The Winter 2024 Issue of BAM! Is Here
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect the perspectives of IIBA.
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The start of a new year is always a great time to take stock of where we’re headed and revise our goals, if need be. True to that spirit, the winter issue of BAM! takes a fresh look at career progression—and what it might look like for today’s business analysis professional.
The exact role of a business analysis professional is notoriously hard to pin down. Business Analyst. Project Manager. Business Systems Analyst. Product Owner. Consultant. The titles are almost as varied as the people who hold them.
In fact, according to the recently released 2023 Global State of Business Analysis Report, 28% of survey respondents worldwide have a title that doesn’t broadly fit into one of those five categories. That speaks not only to the versatility of the business analysis skill set, but also to its potential.
When you think about that elusiveness is a big advantage. So, what are some of the ways practitioners can leverage it?
The articles in this issue are all about the freedom to define your role on your own terms. Far from exhaustive, each takes a different approach to manifesting that freedom. It might involve seizing an opportunity to move into product management or business architecture. Or it could involve applying an equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) lens strategy analysis, elicitation and collaboration, or business analysis planning.
Whatever path you take in your career, don’t be afraid of exploring new directions.
Here’s a Look at What's Inside
This issue begins with a simple question that sums up the theme of career growth: “Do you have a clear roadmap for career growth or are you sleepwalking through your professional life?” If you answer yes to the second question, this article is for you.
In Career Progression Unleashed: Navigating the Competitive Landscape, we explore career progression strategies, including the importance of setting goals, the power of morning rituals, and grabbing opportunities as they come.
If you’ve recently joined an organization as a business analysis professional, you may be wondering about the unique expectations of your role within that environment. In Defining Your Business Analysis Role, we explore the steps you can take to make the business analyst role your own.
The first, and most essential, is to read and understand A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK Guide). This is followed by acquiring organizational knowledge, eliciting expectations, leveraging lessons learned, and synthesizing everything you’ve learned to start doing business analysis.
Next, we look at an issue that’s top of mind for many businesses and the topic of a recent (and very popular) Global Business Analysis Day session. In Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Business Analysis, we explore the mutually beneficial relationship between these two fields and how business analysis professional can incorporate EDI into their work.
The second half of the article looks at how these two fields overlap in terms of knowledge areas, competencies, and techniques. To foster sustainable relationships, projects, initiatives, and outcomes, inclusion must be applied within business analysis practices.
Rounding things out is a look at Your New Stakeholder, i.e. generative artificial intelligence (or Gen AI). Yes, the newest member of your team is available 24/7 and doesn’t need any vacation days, but that doesn’t mean it’s the solution to all our problems.
Due to its notorious fallibility and propensity to hallucinate, Gen AI needs business analysis professionals just as much as they need Gen AI. Finding the right balance will be key to involving this new stakeholder successfully.
If you’re a member, you can access the winter issue in full on our website.
If you're interested in writing for the magazine or have a topic suggestion for the next issue, please submit an outline to brand@iiba.org.
Thank you to the hard-working IIBA Editorial Committee and to our many experienced contributors, without whom this magazine would not exist.
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If you want to enhance your career or organization, you’ll find everything you need in IIBA’s Career Center.
About the Author
Robert McClements is the Communications and Media Relations Specialist at IIBA. With over six years of communications experience at non-governmental organizations, he contributes to IIBA’s marketing and communications efforts in support of the business analysis profession and community. Now residing in his hometown of Montreal, Robert enjoys spending time with his family, listening to music, and reading.
