For Whom the (School) Bell Tolls
A common theme in the BA community is that a lot of us didn't 'plan' to be a business analyst. Some of us come from an inherited role after a large business or IT transformation project, others come from testing or software development backgrounds and transition to the analyst role having an appreciation of other perspectives. There are few 'defined' routes into business analysis as a career outside of embarking on a BCS or IIBA type qualification, finding a dedicated degree in the UK is difficult - a quick Google of "Business Analysis degree" returns results for Business Analytics (not the same albeit some useful transferable skills no doubt).
I may be a slight exception to the 'accidental' BA's that are throughout the working world. I had an aptitude for IT, but knew I didn't enjoy development or infrastructure or networks. I did however like problem solving and if we're being totally honest, I liked being right (still do). Importantly for a BA, I also had a high level of curiosity and confidence to challenge when I thought something could be done differently.
Flash back to school days and I made conscious choices to select Business Studies and IT as core subjects at A-level, but I had a natural enjoyment for History so added that to the list and Psychology as a fourth subject to help me with the "why people do what they do" questions. I'm not prescribing these as subjects for those that want to start their career as a BA, but it worked for me.
Biscuit break: The BA profession contains an enormous amount of transferable skills and competencies that far exceed domain-specific knowledge in my opinion. Business Analysts can offer value in any type of project execution, process analysis, and vendor selection activities across any area of a business capability. We know the questions to ask to get the context and information needed to help make decisions and guide improvement.
Paving the Way
From the subjects I selected I could set myself off in a direction heading towards some kind of career in the business/IT space but supplemented with some wider knowledge that could come in handy. I've mentioned transferrable skills previously and that's what this blog really tries to highlight is how much of the BA role can be applied elsewhere (not just in IT projects).
Let's start with the obvious skills obtained from some of the subjects:
IT: technical understanding of IT frameworks, development lifecycles, e-commerce
Business: organisational structures, how businesses 'work', awareness of functional areas within an organisation, being able to 'join the dots' between business and IT
These two were the core of where I wanted to build a career from, or at least explore the opportunities - I might have hated it after I learned more! Day to day, I use knowledge from these subjects to aid team members and deliver on projects. These also set the foundation for selecting my undergraduate degree in Business Information Systems which cemented by 'business analyst' career path decision. However, I find myself using skills from other subject areas far more often than I ever thought I would do:
History: using curiosity to find answers; questioning and understanding the context of a source (provenance); finding evidence to back-up sources (triangulation with data, records or articles)
Psychology: understanding influence and power dynamics; research techniques and interpretation of results; statistical analysis; human interaction and communication skills
Biscuit break: Every business analyst will have skills from other areas of life they can bring to the table. It may be similar to this article with an interest in a subject area not 'directly' related to the BA profession, it could be from outside of a professional environment completely - team sports, building a model village, running a scouts group, these will all have skills that can be used elsewhere. Understanding the team around you and what other 'hidden' skills they may possess can be a gold-mine!
School's Out (or is it?)
If you're reading this article as someone looking to join the BA profession, think about areas where you already have experience in some of the core BA competencies: facilitation, communication, inter-personal skills, planning, change management, identifying value and process mapping.
There is a great initiative (BA School Day) founded by brilliant BA community leaders Adrian Reed & Christina Lovelock which started in 2023 and aims to raise awareness of the profession within a school environment. The greater the awareness, the higher the likelihood that more 'intentional' BA's enter the workforce and elevate the profession as a whole.