If you could solve one challenge in your business analyst career, what would it be? What’s holding you back from more success?
Tell me where you are at in your career by leaving a comment below, and let me know what the challenge is and I’ll do my best to help you out!
(This is the kind of advice that is typically reserved for participants in our programs, so I encourage you to take advantage of it by leaving a comment here or throughout social media!)
Hi Laura,
After being out of work for 1 year. I have finally accepted a BA job. Although it is a contract to hire job, I want to start off on a good note and continue to evolve. During my out of work time, I have not been able to keep abreast of the ever-changing BA world as my resources began to become very scarce and limited. To say the least. Now, this is an exciting time for me as I will be working in the IT space supporting cross-functional teams on a system I have lack of knowledge and experience. So I will be supporting by gathering/collecting requirements, user acceptance testing, and process mapping, but not limited too. I have been told that it is “super” fast-paced and things always changing in an entrepreneurial type environment. This scares me a little as I feel this is going to challenge my strong organizational and time management skills. I have been researching the system that I will be supporting and watching a bunch of YouTube videos and I have also took your domain questions from one of your articles and answered some of them based from my research thus far. I plan to answer the remaining questions once I have started the job and understanding the landscape. I start the job in the next few weeks and trying to figure out the best approach to starting this new job. Especially since there will not be any training, the information possibly vague, and wondering what the support looks like.
Could you offer any advice to help me start on the right foot please? What would be the first thing you would do when starting a new BA position?
Thank you in advance for your feedback.
I am not getting opportunities to showcase my skills. I am trying hard to get a chance to work as a Salesforce BA but I am not getting the recognition in the industry. Kindly suggest how can I succeed in getting the right opportunity.
Here are our go-to resources on finding a business analyst job. https://www.bridging-the-gap.com/the-business-analyst-job-search-process-5-steps-to-getting-hired/
My biggest challenge is lack of time to feel I’ve done a good and thorough job. Requirements are thrown together; I barely have time to think about what kind of data modeling tool would work best for a particular situation, let alone use one, before it’s time to move to the next step. How can I feel secure that I’ve done a good and thorough job without working tons of overtime?
Hi Maria,
This is a very powerful question. It sounds like the core challenge is unrealistic deadlines. Here is an article on dealing with this challenge: https://www.bridging-the-gap.com/requirements-deadlines/
Hi Laura, I’m interested in understanding what context diagrams are and how they can be used in the BA space. Also, how are they different from business process modeling? Thanks for the help
Hi Terrance, Here’s an article on 22 visual models, and I cover both context diagrams and business processes.
https://www.bridging-the-gap.com/22-visual-models-used-by-business-analysts/
Hi Laura, I am a Systems Analyst trying to break into the BA scene. I get interviews but because I lack hands on BA experience I fall short. My sentiments the core skills I have as the skills are transferable but its how to get a foot in the door is my current challenge. How to secure that new role. Your input appreciated. Regards
Hi Sobua,
Start where you are and consciously expand your skills and experience. Here’s a post on how to do that. https://www.bridging-the-gap.com/how-to-expand-your-ba-experience-even-if-you-arent-a-business-analyst/
If you are unemployed and not able to fully articulate not just your transferable skills but also your capabilities and experience to act as a BA right away, you may need to hop back into a Systems Analyst role temporarily to expand your skills and build up your confidence.
If I could solve one challenge with how I view being a BA, it would be how to get a seat at the overall strategic table. I believe BA’s should be involved at the highest levels, yet for the most part, we’re not included until long after the project has received approval. Organizations still want BA’s who can help them solve the tactical problems, but they don’t see the role as any bigger than that (and really, so many BA’s still don’t see the role as bigger than that, which is another challenge I’d love to solve).
I agree that Business Analysts would be incredibly valuable at the strategic table. Here are 2 resources I have to share with you Tracie.
https://www.bridging-the-gap.com/your-organization-needs-you-to-step-up/
https://www.bridging-the-gap.com/business-analyst-success-tip/
Hi,
I have moved countries and have been a business analyst with projects mainly in the government sector. All the jobs available need industry specific knowledge like banking, insurance. How can I find a job under these conditions?
Hi Lilia,
Congrats on your move! Here is an article we have about how industry experience can impact your job search for BA roles.
https://www.bridging-the-gap.com/how-industry-expertise-can-impact-your-business-analyst-job-search/
I am working in an agile environment in a digital space, I struggle to use the Business Analysis skills to the best of my abilities. I have been working in waterfall for the past 10 years and no all of a sudden no body wants to follow the SDLC. I am now asked to develop myself towards user acceptance researcher role because rile of business analysis is not required in an agile methodology.
Hi Phumlani, Great question! Here is a resource where I share more about the business analysts’s role in an agile environment, and how to think abut structuring your analysis process.
https://www.bridging-the-gap.com/agile-business-analyst/