Business Analyst vs Business Systems Analyst, part 2

In my previous post, I referred to an article by Vongsavanh and Campbell discussing the differences between Business Analysts and Systems Analysts, and I stated that Business Systems Analysts (BSA's) possessed both sets of skills.  In this post, I want to look at the specific skills required by each type of analyst.

Vongsavanh and Campbell's research produced the following list of skills for business and systems analysts:

• Elicitation
• Presentation
• Leadership
• Communication
• Business Knowledge
• Creative Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Technical

The top of the list represents those skills most common to business analysts, and the bottom those skills most common to systems analysts.  There is no explanation for how they arrived at this particular list or how they determined the ordering.  In the diagram in their article, Communication is shown as the skill closest to the middle.

The first thing that appears strange in the ordering of these skills is that Business Knowledge is on the Systems end of the scale.  While some of these skills could be debated exactly where they should fit on the list, Business Knowledge should clearly be shown in the realm of Business Analysts.  Systems Analysts need to understand the systems, and Business Analysts need at least a general familiarity with the business functions.

Since Presentation is separate from Communication, it appears the authors intended Communication to mean documentation or one-on-one verbal communication.  That is a strength required by both Business and Systems Analysts, but Presentation would be more important for the Business Analysts.  The order looks appropriate, but any analysts who are only mediocre in their documentation skills will never excel in their jobs.

Data analysis is missing from the skills list, but it probably fits under Technical or Problem Solving.  From my experience, when the business and technical experts disagree on some detail, it is the analyst's job to find some relevant facts to clarify and focus the discussion, and data analysis is a means to discover those facts.  "One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions."  -- Admiral Grace Hopper (1906-1992)

Research ability is another skill missing from the list.  If the organization is mature and system documentation exists, it is the analyst's responsibility to understand whatever relevant information is contained in that documentation.  If little documentation exists, then data analysis will have to compensate for that gap.  Sometimes the documentation is out-of-date, so it must be validated with data analysis.  Research and data analysis go hand in hand.

Leadership is helpful in any role, but leadership implies some people skills that often come in handy when working with the business staff, so I agree with placing that on the Business half of the scale.

I cannot guess the difference between Creative Thinking and Problem Solving.  Both have to do with Solution Design, but if you have no creativity, you will solve very few problems.  I would consider those skills as one.

My revised list of skills is diagrammed below.  

Of course, one of the essential skills not mentioned is flexibility.  Every client and project is different, and analysts need to be able to adapt and respond to the unique needs of the situation at hand.  That just means that it should be easy to find a situation that doesn't fit the skills list above.

Such is life for a BSA!

Business Analyst vs Business Systems Analyst, part 1

I market myself as a Business Systems Analyst (BSA).  I think it's the best description of my skill set and the work I typically do with my clients.  The only problem is that Business Systems Analyst doesn't mean the same thing to everyone.

I have always understood a BSA to be a combination of a Business Analyst (BA) and a Systems Analyst (SA).  I bring both skill sets to a project in one convenient package.  The advantage to the client is they get a flexible resource that can wear either hat over the course of a project, and can avoid extra hand-offs between the BA and SA tasks.  The advantage to me is that I should be able to charge a slight premium rate over a pure BA or SA -- at least in theory!

However, there are some who use the term BSA to identify a specialized type of SA who specializes in Business Systems, as opposed to manufacturing systems for example.  There are others who just use BSA as a synonym for BA, arguing all good BA's must have some systems knowledge as a basic requirement.

My experience shows that BA and SA roles are distinct but related, and fortunately a couple people who are smarter than me agree.  Australians Alan Vongsavanh and Bruce Campbell published an insightful article in 2008 entitled "The Roles and Skill Sets of Systems vs Business Analysts."  Their research shows the two roles have overlapping skills, and they present them along a spectrum.

My simplified version of their skill spectrum is that the BA has strong skills on the business side of the spectrum, and decreases in strength as you move towards the systems side of the spectrum.  The SA is strong on the systems skills and decreases in strength as you progress towards the business skills.  Both have some skills on each end of the spectrum, but their strength lies on one end only.

By extrapolation then, Business Systems Analysts should be strong across the entire spectrum.

In the next part, I want to look at the specific skills that lie along that spectrum.