In this episode, David Mantica, President of ASPE, shares his views on the future of the business analyst role and how we can open up new opportunities for career growth and drive valuable change in our organizations.

After listening to this episode, you will understand:

  • How different organizations are structured to manage business analysis activities
  • The trajectory of the Business Analyst role and why there’s now some confusion about the role
  • The spectrum of business analysis and how to climb the value ladder to grow your career
  • How to create new opportunities for yourself and help build the future of your organization
  • Why being uncomfortable may be the best thing for your career

Key Takeaways

Career growth and new opportunities are often not planned for in your development path.  It’s based on the skill and success of that individual, and when you climb the value ladder to bring more and more value to your organization, you may be given opportunities to have a seat at the table and shape the future of the organization.

The work we’re doing as project professionals is a linchpin for competitive advantage and it enables the long term success of the organization.  If you can build a group of analysts who rise above the end project work and note taking, you’ll build a group of management consultants who have domain knowledge and understand the operation of the organization and can therefore help plan the future of the organization.  The opportunity to grow the Business Analyst role is moving out of the project world and into the world of defining where the company is going in terms of its systems, processes, and products.

If you can show your value in being a business adviser (even on your current projects) and show the extent of what you can do, that may cause your organization to create a role in which you can add even more value and help shape the future of your company.

As you move up and have the opportunity to set direction, the details become more ambiguous and we need to build top level skills – your ability to deal with conflict, ability to problem solve, ability to negotiate in a way that seeks balance, and strong presentation skills.  If you have a great idea but can’t present it in a compelling way, no one will listen.

The way to build those skills is by forcing yourself to get into situations that require you to develop your presentation skills or deal with conflict and negotiation.  Put yourself in uncomfortable situations that will allow you to stretch and grow – even if you’re bad at it as first.  Understand conflict and cognitive diversity and be able to embrace it in order to move forward.  Take action and speak with your manager about stretch assignments.

Of course, it’s always helpful to find a good mentor on the business side who can help you to understand the motivations of your customers.

Links mentioned in this episode

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