Let's dive in!
I genuinely believe – and I’ve seen it time and again – that the most amazing professionals aren’t always the ones with the longest CVs but the ones who are passionate and truly love what they do.
And I’d go even further: you can’t truly love something you don’t understand.
That’s why I want to get you hooked on business analysis!
So, what is business analysis, really?
The BABOK Guide (that’s the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge) defines business analysis as:
"Enabling change by defining needs and recommending solutions.
Which is basically a fancy way of saying we make things better by figuring out what’s needed and how to get there.
Not the most exciting wait to put it, huh? 😵💫
A few years ago, I explained my job to my five-year-old cousin this way:
“I watch how people work, ask questions, do a bit of math, and then come up with all the answers. Then I tell them what to do to make their work (and lives) happier.”
A little bold, perhaps? 😏
People often call business analysts the “bridge” between business and development, interpreters between the 2 languages: “business ” and “tech”, agents of change…
While all those are true, I'd like to add a few titles of my own:
💪 “The Problem-Solvers” – the people who see the issue and immediately say, “I'll take care of this!”
📞 “The Shrinks” – the people that everyone turns to with their frustrations, fears, hopes, dreams and even the most personal stuff
😎 “The Trusted Advisors” – the people whose opinions actually shape the decisions being made in the firm
🛍 “The Sells” – the people who sell ideas and solutions you didn’t even know you needed
🧙♀️ “The Fairy Godmothers” – the people who make wishes come true (not with their bare hands, of course)
…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Officially, business analysts gather and document requirements, outline processes, and map out solutions. But in reality, the job is so much bigger than that.
Traditionally, there are three roles:
🌸 Business Analyst – focuses on gathering requirements, working with stakeholders, drafting tech specs
🌸 Project Manager – focuses on budgets, timelines, and risks
🌸 Product Manager – focuses on growth, priorities, and making sure the product makes some noise on the market (in a good way!)
These days, the lines between these roles have become incredibly blurry. Many companies have what I call “hybrid” positions, so you’ll often see me seemingly mixing up analysts, PMs, and product managers together. It’s not me being rebellious (or clueless, for that matter) – it's the modern reality and this is all based on my own personal experience, which may be different from yours.
Business analyst is a “wolf in sheep's clothing” for the business teams, and a “sheep in wolf's clothing” for the dev teams.
More often than not they’re not even a part of the obvious business departments (Finance, Compliance, Operations… sometimes not even the IT dept.!), but they’re expected to deeply understand the ins and outs of all the domains they touch.
They usually have no official power in the development team, and yet, somehow, they’re still expected to manage and guide the development process.
In other words, they’re leaders without power. Grey cardinals, if you will.
They’re also those “google-eyed people with the craziest ideas” – the ones that keep bugging you about the timelines, status updates, and “could we just squeeze this tiny feature in, please?”
Feel it, yet? It's a real DREAM job! 🤩
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