11 Tips for Business Analysts in 2022
Receive free IIBA updates and exclusive content!
Two years into the global pandemic and a lot of changes have taken place. As restrictions are easing, many of us are heading back to the office or a hybrid workplace. So, what does the future for business analysis professionals look like? We’ve rounded together nine business analysis professionals to share their insights on the future of work.
Tip #1: Now is the time to embrace change
Bola Adesope, Senior Consultant, Business Agility, Deloitte
Location: Toronto, Canada
The world is changing and changing fast. In the last two years, the world in general has experienced a lot of changes. Changes in the way we work, changes in the way we relate, changes in the way we live and changes in the way we transact. While the core of Business Analysis still remains the same, the approach and focus of Business Analysis must evolve as the world is changing.
It’s a new world. It’s a new game. The new Business Analysis game.
Tip #2: Future-proof your career with trending skills
Georges Bryson, Instructor, McGill University
Location: Quebec, Canada
The evolution of business analysis professionals into expanding roles depends on a combination of digital skills, business acumen, and targeted knowledge to drive better business outcomes across all industries.
In reference to IIBA’s career spoke model depicting the evolution of business analysis roles; some roles are more technical, and some more business focused. So, where should you direct your attention? Be led by your CURIOSITY factor and seek to discover areas of our profession you have never explored before! Then be driven by your PASSION, be a specialist and help change our business world collaboratively with your stakeholders in a sub-domain you love … LOVE, a word you will not see in the BABOK® (A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge).
Tip #3: Improve your performance through play at work!
Georgiana Mannion, BA Lead Portfolio APAC, Cushman & Wakefield
Location: Brisbane, Australia
My trend for 2022 is: Playfulness! I’ve been promoting it at conferences for years but adding Lego Serious Play or Lean Games to a workshop seriously changes stakeholder engagement and you will elicit requirements, benefits, and risks much sooner. Plus, it removes workshop fatigue during long programs. Secondly, internally focused development. I’m creating a Business Analysis Centre of Excellence for their Asia Pacific countries for my client. It’s the opportunity for skills exchange, universal tools and techniques, development pathways, collaboration, and ultimately, increasing the status of the Business Analyst in an organisation. My mission statement is to elevate, educate, and empower Business Analysts.
Tip #4: Bring agility and adaptability into your work
Jamie Champagne, Business Analysis Professional Speaker and Trainer, Champagne Collaborations, LLC
Location: Hawaii, US
Business analysts of tomorrow are the ones that bring agility and adaptability into every aspect of their work. Business Analysts need to be able to plan for tomorrow in an uncertain future.
What I mean by this, is does your plan incorporate places to pivot, to respond, to leverage, grow and learn AS you are doing the work? When things don’t go as plan, are you ready to just course correct, yet stay moving forward? When things work really well or something you never considered, are you prepared to capitalize on that insight and adapt the plan to the new reality success?
The world of tomorrow is more uncertain than ever, and the most successful Business Analysts are going to be the ones that embrace that uncertainty with excitement, a toolbox full of ideas that adapt and flex and respond, and an enthusiasm to see OTHERS success as their own definition of being a successful business analyst.
Tip #5: Cultivate a growth mindset: don’t limit yourself to a job title
Jérémie Guay, Release Train Engineer (RTE) / Agile Program Manager, Bell
Location: Montreal, Quebec
I foresee that Scaled Agility will continue to gain popularity in our organizations.
Even though there is no Business Analyst role per se in the SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) documentation, I would argue that most of the roles in scaled agility benefits from a Business Analysis skill set and vision.
Afterall, being a business analyst is much more than the title. BABOK® Guide says it best, “A business analyst is any person who performs business analysis tasks described in the BABOK® Guide, no matter their job title or organizational role.”
Don’t limit yourself to a job title.
Whatever you decide to do with your career (Product Owner, RTE, Data analyst, or anything else) I believe cultivating a growth mindset is the best way to stay relevant, deliver more value and thrive in this continually changing world we live in.
Tip #6: Integrate sustainability to increase social value
Reydan Yaşar, BA Coach & Trainer, BA-Works Business Analysis Services
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Nowadays, business analysts focus on being agile and product ownership. These are the worldwide trends.
By focusing on agile and product ownership we can support maximizing the value delivered and build faster. On the other hand, the earth struggles with many environmental problems, and organizations’ consciousness of these problems has increased.
Since we design products, solutions, services, and processes that change people's lives and the world, we have the chance to make an impact. At that point, only being agile and product-centric will not be enough, we need to integrate sustainability viewpoint into the product design and development processes to increase the social value.
Tip #7: Focus on usage-centric approach to deliver improved outcomes
Karl Wiegers, Principal Consultant, Process Impact
Location: Oregon, US
As people look ahead to new trends in business analysis, they shouldn’t lose sight of established practices that we know work. My book, Software Development Pearls, presents 60 lessons I’ve learned since I began programming in 1970.
Perhaps the most important lesson is that a usage-centric approach to requirements will meet customer needs better than a feature-centric approach. Understanding what users need to do with the product helps development teams implement the necessary functionality so they can accomplish their tasks, and it avoids building functionality that no one uses. Focus business analysis on users and their needs, not on the solution.
Tip #8: Be transparent and collaborative in planning
Tip #9: Focus on the why of work to solve real business problems
Tip #10: Use visualizations to drive scoping conversations
Ryland Leyton, Senior Business Analyst and Agile Coach, Cognizant Microsoft Business Group
Location: Dallas-Fort Worth, US
In 2022 I’m intending to focus on these three things:
ONE:
Creating analysis plans that let you be transparent, visible, accountable, and collaborative with your project manager, key stakeholder/sponsor, and other team members.
TWO:
The use of visualizations and models, in particular the context diagram. This is a way to drive strong scoping conversations and help drive stakeholder analysis.
THREE:
Personally, I’m very interested in developing the consultative mindset practices of the business analysis professionals I work with. I want to see them focused on the why of work they do and make sure the solution is solving real business problems, not just “delivering something”.
Tip #11: Business analysis is a mindset
Stefan Bossuwé, Business Consultant, Twistfare bvba
Location: Antwerp, Belgium
I sincerely hope that in 2022, business analysis can finally claim its rightful place in the business arena … even more than it has ever done before.
The business analyst title or the concept of business analysis as a role or even a profession, will be more and more abandoned.
From this year onwards, the focus will shift to business analysis as a mindset, a mindset in which the holistic philosophy will be embedded.
This is going to be an important development for the business analysis community, which is already for many years struggling to put business analysis on the map.
So, I'm very hopeful that in 2022, the business analysis mindset will have its major breakthrough.
I hope you find these 11 tips from the nine Business Analysts to Watch in 2022 helpful and insightful. Creating IIBA’s annual Business Analysts to Watch list is one of my favourite projects. I find their tips inspiring and hope they help you flourish and drive your personal success this year.
Transform Your Career with IIBA
2022 is a year of enabling change with business analysis! When you become a Member of IIBA, gain access to our curated resources tailored to your career progression, our network of professionals, and understanding the trends that will help you grow in 2022.
About the Author:
Rosalyn eats, lives and breathes social media. With more than 7 years of experience in the field of social media, working in different industries from hospitality to beauty and accounting, she joined IIBA in 2018 as our resident social media guru.
