Seven Steps to Mastering Business Analysis
by Barbara A. Carkenord
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Book Summary Information
Author: Barbara A. CarkenordEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-10-14
ISBN: 1604270071
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: J. Ross Publishing
Book Reviews of Seven Steps to Mastering Business Analysis
Book Review: Priceless resource for many IT people that want to stay in the business
Summary: 5 Stars
As the economy slowly emerges from the recession and starts to add jobs, the situation in the IT field is mixed. In many areas, jobs continue to be lost or outsourced to a foreign land, yet in other areas there are not enough qualified people to fill many key positions. I subscribe to several trade journals and the overwhelming consensus is that the combination of skills that are most in demand are a strong combination of technical and business knowledge skills. One of the most specific needs is the ability to perform a detailed analysis of the environments interior and exterior to the organization, what changes need to be made and how to manage them. This is the realm of the business analyst (BA).
There is no easy road to becoming a business analyst. It requires a combination of personal and group diplomacy, the ability to perform questioning that is both tactful and forceful, knowledge of individual and group psychology, political acumen as it applies to an organization, a great deal of technical knowledge and the ability to perform reasonably accurate accounting projections.
The value of business analytics and the lack of people capable of doing it well are both well known. As the title implies, this book is designed to be a tutorial in how to become an effective BA and it is a success. It opens with the logical fundamentals of what business analysis is and basic questions are asked and answered. Some of them are:
*) What is a project?
*) What is a product?
*) What is a solution?
*) What is a deliverable?
At first thought, this may be a waste of time, but upon deeper thought you realize that the definitions of these terms are not crisp. Each is defined by a relatively wide spectrum of conditions, for example what one stakeholder considers a solution another would not.
The following chapters all deal with the reader moving into a position of being "in the know." Titles of the chapters are:
*) Know Your Audience
*) Know Your Project
*) Know Your Business Environment
*) Know Your Technical Environment
*) Know Your Analysis Techniques
In other words you not only have to have the skill set listed earlier, you have to know and understand the complete context you find yourself in.
Clearly, this is not a position that one can move into very quickly; it takes a great deal of time, effort and experience in order to be an effective BA. Fortunately, Carkenord has put her experience down into a form where it can be utilized by others, at times she explains in text, other times she uses tables of key data points and she occasionally cites some of her professional experiences.
The world of IT employment is a hard one and there is no real reason to believe that the number of jobs in the area is going to dramatically improve any time soon. Therefore, if you are in IT and either under or unemployed you have two choices, either leave the business or retool your skill set. This book will be of no value if you choose the former but priceless if you decide to do the latter.
Summary of Seven Steps to Mastering Business Analysis
This book provides a how to approach to mastering business analysis work. It will help build the skill sets of new analysts and all those currently doing analysis work, from project managers to project team members such as system analysts, product managers and business development professionals, to the experienced business analyst. It also covers the tasks and knowledge areas for the new 2008 v.2 of The Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK®) and will help prepare business analysts for the IIBA CBAP® certification exam.KEY FEATURES
-Explains the business analysis fundamental concepts and terms for new analysts in language they can understand
-Presents detailed explanations of business analysis strategies, tasks and recommended techniques, and includes examples of successful and less-than-successful project situations to enhance learning
-Provides valuable insights for experienced business analysts and project team members performing analysis and critical thinking work in order to reach a higher level of success
-Includes knowledge area keys throughout the text that map BABOK competencies to tasks or techniques discussed, in a manner that will help prepare the business analyst for the IIBA CBAP certification exam
-WAV offers a free downloadable business analysis planning white paper and a series of template worksheets that can be customized to fit each organization s needs available from the Web Added Value Download Resource Center at jrosspub.com
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