Today’s reader question:
How would you delineate a junior, middle, and senior BA? If someone has performed BA activities as part of a different title, would they be a junior or mid-level BA? I understand the question is probably a very gray area, but I wonder what you and other readers would say.
My response:
This is a great question and you are right—it is a gray area. The answer is very dependent on context and the position and there is no standard definition. Depending on how the position is framed, your qualifications might put you a different level for different positions. Some roles prefer specific technical qualifications and systems knowledge and persons with this knowledge would be considered more senior. Others are looking for business domain knowledge. Still others might consider facilitation skills (allowing you to move among domains) as the preferred skill and promote business analysts accordingly.
The same idea for your qualifications and what level of role they’d qualify you for – it’s more about what you did and the experiences you’ve accumulated than about what title you had. If you look at books like the BABOK and the Memory Jogger, do you have experience across multiple areas?
Also, in this economy, “junior” when used in a job post title is unfortunately equivalent to “lower paid” rather than being qualifications-based.
Reader reply:
Even though it’s a gray area, your response provided some food for thought. I wonder too if there is regional variation in the “lower-paid” equation, or at least variation according to the maturity of an IT market.
What do you think?
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By Laura Brandenburg. Laura Brandenburg is an independent business analyst mentor and consultant. She hosts this blog as a forum for business analysts to build on each other's experiences. To stay up-to-date on the latest from Bridging the Gap be sure to sign-up for our free eNewsletter and receive a free primer titled "3 Career Habits of Successful Business Analysts." View more blog posts by Laura Brandenburg |
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Laura – Great post and good discussion topic! Another angle on this: knowledge vs. working knowledge of the Business Analysis processes and techniques.
I am excited to tell readers of this post that an industry standard definition is coming! The IIBA will soon release the BA Competency Model in early 2010. The initial release will have competencies defined for the BA role, and levels will be added in a later release in 2010.
Cheers!
Angela Wick
Chair, IIBA Competency Model Committee
@WickAng
Hi Angela,
Thanks for your comment. I fully agree that knowledge is important and if you have an understanding of a BA process or technique as defined in the BABOK that’s an important consideration.
I’m interested in your definition of a competency, especially as it applies to the delineation of roles. I’ve been thinking of a competency as something you know how to do and that you have experience doing. With both of these pieces, you have hard evidence that you could do it again in the future. With only knowledge, you may not be able to realize that knowledge in action. With only experience, you may not understand what you did and be able to do it again.
In this view,
Knowledge + Experience = Marketable Competency
I think the experience factor is especially important when it comes to applying for certain positions, especially as they become more senior-level.
Laura
Agree on Marketability, adding on to the equation Knowledge + Experience = Marketable Competency:
Knowledge + Experience + Demonstrated Effective Behaviors = Hired, Competent BA, Results
There are two aspects to defining a persons level. First is their ability and experience which qualifies them for a position. The second, is the candidate’s ability to market themselves for a position. Getting a job is more about how effectively you can communicate your ability to provide value in the position. When talking about managing your BA resources, then skills competency, domain experience, and performance become a critical basis for placement.
Here are a few rough guidelines I used in a recent presentation on marketing yourself for a better career:
Junior BA
- Write clear business and functional requirements
- Diagram business/system flows using two methods
- Define uses cases and write scenarios
Intermediate BA
- Define requirements approach and package
- Lead requirements sessions using three or more methods
- Gather requirements using four or more methods
Senior BA
- Manage requirements gathering for large projects/teams
- Establish organizational standards and templates
- Train and mentor BA teams
Like the post and certainly empathise with anyone trying to get clear what “level” one is working when the job title and the actual role are so rarely aligned – one man’s senior business analyst is another man’s mid-level systems analyst in my experience.
Although I agree with your statements above regarding competence and experience, I am missing a statement or two about shaping a project – I have some experience in staffing BAs and for more senior roles the question for me is always regarding the individual’s ability to shape/lead a project rather than “simply” manage requirements, irrespective of the quantifiable BA skills they have (which for me are necessary, but not sufficient competencies for senior roles).
I tend to agree with much of what has already been written. However, I tend to keep it simple (perhaps too simple at times).
- Junior BA: straight out of college, or working experience but no formal BA training
- BA(mid-level): competence to work with very little direction, needs additional training to move up, may have done the same work under another title (i.e. – Product Manager)
- Senior BA: Leader, Mentor, high levels of training and experience
Hi,
Thanks for the information. It really helps me on setting my objective being a fresh BA.
A question in mind, starting out as a BA, I was asking by my manager to set goals and objectives for this upcoming year. According to Hans Eckman, a junior BA should be able to fulfill these roles:
“- Write clear business and functional requirements
- Diagram business/system flows using two methods
- Define uses cases and write scenarios
Intermediate BA
- Define requirements approach and package
- Lead requirements sessions using three or more methods
- Gather requirements using four or more methods
Senior BA
- Manage requirements gathering for large projects/teams
- Establish organizational standards and templates
- Train and mentor BA teams
”
How do we then quantify them? Are there any measureable standands to benchmark against?
What are usually the 6months / 12 months goal to achieve for someone starting out as a BA?
Really looking forward to your assistance
Thanks!
@Khew U-Wei – Setting goals as a first time BA will largely depend on the type of work you will have the opportunity to work on. The world of Business Analysis is vast enough that it would be extremely difficult to gain the breadth of experience in just 6-12 months.
I would recommend focusing your goals on the following:
1) The BABOK v2.0 Underlying Competencies – Choose a few to work on and develop as a focus.
2) Have a goal to research, learn and practice 2-5 elicitation techniques, and 5 modeling/analysis techniques. See the BABOK for what techniques are used for elicitation and modeling/analysis. If you have experience with some already, choose ones you have not tried before.
3) Have goal to continually learn more about the BA Role and best practices by networking with other BAs in your organization, going to IIBA meetings for your local chapter, and continuing to be active on blogs like this!
Cheers and best of luck!
Angela Wick
Hi Khew, Thanks for your question. Angela provided you with a great answer. I will only add that to select the competencies you focus on for the next 6-12 months you should talk to your manager about how the perceive the value of your role in the organization. Ask questions like “What can I do to ensure my projects are successful?”, “If I do nothing else this year, what must I do?”, “What are the biggest goals and objectives for the company?”, “How is business analyst work evaluated here?”. Different managers and different organizations often have different perceptions of value when it comes to BAs. Your manager might not know all the answers, but the discussion should help point you in the right direction.
Laura