I have been an IT Trainer for 12 years and am currently an in-house trainer in a large international law firm. I would like to move into the BA field. I would like to stay with my current firm and move into a BA role. As far as I can see, there are currently no BAs in the organisation. How can I make the transition from Trainer to BA within the firm?
I’d really appreciate any advice you can give me.
Many thanks
Laura’s response:
Based on my prior experience working with IT Trainers, I typically find that they have a deep knowledge of the organization’s business applications and a good understanding of the business processes that leverage those applications. Because you are training new users on the system, you are a bit of an expert. I’m going to assume that’s also the case for you!
Does your company enhance the business applications or change the business processes? I will assume yes. If so, how does that work happen today and who is involved in making these decisions? This answer should point you to the person or persons in your company who are performing the business analysis activities, or lack thereof. One does not need to have the title of “business analyst” to be a “business analyst.” You’ll often find under-the-radar business analysts if you start looking at the make-up of a project team and find the person ensuring everyone is aligned on the project goals and negotiating between competing interests.
Then, as you look at the process for how changes are made (and, I again I am making an assumption here that as the trainer you are part of the end of this process in helping train the employees on the new or enhanced systems) then what are the pain points? Are there frustrations in the connections between the business users and the IT changes? Is there a lot of rework due to misunderstood requirements? In those pain points is where you’d start to make a case for a more formal BA role within your firm, one that you might be uniquely positioned for given your expertise. Or, if those pain points don’t exist, then who is responsible for the relative success? As you find that answer you might find your BA.
I hope this helps you find your path into business analysis. You might also check out my free e-course on starting a BA career.
What are your suggestions for this reader? How would you make the move from IT trainer to business analyst?
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By Laura Brandenburg. Laura Brandenburg is passionate about business analysis. She's found her niche helping aspiring business analysts find transferable skills and position themselves in the BA job market. To stay up-to-date on the latest from Bridging the Gap be sure to sign-up for our free email course and weekly eNewsletter. View more blog posts by Laura Brandenburg |
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The person who posed this question didn’t mention who creates the training that they deliver, but if he/she is that person, many of the activites associated with training needs assessments are those business analysts use to elicit requirements. You need to determine where something is lacking (business need) and develop training (procedures or a system) to address the deficiency.
As Laura has stated, a trainer often has unique insights about a business’s operations and why a business may be operating poorly. Those same insights will serve you well as a business analyst. It would behove you to indentify those traits in your own job and include them in any proposal to create a business analyst role for yourself.
John, This is a great point. That would definitely be an example of needs assessment and a gap assessment. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this career path to BA!
Very interesting choice of CAREER change
My self was an IT-trainer for 11 years I made to training supervisor but then I left With BA in mind as Career change , Unfortunately the training firm was sinking I had to abandon the ship sort of speak , so the next good thing was a Polytechnic (mechanical) – I join as academic consoler- coz they don’t teach IT but they cam make use of Student relationship management skills that I have , I start help in some other areas like developing GPA Application and another for transcripts handling then merge them also I took part in troubleshooting and administration of student management system software , soon management start to realize that I can serve well in other areas –(but they still can’t change m title for they don’t have a post open – assuming that IT guys will handle it when they drop this as hot potato – they have more thing to worry about ,3 poor guys) I had the potato falling in my lap and now I see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel – hope am handling this right –
Just want to share this with you guys
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About two years ago, I went from IT Instructional Designer to IT Business Analyst. It was a very easy transition, since both require analysis, documentation, working with users at all technical and management levels, designing a solution, and validating the solution.
In the I.D. world, it is known as the ADDIE model. Analysis, Design, Develop, Implementation, and Evaluate. You go through the same process, except you are designing a different type of solution. However, you will still work with SMEs, developers, users, and business people.
The largest leap between the two professions is the technical portion. You need to be alot more technical in order to understand architecture, platform constraints, and software development life cycle.
If you are strictly a Technical Trainer and don’t create the materials, then you are still close to users and know how to lead large group discussions. These skills will come in handy, but you would need to build those foundational analytical, communication, and business relationship skills.