Why Business Analysis is Critical When Navigating a Crisis

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Introducing the January issue of IIBA’s Business Analysis Magazine (BAM!), replacing the formerly named BA Lens e-magazine. With 2021 here, at last, many business analysis professionals may be wondering what is in store for the profession this year. The pandemic put a spotlight on the value and importance of business analysis in many industries as organizations struggled throughout most of 2020 to adjust to the changing market. This reset saw an opportunity to highlight the role of business analysis in helping organizations address data, cybersecurity, and for many transitioning quickly from a waterfall environment to agile.    

 

 

In the January issue of BAM!, IIBA focuses on core business analysis skills. There has never been a better time to demonstrate the value of business analysis. Kevin Crampton a business analyst with the World Health Organization (WHO) shares his view on the importance of recognizing stakeholder needs and pain points when “working across a very diverse range of users, being mindful of political, cultural and other sensibilities and really bringing a high degree of empathy to the job,” when rolling out world health emergency response programmes in his article, Business Analysis at the World Health Organization. 

Following this thread, Emily Midgley, who works as a Systems Analyst Lead in Small Business Insurance IT for Progressive Insurance, drills down into how portable skills can help you pursue new roles. In her article, From Business Analysis Professional to Product Owner, Emily explores what it means to be a Product Owner, what skills a PO should have, and why so many business analysis professionals are considering transitioning to a Product Owner role and how their “highly transferable skills…make them the obvious choice for a Product Owner role.”  

While business analysis skills are transferrable to PO roles, they also lend themselves to data analytics roles. Project Management Consultant, Adiba Khan states “From the perspective of strategy analysis, businesses across multiple industries have been challenged with creating a risk mitigation plan for an unprecedented event.” In her article, Strategy Analysis: Spotlight on Business Analysis During the COVID-19 Pandemic she examines the value business analysis has played in helping organizations manage data analytics. 

This issue also explores the importance of strategy alignment and the role of business architecture in strategy execution in, Strategy Execution: The Missing Component in Business Education, contributed by Brian Cameron from the Center for Enterprise Architecture and The Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University. 

Last but not least, in this month’s issue, IIBA also explores changes facing higher education institutions as a direct result of the global pandemic in the article, Higher Education: What Business Analysis Learning Looks Like Post COVID-19. Suzanne Bertschi, Director of Certifications and Programs at IIBA, shares insights from academic institutions discussing their first-hand experience, challenges, and perspective on skills development and certification.

 

 

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