{"id":570,"date":"2024-07-10T10:38:06","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T09:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8082\/?p=570"},"modified":"2024-09-02T13:11:36","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T12:11:36","slug":"the-business-analyst-winter-of-discontent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost:8082\/2024\/07\/10\/the-business-analyst-winter-of-discontent\/","title":{"rendered":"The Business Analyst\u00a0winter of discontent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be ashamed if your business analysis career falls short of expectations. Many others feel the same, but it\u2019s not cool to admit it on social media. Unfortunately, a bleak \u2018winter of discontent\u2019 is headed our way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PESTLE, SWOT, CATWOE, Porter\u2019s Five Forces; examples of important strategy analysis techniques taught in every \u2018introduction to business analysis\u2019 training course. But honestly, when did you last use any of these? Like, properly use them because your employer wanted you to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern marketplaces are incredibly competitive, something digital fulfilment has only accelerated in recent years. Business analysts are well placed to help navigate their employer\u2019s business through these troubled waters, but unfortunately, it doesn\u2019t seem to be happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018As a Business Analyst, do you feel that you play a key role in organisation decisions?\u2019<\/em> was a poll I posed recently. 65% of respondents answered \u2018occasionally\/never\u2019<\/em>. I asked several training providers and outspoken IIBA<\/a> advocates to respond with their own experience, in part to increase the sample set, all of whom declined. Draw your own conclusions from their behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A massive disconnect exists between what\u2019s taught in business analysis training, how business analysts are seen and treated by their employers, and what these employers actually need for their business. The training providers and industry\/certification bodies seem unable or unwilling to publicly acknowledge this disconnect even exists, let alone talk about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bleak \u2018winter of discontent\u2019 is headed our way, which will unsettle the business analyst industry and wider community. Cost-conscious employers are doubting the value of staff across their value streams, business analysts are disgruntled and not well positioned, and training providers continue to propagate the myth that business analysis is an entry-level position. Everyone is going to need to fight for their relevance soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read The UX Research Reckoning is Here<\/a> by Judd Antin before you respond with a counterargument. Allow the terrible state of things to sink in. I\u2019ve now watched this play out in product, UX\/UI, and agile communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discontent is spreading across all parts of product development, and whilst business analysis has been largely untouched so far (aside from the more broader technology layoffs), I believe it\u2019s only a matter of time. I already know of development teams where business analyst duties are explicitly shared amongst product owners and developers. I’ve also seen major employers make blanket redundancies of IT architects, doubting their value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the bleak \u2018winter of discontent\u2019 headed our way, has the business analysis industry done enough to justify its own existence? Have industry bodies and training providers positioned their paying members, and clients, in the best possible light? I really hope so, for everyone\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I suspect many people who read this will disagree, but the important thing is that we have an honest conversation. I strongly believe business analysis has a vital role to play, and even the most successful businesses desperately need talented analysts. But how they are seen and what they are asked to do need to be positioned differently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t be ashamed if your business analysis career falls short of expectations. Many others feel the same, but it\u2019s not cool to admit it on social media. Unfortunately, a bleak \u2018winter of discontent\u2019 is headed our way. PESTLE, SWOT, CATWOE, Porter\u2019s Five Forces; examples of important strategy analysis techniques taught in every \u2018introduction to business […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-analysis","missing-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost:8082\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost:8082\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost:8082\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost:8082\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost:8082\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/localhost:8082\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":674,"href":"http:\/\/localhost:8082\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570\/revisions\/674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost:8082\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost:8082\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost:8082\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}