From the category archives:

Business Analyst Career

Explores business analysis as a profession, including job titles, job descriptions, career paths, resume tips and offers up advice for your professional development as a business analyst.

Building a mature business analyst practice: Interview with Mark Jenkins

March 11, 2010 by Laura (Brandau) Brandenburg

Mark Jenkins and I had the opportunity to chat a few months back while he was Manager, Business Analysis at Websense. He has since taken on a new role on the other side of the country as Associate Director, Business Analysis at KPMG. We initiated a conversation as the result of a Twitter stream [follow [...]

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What part does the IIBA play in your professional development?: Interview with Kym Byron, CBAP

March 4, 2010 by Laura (Brandau) Brandenburg

The best business analysts are open-minded. They let you help them get better.
Editor’s Note: Before the holidays I had the opportunity to sit down with fellow-IIBA-Denver board member, Kym Byron and talk about her role and her career advice for other BAs. It’s always amazing to me how you can collaborate with someone and not [...]

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Help a BA! How big is the gap between sales and business analysis?

March 2, 2010 by Laura (Brandau) Brandenburg

Reader question:
I have been in sales now for about 15 years, mostly in the financial industry. I am thinking of changing careers and the business analyst route seems interesting to me. From what I hear there is the interaction part with people along with communication skills and the liaison aspect between departments. My question is, [...]

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Overcoming common challenges to find contract business analyst jobs

February 25, 2010 by Steve Mulhall

In this article I will describe the common challenges that I faced in becoming a contract business analyst. I am sure many of you will relate to my experience and I hope you find encouragement in knowing these challenges can be overcome.
Challenge 1: Fears
“I’m worried that I don’t have enough experience to become a contractor.”
It [...]

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The Janus Relationship as a model for how business analysts and project managers can work together

February 24, 2010 by Steve Blais

In Roman mythology the god of gates and doors is Janus.  In his capacity as god of doorways, he is also the god of beginnings and endings and was used by the ancient Romans to symbolize change and transitions, and the launch of new enterprises.  Romans placed statues of Janus near a doorway or paintings [...]

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IIBA introduces a new performance competency model

February 23, 2010 by Laura (Brandau) Brandenburg

Last week IIBA introduced a performance competency model. Angela Wick and her Competency committee have done a great job culling the BABOK Guide for performance competencies and pulling together list of expected behaviors and interlinking them with the knowledge areas, techniques, and underlying in the BABOK. There are 53 competencies total and the model describes [...]

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Help a BA!: Will I gain portable BA skills as a Technical Analyst?

February 22, 2010 by Laura (Brandau) Brandenburg

Reader: I had a question for you and would really appreciate your insight into this. I have 5 years of experience in IT and a very good balance of development (.NET framework) and core BA work. I was looking for BA position but I recently accepted a Technical Analyst role. The job is in mortgage [...]

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Using social media as part of your BA job search strategy: Interview with Colleen Chan

February 18, 2010 by Laura (Brandau) Brandenburg

Every day I make a mistake and every day I learn something new.
Colleen Chan, “Business Analyst with a Difference” from Sydney, Australia, shares her inspiring story about her entrance into LinkedIn and blogging and discovering a true passion for social media all as a result of trying to find that “next opportunity”. Colleen brings a [...]

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Why business analysts might consider an MBA

February 17, 2010 by Brenda Harris

Editor’s Note: I’ve seen discussions flying around the forums lately about the value of an MBA for business analysts. Brenda Davis writes extensively on the topic of online MBA programs and I wanted to share her perspective on the MBA with you.
Considering the current state of the economy, it’s only natural to worry about your [...]

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Help a BA! How do I find volunteer positions?

February 15, 2010 by Laura (Brandau) Brandenburg

Reader: I recently relocated to Seattle and I am interested in pursuing a career as a business analyst. I am willing to start by volunteering.  How can I come to know about volunteer business analyst positions as part of organizations or non-profits?
Laura: In this recent post I provided several different business analyst volunteer opportunities. I [...]

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