensure a smooth development of the established requirements

They manage changes coming up to requirements

They ensure that the development/technology team has understood the functionalities and requirements, and is moving in the desired path

They also envision the product roadmap

They talk and understand the need/issues of the stakeholders

They also work as internal consultants

So as you see above the role is quite vast and varied, while as per BABoK V3, BAs are change enablers. This is quite true.

With all this how much technical skills is expected from a business analyst to know, this is a debatable question.

Some will say BAs don’t need to be technical, they are the functional experts. Some will say they need to be domain experts and not technical.

However, the below technical skills are essential for business analysts to perform their role:

Some excerpts from my article on IT tools for a BA – https://batimes.com/articles/top-10-it-skills-for-a-ba-grab-them-today.html

1. Software Engineering Methodologies like SDLC e.g. Waterfall, Iterative (Agile/Scrum)

2. High-Level Technology like Database structure, OOP – a good understanding of database concepts is a great skill for all business analysts.

3. Knowledge of Reporting Tools – another great area of interest for Business Analyst is Reporting tools, BI and reporting mechanisms etc.

4. UML and various Modeling and diagramming Tools (such as Rational Rose, Star UML (Free software) and Enterprise Architect)

Modeling tools are something like an instrument for a BA. The popular modeling tools in use in industry are Rational Rose, Star UML (Free software) and Enterprise Architect.

5. BPM Tools –

1. They say a picture is a thousand words worth. BPM tools are useful for depicting the process in a visual manner. The Popular BPM tools are MS Visio and BizAgi (free software)

6. Testing Tools – Business analysts are testers on behalf of the most stakeholders and sponsor for the application to see the light of the day. Test automation tools are a great productivity booster.

7. Requirements Management Tools – Few popular requirements management tool in the market are OSRMT – Open source Requirements management tool, DOORS, Rational Requisite pro.

8. Mindmap – As business analysts, we are expected to explore details about a particular situation or solution. Mindmap is a very helpful technique to elaborate any concept.

9. Prototyping tools – Prototypes are great ways to evaluate and collect feedback on requirements and features.

Prototyping tools such as Pencil, iRise, SmartDraw are few popular prototyping tools. Of which Pencil is a free plug-in whereas iRise and SmartDraw are licensed products. Pencil, iRise, SmartDraw

10. MS Office Suit – Last but not the least, it may sound very generic; however as business analyst s at any point of time we will have to be fairly proficient on the MS office tools like MS Excel, MS Word, and MS PowerPoint. These office tools are going to be handy for all our life, hence definitely worth to invest some good time in these tools.

Some more BA tools details can be found here – https://www.adaptiveus.com/top-10-business-analysis-tools/

Now coming back to my first question – do they need to keep pace with the new trends like data analytics to make their profile richer

My take would be as given above business analysis primarily revolves around requirements gathering, modeling, stakeholder mapping, stakeholder management. Solution assessment etc. but the flavors may vary.

On the contrary data analytics is a domain close to this phonetically but varies quite a bit from business analysis.

Data analytics primarily deals with analyzing a large volume of data, modeling the data with the intent of coming up with useful information and inferences.

It comes up with a hypothesis and behavioral pattern on the basis of predictive analytics to support decision making.

Data analysis uses statistical models to come up with the hypothesis and decisions.

Ex – Footfall pattern of a retail giant during various months of the year, and subsequent sales of the products.

Analysis of this data will help decision makers to procure items and place them in the store as per the behavioral pattern and the predictions of sales as per product.

Hence coming back to our question again, business analysis and data analysis though related in decision making, both are different from each other

The irony is in many organizations the terms are often confused due to the fact that they are phonetically similar.

There is a great future with pure-play BA role in making the requirements process stronger. Hence there is no compulsion or need to get to the other side of the fence and switching to analytics.

Being a pure-play BA one can continue doing all of this:

1. Asking right questions

2. Solving a business need or problem

3. Thinking ahead for the product/solution

4. Trying to solve the problems of the business users

5. Coming up with better solutions that take care of stated and implied needs etc

6. At a strategic level – Product visioning, road map etc.

Be it IoT, AI, Healthcare or Banking or any other domain the responsibilities don’t change much.

Continue to write and model better requirements if that fascinates you.

Continue to ask better and smarter questions, continue to elicit and model better requirements and build better systems.

How to Convince Your Employer to Fund Your BA Certification

When it comes to career advancement as a Business Analyst, certifications are definitely the front-runner. Getting a certification has undoubtedly got a lot of benefits. The primary one is to increase knowledge. As trends are constantly changing, keeping up to date and improving skills is important. Certifications also help a professional in becoming more marketable. Having a certification shows that a minimum standard of knowledge is met, which is essential for career advancement. It also goes out to prove the person’s commitment to learning and getting formally certified by an independent body.

After carefully scrutinizing all the different certifications available for Business Analysts in the market and finally selecting the one which brings both recognition and value, comes the most difficult part of paying for the certification. Many employees look to their employers for help in earning their certifications. But this is easier said than done. Convincing the employer to invest in a certification by allowing you to attend the training and also pay for the course is not a rather straightforward matter.

Top 5 reasons organizations do not fund employee training and certification

According to several studies, the top 5 reasons, why organizations do not undertake employee training and certification are-

1. The employee has simply not approached the organization with a concrete training proposal.

2. Employers do not have an appreciation for the business value of the training; measurable benefits of the training are not highlighted and understood.

3. Employers fear a disruption in critical business activities, especially if the training is for a longer duration

4. Employers are afraid employees will leave after they’ve invested in their professional development and they become more valuable professionally

5. Budget Constraints – an organization might not have enough budget allotted for training & certification

According to an article in Harvard Business Review, an analysis of over 1200 young achievers (30-something managers) revealed that employers generally satisfied their need for increased responsibility and promotion opportunities. But “they’re not getting much in the way of formal development, such as training, mentoring and coaching”.

Having noted the reasons why organizations do not want to fund employee certifications, let us look at the top reasons why they should be doing it

1. Assisting employees’ in their Business Analysis certification journey leads to happier employees and Rewards and recognition are great ways to motivate them. The employee can be part of a mentoring program in the organization wherein he/she is assigned to a few team members to mentor and guide. This helps in the overall competency development of the organizations as well as gives a higher recognition to the mentor. This will create loyal employees, better competency and can get rid of attrition as well.

2. It boosts productivity. A knowledgeable business analyst doesn’t only improve his/her work, they help in increasing the overall productivity of the project by bringing in and sharing expert knowledge. This improves the knowledge base of the entire organization.

3. Gives clients/stakeholders greater confidence in the capabilities of the organization

Keeping all this in mind, when you approach your manager/HR for approval of requisite funding, it is best to be prepared with something in tune to a sales pitch, as the main objective is to get the organization to agree to invest time and money on the certification you have chosen. It is very important to understand how to convince them.

It is very important that when you put in an application, you highlight how the certification is going to benefit the organization and move it towards its goals. The more that you can show the ROI of the certification to your company, the better chances you have of getting it approved.

Some pointers to “sell” your pitch to your employer can be-

Ø Highlight how the certification can help you be better at your job as a business analyst.

Certifications impart better knowledge of the subject and teach better ways of doing a job. Let your employer know that this certification will allow you to tackle new challenges, solve higher business problems, come up with better and more effective solutions to business problems, allow the organization to bag better projects. Describe how the certification program will impact your job, department, and company. Certification can help business analysts stand out in the field. Stress upon the fact that the process of achieving and maintaining certification helps ensure that you will be continually improving and refining your activities.

Ø Impress upon the fact that having a certified business analyst in a project boosts its productivity

Signify the business value of the certification by showing measurable benefits to the organization like an increase in project performance as you will be having specialized knowledge thanks to your certification course and improved skill set.

This will lead to higher trust by the customer and easier to convince the client on the basis of improved skill set.

➢ Another way to help your cause is to do your research

It is important that you have all the necessary information with yourself while making the pitch. Knowledge about the various aspects of your certification will help you in convincing your employer better understand the need of the same. Some of the points which you should be prepared with can be-

▪ The total cost of the certification

▪ Duration of the certification

▪ The global reputation of the certification provider

▪ Will the course require you to take time off for your preparation, explore if you can complete the course in online mode to minimize the disruption to business/absence from work

▪ Cost-benefit of the certification to the company

➢ Convince your employer that taking up the certification is not going to affect your job.

Studying outside work hours should be the aim, as it has minimal impact on your job. This gives your employer peace of mind in knowing that project deadlines will not be affected due to your course. Try to convince your employer that you will not be leaving the organization once you get certified and are willing to sign some kind of bond to show your intent towards it. (It’s good for your reputation too as it shows your loyalty towards your employer and can help you in the future when you’re looking for a job anyway.)

➢ You can impart the knowledge you have learnt to other team members

Giving back to others is the greatest form of serving a community. A certified business analyst can impart their knowledge/mentor team members on the newer skills. This will help the entire team, department, and company do better and work more efficiently.

➢ Highlight how having a certified BA in the project can build the confidence of the clients/stakeholders

Having a certified business analyst demonstrates to customers, competitors, suppliers, staff, and investors that the organization uses industry-standard business analysis practices. It also demonstrates to the stakeholders that the business is run effectively and as per latest industry norms and practices.

Chances are, if you can make a compelling case, your boss/management will fully support your certification and offer assistance. No organization can afford to ignore their staff’s professional development in today’s economy. With the rapid pace of change, employees must continually update their skills and knowledge if their employer is to survive and succeed.

Common risks for business analysis

I fully understand the danger of writing this article.

Many of my learned BAs will jump to the conclusion that this is a futile exercise and hence not necessary.

Clients, projects, and teams vary widely; therefore there is no way that one can get a comprehensive risk list.

What’s the point in trying to develop such a checklist?

To all those, I ask, “Why should we wear a seat-belt when there are hundreds of risks one faces while driving?”

We possibly can’t manage all risks, but some risks can actually be predicted and hence better managed.

Some of the major business analysis risks that I have come across in my career as a BA are:

(These are not in the order of priority- We can do that later).

Incomplete stakeholder list

Silent stakeholders

Incomplete non-functional requirements

Stakeholder dis-agreement on requirements

Lack of adequate details in requirements

Stakeholder dis-agreement on priorities

Non-availability of stakeholders

Implicit requirements

Changing scope

Lack of adequate time for business analysis

Lack of BA domain knowledge

Stakeholders pushing through requirements

Delay in stakeholder acceptance

Lack of stakeholder domain knowledge

Changing business environment

Fellow business analysts, I invite you to add to the above list. If together, we can come up with 100 common risks, it will be a great value for the entire BA community.

About LN

I am a professional BA, trainer, coach, and author.

If you like my posts please like/share/comment and spread the word in your network.

Would love to connect with fellow professionals.

You can also reach me at [email protected]

About Adaptive US

(Think BA. Think Adaptive.)

Adaptive US provides CBAP, CCBA, ECBA and other business analysis certification training online and consulting needs for Individual or Corporate either online or offline. Adaptive US is an endorsed education provider of IIBA®

Learn more about this training here:

http://www.adaptiveus.com

#Business analyst #business analyst certifications #IIBA Certifications #Business analyst online training

Top 10 CBAP Certification Myths and common questions

CBAP certification is undoubtedly the most coveted designation globally among the Business analysts.

Even though work experience is one of the requirements of CBAP® as a prerequisite, the CBAP® examination needs you to have excellent practical knowledge of the business analysis concepts and the ability to relate BABOK® knowledge to practical scenarios/cases.

We have come across many CBAP certification myths and misconceptions while interacting with BA professionals. Here are the top 10 CBAP Certification Myths -

However there are many myths associated with CBAP certification.

Some of the most common CBAP Certification Myths are as given below:

1. I can’t appear for CBAP® as I had a career break.

This is far from the truth. CBAP® examination does not bother about any career break that you had. It requires you to have 7500 hours of business analysis experience in the last 10 years. As long as you meet the criteria prescribed by IIBA®, that's more than enough for you to go for the examination. So do not worry if you had a career break in your work history.

2. I need my official designation as business analyst to prepare for CBAP®.

One of the most common CBAP Certification myths - I am not called as Business analyst in my organization , can I still pursue CBAP.

The requirement from IIBA® is to have experience regarding business analysis, not necessarily have the designation of Business Analyst. Even if you are officially designated as systems analyst, or project manager, Implementation consultant, Domain SME, Business consultant or something else, as long as you are dealing with the tasks mentioned in BABoK® (which are primarily related to requirements engineering, requirements management, requirements analysis and strategy analysis), you are perfectly fine to go for CBAP®.

3. I need to by-heart BABoK®.

This is an interesting myth. Unfortunately some training organizations also promote this kind of mindset where they expect one to remember BABoK® by heart. There is NO need for you to by heart BABoK®. What you need to understand are the concepts in BABoK®, a general flow for business analysis work, techniques and how the techniques relate to the work, and apply BABoK® concepts to a business analysis situation. So cheer up – no more frightening thoughts of by hearting BABoK®.

4. I will lose money if my application is not approved

Your application will not be processed until it is completely acceptable to IIBA®. So there is no way that one would lose money when applying for the examination. This was the situation when the old certification scheme was there. Stay confident that unless and until you provide all the details that you IIBA® expects you to provide, your application is not going to go to the stage where can pay the application review fees.

5. I can’t appear for CBAP as currently I am not in a job.

Again one of the most common CBAP Certification myths is that one should be in a job to apply for CBAP®. As I already mentioned before, there is no such expectation from IIBA® that one has to be in a job to be a CBAP®. In fact achieving the CBAP certification, when you are not in a job or even on a break can actually help you to get back into a BA role than not having the certificate.

6. I need my employer’s experience letter to take up CBAP®.

Again IIBA® has no expectation that one would produce any experience letter from the employer. What you need to make sure is that you are in touch with your past project managers or clients who can serve as a reference for your BA experience.

7. I need to complete lower level certifications to go for CBAP®.

There is no need for one to complete ECBATM and CCBA® to go for CBAP®. One can go directly for CBAP® as long as one meets the criteria mentioned by IIBA®.

8. CBAP is a cakewalk examination as I already have 15+ years’ experience as BA.

This is again another kind of situations where people with 15 to 20 years of experience feel that they can pass CBAP® easily since they have a good number of years of experience as a BA. A good knowledge of BABoK® and the exam pattern is highly essential to complete CBAP®.

9. Technical software knowledge is a pre-requisite to go through CBAP®.

The only area one would encounter software knowledge in BABoK® is part of RAD KA. One will be able to learn software modeling concepts if one spends about 20 hours of effort.

10. I need to be a graduate to qualify to appear for CBAP

There is no educational requirement in the eligibility criteria for CBAP.

11. Finally the greatest CBAP certification myth, CBAP is useless and only real BA knowledge counts.

This is indeed true for people who have no further career ambitions, and are completely happy with their current employer and do not see any value with personal branding. If you happen to be part of such a group, then there is no need for you to really spend time and effort in going for CBAP®.

CBAP® certification can indeed add significant value to your BA knowledge and career prospects.

Some of the common questions that I have encountered and my take on them are:

1. As a business analyst, what do you think about the CBAP certificate? Is it a waste of time?

We have worked with 200+ CBAP professionals and have seen them transforming to better roles, transitioning to global opportunities, better salaries.

As per the latest salary survey of IIBA – http://balens.iiba.org/?q=content/2017-salary-survey-summary

· CBAP Certified Professionals earn 16% more

· There is a 11% increment in salary for certification holders than the overall average salary

· The expected salary increase is in the range of 15 -20%

There has been a gradual shift towards recruiting certified business analysts globally. More and more organizations and business analyst jobs rely on this independent assessment of skills while recruiting.

Especially for experienced working professionals looking to switch into BA role, If you were previously working in IT , your technical software knowledge would definitely come in handy.

The median salary of a CBAPs is in the range of $90–92,000 and IIBA asserts that certified CBAP’s earn around 15% more than non-certified Business Analysts.

Benefits of certification:

· Be globally recognized for your competency in business analysis.

· Better job prospects.

· Better salary.

· Better career growth

· Opens door to global career opportunities and fortune 500 organizations

· Better skilled in BA domain

2. How do I prepare and enroll for CBAP certification?

Once you have decided to pursue CBAP certification based on your career goals, the first thing would be to check the eligibility criteria mentionedby IIBA.

Secondly, undergo proper training from an established BA trainer before registering and selecting a convenient slot to appear the exam.

Without training, clearing the exam in the very first attempt would be a horrendous task, simply because what you get to grasp in 30 hours of BA coaching would otherwise require 150 hours of self-learning to decode the BABoK, the prescribed book for BA certification exams.

Moreover, BA coaching under an EEP (Endorsed Education Provider) gives you the necessary (Professional Development Units) necessary to meet the criteria of the various certifications.

3. Which is the best business analyst certification, PMI-PBA or CBAP?

In terms of popularity and acceptance I would certainly say CBAP is best for a business analyst.

CBAP certification from IIBA has been hugely popular among corporate and individuals across the globe.

Whereas PMI PBA has some following in USA owing to the fact that it comes from PMI and it has the largest no. of certification holders for its most popular certification PMP.

However coming to numbers –

· As of Feb,2018, IIBA declares 9000+ CBAP certified professionals.

· While PMI reports 2020 PMI PBA certified professionals as of 31 Dec 2017.

But I would suggest to go for CBAP if you are considering both as alternatives.

Here’s a detailed analysis document on the comparison between PMI PBA and CBAP, which I had written some time back

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pmi-pba-vs-iiba-cbap-ananya-pani?trk=mp-reader-card

This article compares both the certification on each parameter and gives a beautiful perspective for you to get a comparison.

CBAP Recommended -

Pure play BA/enterprise level BA and planning to stay in the same path

Part of BA Center of Excellence/BA Competency team

If your organization has IIBA certifications as part of the competency framework

PMI PBA Recommended –

BA with a project or program management background/experience

BA with PMP certification

PMP certified professional /Project manager with BA responsibility

If your organization has partnership with PMI

If your organization has PMI certifications as part of the competency framework

4. How many hours of study is required for clearing CBAP?

About 150/200 hours of study is good enough to prepare for CBAP v3 and get certified.

But this is mostly true when you take the help of a greatcoach , with a good understanding of BABoK and with access to a good question bank.

5. Is it worth taking an IIBA membership?

If you are a BA and serious about BA career then it is definitely yes.

You get the membership fee paid back with the exam fees discount for members, so in effect you get all the resources free.

The membership comes loaded with whole lot of resources like books, online library, articles, white papers, webinars for members only.

The learning from all this is immense , if you see yourself in a product owner, Product line head, Business unit head or a domain expert role 10 years down the line.

6. How will IIBA verify if I really worked for 7500 hours for taking the CBAP certification?

IIBA does the checking of work experience through an application filing and approval process. This process is done via the project details provided and references provided.

IIBA reserves the right to audit your application.

Any discrepancies found can result in barring you from appearing for the exam or revocation of the certificate later part as well.

7. Is the CBAP certification useful for business analysts working in Agile methodology?

The new curriculum of BABoK V3 includes a major component of agile methodology in the curriculum for CBAP certification.

BABoK is a good framework for all types of Business Analysts, since it covers all the aspects of Business analysis starting from Planning to solution evaluation and strategy analysis.

Hence its always worth taking up certifications like CBAP considering the professional growth and compensation improvement.

8. What is the complexity of CBAP certification?

It is reasonably complex and requires very in depth understanding of concepts to clear the exam

Mostly the answers are close, confusing and expect it to be completely aligned to BABoK.

9. How do I know that I am prepared enough for sitting for the exam

When you have gone through BABoK 2/3 times, understand the concepts well, and the relationships between them, which makes the study part mostly through. After this you have to move over to verifying your understanding with questions. Take a good CBAP question bank and start with KA/chapter based questions first. Once you score about 80/85% move over to the exam simulator and aim for 80/85% on that as well.

10. What is the pass percentage of CBAP?

The pass percentage for CBAP is not disclosed however if you take a good CBAP simulation set and target for 80/85% then you will be safe and will be likely to clear

PMI PBA vs IIBA CBAP

PMI has come up finally with a certification to satisfy the hunger of the business analysis community.

Of late, business analysis has been a very valuable skill to learn for the project management community as well due to the need for the PM to perform BA roles also.

The certification space for BA community has been dominated by IIBA with its certifications, CCBA (basic level) and CBAP (Advanced level). PMI has recently come up with a BA certification, PMI-PBA for business analysts. And all of us are aware of the market share of PMI for its most popular certification for Project management stream viz PMP. This gives rise to the dilemma for the BA community on which certification to go for in the current scenario.

Here is a small comparison of PMI-PBA and IIBA® Certification:

PMI PBA has come to market early in 2015 and is yet to gain familiarity with the market. Whereas IIBA has already got the early mover advantage and has been very popular in corporate and as well as among professionals.

However, PMI has got a huge following from the corporate and individuals for various project management related certifications (there are more than 600,000 PMP certified professionals worldwide). PMI PBA has relaxed the eligibility criteria by considering 2000 hours of Project management experience in the applicant’s career.

Rest of the points seems to be more or less similar, please see the exact apple to apple comparison below.

CBAP Recommended –

Pure play BA/enterprise level BA and planning to stay in the same path

Part of BA Center of Excellence/BA Competency team

If your organization has IIBA certifications as part of the competency framework

PMI PBA Recommended –

BA with a project or program management background/experience

BA with PMP certification

PMP certified professional /Project manager with BA responsibility

If your organization has a partnership with PMI

If your organization has PMI certifications as part of the competency framework

PMI-PBA is for business analysts who work on projects and programs and have project management experience in their career, whereas, in contrast, IIBA® looks at Business Analysis in a much broader perspective and covers activities that exceed project and program and applies to the entire organizational involvement/initiative.

Sources of Information for this article – www.IIBA.org and www.PMI.org

10 Amazing Google Hacks to Boost Your Productivity

Google is a life-saver. No two ways about it. As a professional, Google has invaluable features including, but not in the least limited to, its search function, stocks, and its advertising clout. However, there is so much more it is capable of, that most of us are barely scratching the surface.

Here are some nifty little tricks we have gathered through the years:

1. Type using your voice (No more strained fingers)

Sure, we’ve all used Google search on our phones, and we know it has a fantastic voice search function. But, this feature can do so much more. Google Docs (the cloud-based version of a text editor) is becoming more powerful by the day, and as part of its features, is voice-based typing. With a few weeks of practice, the AI is capable of flawlessly understanding human speech, whatever your accent may be. As a fun tidbit, this article has been written by using voice typing!

2. Timer : Know when to get back after a break

Google has a calendar that is used extensively by professionals. However, in their bid to replace offline apps with cloud-based real-time systems, the software behemoth has introduced a tiny, but extremely useful widget in the form of the timer feature. Capable of counting down, it is handy to keep track of time leading up to a meeting or the re-commencement of a professional appointment after a break. Just search for “Timer” in the Google search bar to access this feature.

3. Calculator: Calcuate on the fly

Another applet introduced by Google is the calculator feature, removing the need for an external app. Just Google the calculation you need to be done, and the website is capable of handling arithmetic, percentages, or almost any other calculation that is performed by professionals.

4. Conversions: Convert on the fly

Dealing with international transactions is often a troublesome affair, due to the simple reason that currencies fluctuate in value with respect to each other. Google offers real-time conversion from one currency to another. Let’s say you need to know the value of 16.50 pounds in American dollars. All you have to do is type “Convert 16.5 GBP to USD” in the search bar.

5. Draw perfect pictures – You don’t have to be an artist

Autodraw.com is a nifty little website for when you wanted to illustrate your articles, but just couldn’t find the right clip-art/stock image. By drawing a very rough version of the image in mind, you will get cute little clip arts that suit your purpose just fine.

6. Language translation: Be a pro in multiple languages

Google translate is already the most reliable option for tourists in a foreign country for translation to the native language. However, most professionals are yet to realize that this software has an extremely significant application in their respective fields. It provides a quick and efficient way of translating any blog/article that has already been written, into another prominent language, such as Spanish, for example, greatly widening the target audience.

7. Store documents: No fear of disk crash

We all keep important documents and drafts on our computers or hard disk drives. However, there are significant risks in doing so. Loss or damage of the storage medium will lead to a loss of the data too. Hence, a software widely recommended today is Google Drive, which is a cloud based document storage medium. You don’t even need the storage medium to work with the documents, since it can be accessed by any device with an internet connection. As an added bonus, it makes the sharing of any of these documents incredibly easy, and all you need to know is the recipient’s email address.

8. Set reminders for special days: Save your marriage

As part of its calendar app, you can easily set reminders for the future from the Google app (for mobile) or website. All you have to do is type (or say out loud), “Set a reminder for <date>” and enter in the name of the reminder and at what time you want to be reminded.

9. Flow chart: No worries if you don’t have MS Visio

Free software is great, right? One little problem, though. There isn’t too much of it on the internet. we have often been asked by BA aspirants, as well as others, on whether they have to purchase software to make flowcharts. The good part is, Google Docs handles all that. It allows us complete freedom in designing the charts, and is a quick and efficient way of making them. Here’s a link that gives detailed instructions on how to make flowcharts using Docs. Here is a quite interesting video for the same https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asNa86jsWmc.

10. Mind-maps: Impress your colleagues

The same goes with mind maps, another resource that is widely used by BAs and other professionals. Luckily, Google Docs is our savior once again. Here’s the link with all the details. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILCLo2v_9eQ

Oh Google, what would we do without you?

Transitioning career from a Software developer to Business Analyst

This is an usual question that I come across, I am a software developer but not keen on continuing further. I don’t like coding going further, doesn’t seem exciting to me I am inclined to a Business Analysis career. I am very excited about it, and keen to pursue further.

How do I make a transition to BA career, how can I get into a BA role.

Software developers are usually the ones who write code, develop software, do the unit testing for their piece of code.

While there are some who enjoy coding for a fair amount of years in their life and subsequently move to higher technical roles, there are some who enjoy working with team and people.

They are the ones who love talking to people, coordinating among the team and subsequently take up to talking customers/users in knowing their requirements, analyzing them and putting it across in documented form etc.

These are the ones who are in the making of Business analysts/requirements analysts.

As per IIBA Business analysis is the practice of enabling change in an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders. Business analysis enables an enterprise to articulate needs and the rationale for change, and to design and describe solutions that can deliver value.

Now what do you need to make your plans reality for being a successful Business analyst:

· Take proactive measures to talk to stakeholders/users

· Get involved in the requirements gathering process

· Learn the modeling tools (diagramming tools) and Requirement management tools

· Show interest and be proactive to be part of the requirements gathering and documentation process

· Ask questions/communicate with business teams

· Try to learn the business terms, Business Process, look for any business (domain) terms available in your project or with client/on web.

· Try to understand the existing system and the new proposed system, overall objective of the project and the big picture

· Learn industry or domain process framework/best practices using APQC Framework

· Most important start thinking more like a business user (business mode of thinking) and stop thinking like a developer (solution mode of thinking)

· Join Professional groups on Business Analysis and try to follow the discussions, Participate in forums and conferences which can help you enhance your career in the new field

· Added to this IIBA has now come up with ECBA, a beautiful certification scheme spotting the need of the hour and catering to the aspirations for many. ECBA as some of you may know stands for Entry Certificate in Business Analysis , and as the name suggests caters to those professionals who would be making an entry or begin their career in BA domain. It could also mean changing domain from a different field to the BA field. The good part is it doesn’t require any experience in BA domain to take this certification, and focuses on those knowledge areas of Business Analysis domain which are going to be of use for the beginners like Requirements Analysis, Requirements Life Cycle Management, Elicitation and Collaboration. Please see here for more details on how to get certified with ECBA.

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I write on Business analysis and other management related concepts/tools and day to day ideas, you can reach me at [email protected]

Chicken or Egg: Certification or Experience, the never ending dilemma

“

I want to pursue a career in the Business Analysis field. I am very excited about it, and keen to pursue further. But, I am in a different role and I don’t have prior experience in BA field. How do I switch over to BA role? All the BA jobs require prior experience. How do I make the transition? Will any certification help me for the transition? How do I solve this? All the certifications have prior experience eligibility criteria. I am in a fix–what should I do to make my dream true? Can any one help?”

Does this sound like you?

Being in the industry for so many years, I come across this issue very often.

Business Analysis has been an upcoming promising field and has gained high popularity owing to its techno functional nature, where functional/domain knowledge plays a large amount of role and a high level knowledge of technology is a great booster to the skills.

But lot of times people come across this problem stated above in order to get into the BA field even though they may have good amount of industry experience and knowledge.

They do not have the relevant exp in the BA Domain to take up CCBA/CBAP Certification by IIBA while they want to move to a BA career and get certified in BA domain.

Couple of suggestions/points to follow if you are also in this situation:

1. IIBA has now come up with ECBA, a beautiful certification scheme spotting the need of the hour and catering to the aspirations for many.

· ECBA as some of you may know stands for Entry Certificate in Business Analysis , and as the name suggests caters to those professionals who would be making an entry or begin their career in BA domain.

· It could also mean changing domain from a different field to the BA field. The good part is it doesn’t require any experience in BA domain to take this certification, and focuses on those knowledge areas of Business Analysis domain which are going to be of use for the beginners like Requirements Analysis, Requirements Life Cycle Management, Elicitation and Collaboration.

· ECBA certification from IIBA is recommended for aspiring and new Business analysts. This not only gives you a rock solid foundation for getting into the BA profession also helps you with a global certification. ECBA has the backing of market recognition of IIBA hence the job opportunities it would bring in due to acceptance in the corporate segment. ECBA is framed rightly to suit the needs of an entry level Business analyst focusing on requirements analysis, modeling and requirements life cycle management with good amount of emphasis on modeling concepts and tools.

· We have helped 100+ professionals in getting ECBA certified and giving better prospects to their career.

Please read through a

detailed blog

on how to get certified with ECBA.

2. Take up CPRE FL certification from IREB.

Foundation level comprises basic knowledge of eliciting, analyzing, specifying, documenting, validating and managing requirements.

A person with a CPRE FL certificate:

· Is familiar with the terminology of requirements engineering/business analysis and requirements management.

· Understands the basic techniques and methods of requirements engineering and their application.

· Is familiar with the most established notations for requirements.

· Icing on the cake is CPRE-FL certification does not have any eligibility criteria in terms of experience hence you can go for the certification in the beginning of your career as well.

· IREB is gaining popularity in a very fast pace globally among the BA community.

As of beginning 2018, there are 37,000+ IREB certified professionals globally.

However given the market recognition and popularity ECBA from IIBA is preferred owing to its has higher global acceptance.

3. If you are keen on getting certified from IIBA then consider taking a BA training session and acquiring the IIBA prescribed BA skills.

· Post training you can go in for a full-fledged BA career using your background, domain and experience. Once you acquire the required 2.5 Years of relevant BA experience you can comfortably go for CCBA certification. Please weigh these options looking at all pros and cons and then take an appropriate decision on the same.

Another frequent question that I come across:

“

I am a testing/QA professional and doing some part of BA work, I would like to move into a full-fledged Business analysis career, can you help me with this?”

“

I am a software developer but not keen on continuing further. I don’t like coding going further, doesn’t seem exciting to me I am inclined to a Business Analysis career. I am very excited about it, and keen to pursue further. Can you help me on how to make a transition to BA career, how can I get into a BA role.

Some amount of career development planning makes the transition smooth from QA or developer or any other domain to a Business Analyst role:

1. Get involved in the requirements gathering process proactively

2. Take proactive measures to talk to stakeholders/users

3. Show interest, gather knowledge and be proactive to be part of the requirements gathering and documentation process

4. Learn the modeling tools (diagramming tools) and Requirement management tools

5. Try to learn the business terms, business process, look for any business (domain) terms repository available in your project or with client/on the web

6. Try to understand the existing system and the new proposed system, overall objective of the project and the big picture

7. Learn industry or domain process framework/best practices using APQC Framework

8. Take lead in any defect resolution/analysis with users during the deployment process.

9. Get involved in the user /implementation training

10. Most important start thinking more like a business user (business mode of thinking) and stop thinking like a developer or a tester(solution mode of thinking)

11. Take lead/active part in any process/requirement changes in the project/account.

12. Follow some great leaders in the industry that you are in.

13. Join Professional groups on Business Analysis and try to follow the discussions, Participate in forums and conferences which can help you enhance your career in the new field

14. Keep pursuing your goal and be focused on your goal/objective

15. Be open to learning and make learning your objective for everyday

With all these steps I definitely can assure you that you will see yourself in a promising and bright career.

All the best on your career, don’t forget to share your success story to me and with others in the network.

Always remember to extend help to someone who is in need of some career guidance and help.

About me My mission is to help business analysts to build a successful professional career.

I have helped 2000+ BAs in choosing a better career and help them achieve professional success.

I co-founded Adaptive US, #1 IIBA V3 training organization.

I am also a strong supporter of encouraging women workforce in technology and have helped many women to come back to work after long career breaks.

If you like my posts please like/share/comment and spread the word in your network. Would love to connect with fellow professionals. You can also reach me at [email protected] About my organization, Adaptive US We provide training, study guides, question banks, necessary PDUs for ECBA, CCBA, CBAP certifications. For more details, please visit www.AdaptiveUS.com

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