Hi everyone, I’m Yulia Kosarenko,
and today we will talk about
the business analyst mindset.
What is it?
Is it a science or an art?
It is a bit of both –
let’s explore it together.
When you hear the word mindset,
what comes to mind?
What’s your first instinctive reaction?
Do you think of “growth mindset” from Carol Dweck’s book?
The Star Wars memes featuring Yoda?
Or inspirational quotes?
Mindset is many things,
and it is related to how we think,
and what is our approach to solving problems.
There are many definitions.
Think of the mindset as your mental attitude,
a way of thinking,
the default approach to dealing with new situations,
and a set of beliefs about yourself and the world around you.
It all sounds nice, you might say,
but what does it have to do with business analysis?
Actually, a lot.
Let’s just think about what is business analysis.
The essence of it is solving business problems.
Usually, they are complex problems of modern enterprises.
Solving these problems is not trivial,
it requires a lot of analysis, foresight, and creativity.
Business analysts help clients understand,
analyze, and solve challenges.
They listen, they collect information,
They probe and investigate.
They extract hidden meaning
and discover well-kept secrets.
They use business analysis activities
to reconcile conflicting opinions, analyze data,
clarify and model the main concepts.
They have to deal with the feelings and fears
of project stakeholders.
They share information using many formats.
And they need intuition to find
the best approach for different audiences.
And all the time they watch for gaps and traps
that can derail the change.
How exactly do business analysts do all that?
A few examples probably came to your mind
when I mentioned business analysis activities.
You may have thought of process analysis,
building wireframes, scenario matrices
or a fishbone diagram to capture the results
of the root cause investigation.
There are many excellent BA techniques
that we apply using rigorous standards and proven technologies.
There are tools that help us do that.
It’s a universal language of business analysis.
And we can call it “the science of business analysis”.
We can use analogy with science
because we use a systematic approach
to study the enterprise, its structure,
its processes and challenges.
We observe, we experiment,
and then we capture and analyze the results
of our observations and research.
Here are some examples of these activities:
Structured information,
logical sets of rules,
unambiguous process flows
Complete scenario matrices,
detailed reports,
validated decision tables,
Tagged & traced user stories,
or precise data mapping
Let me highlight some keywords here:
structured, logical, unambiguous,
complete, detailed, validated,
tagged, precise.
When you hear these words,
there may be a few others that come to mind:
Organized, meticulous, verifiable,
Exact, neatly arranged, explicit
Rational, justified, or proven.
You imagine something orderly and logical,
perhaps something like this:
Is this what business analysis
is like in real life?
Maybe when you are under lab conditions
or working on a hypothetical project
when taking a business analysis course.
Perhaps under ideal circumstances that we,
frankly, never encounter in real life.
Real-life often looks more like this:
It can be a tangle of things
that are connected haphazardly.
Components that should be connected by design,
but with cables added as an afterthought.
There may be a tangle of connections and interfaces
that lead to a piece of no longer functioning equipment.
And where there may be only a couple of people
who still understand how this all works,
and they are about to retire.
In real life, we sometimes make things more complicated…
because we are human
and we have our human biases and failings
or because we rushed into doing things
without a good plan.
And whatever we do as a business analysts,
we work with humans, right?
and this can create its own uncertainty
and interfere with the orderly procedures
that you want to apply to conduct business analysis.
You may encounter a stakeholder
who does not understand
what is the project supposed to do
and what is expected of them –
but they may not be willing to admit it.
There will be naysayers
that don’t believe in success
and are not willing to try very hard.
There will be a well-meaning expert
who may not realize that
what is obvious to them
may be a foreign language for someone else.
They will not mention an important detail
or a key constraint,
which could derail the future solution
because of an unknown gap.
You will meet those who feel protective
about the status quo
and will resist the change.
And finally, you will need to understand
the agendas and interests
of different departments and influential people.
We all have to deal with politics
wherever we go
and navigate around it to achieve anything.
We will have to deal
with human factors all the time,
and it requires special skills
that we learn through experience.
We learn to empathize with other people
to understand their needs, fears and emotions.
We need to sense resistance
and navigate the politics.
We learn to detect unnecessary complexity
and see what no longer makes sense
or can be done simpler.
A business analyst is often that person
that will say that the emperor is naked
to break through the “groupthink”.
To do that, they need to learn
to influence diverging interests,
to convince, and persuade, and negotiate.
And all this is the art of business analysis.
Let’s just look at the keywords one more time:
Empathize, sense, detect,
influence, convince, negotiate.
More words come to mind:
Relate, perceive, imagine,
pick up, understand,
assure, guide and lead.
It is an art,
and it may be much harder to learn
than the science of business analysis.
It is about dealing with people,
about understanding, facilitation, leadership.
It is hard work
and it requires a lot of our emotional energy.
It may be energizing but also tiring,
exhilarating but sometimes frustrating.
And we need to learn
both science and art to be successful.
Business analysts need this mindset
to survive and to excel.
It helps them to focus on real issues and the right goals;
And again, we need to look at it,
and use both the science and the art of it,
We look at old problems from a fresh perspective
We need to understand the big picture,
or as some may say,
see the forest behind the trees.
It also helps us when sometimes we have to listen
to a hostile stakeholder with an open mind,
because they may share
something really important,
regardless of their motives.
Our mindset will helps us to look at problems
from different perspectives, for example,
understand what an irrational customer may feel.
Business analysts have to work around biases
to find a better solution
both biases of other people and their own
We need to learn to avoid rigid thinking:
Because there will be gaps, and exceptions, and changes,
and we have to accept them,
and learn to deal with them.
And sometimes, when everything else fails,
we may have to use a bit of humour
to lighten the mood
and to overcome communication difficulties.
And that is also the art of business analysis.
To summarize all of these aspects,
here are the twelve principles of the BA mindset
that I first included in my book
“Business analyst: a profession and a mindset”.
You can download this as a poster
from my website why-change.com.
Let’s just recap the main points.
To do their job effectively,
business analysts need to focus on business goals
and solve the right problem.
If we are not solving the right problem
Then we are wasting
our customer’s resources, money and time.
We need to question
and analyze the information given to us
to formulate the requirements.
We don’t just document what we are told –
we always have to dig a little deeper,
what is the root cause?
Is this just a symptom and a pain point?
What is the real problem?
What is the true reason
Why the problem exists
Or why the business cannot achieve their goals?
It’s not always lying there on the surface,
You have to dig deeper,
You have to be curious
You have to be persistent
To really figure it out.
Business analysts lead and facilitate,
and they need to keep everyone honest
when gaps are discovered.
And those gaps sometimes are the tricky part,
When project may be behind the schedule
And when you discover this gap,
Sometimes you are just so tempted
To push it back into the closet
Because then if you don’t, then you have to deal with it.
But the thing is, if you don’t deal with the gap,
Then it will come and bite us later
We can kick the can down the road, as they say,
But it’s not going to disappear.
So discovering gaps, facing the gaps,
And figuring out how to deal with the gaps
Is also part of that mindset,
Of that bravery when you are dealing
with something challenging or difficult.
We need to learn to remove unnecessary complexity
and focus on the essential needs
and ensure that everyone has
the same understanding of the future state.
And this is the key to
Simplify first, then move on,
And we never automate before we optimize, right?
We always need to look at
what is unnecessarily complex?
Can it be simplified?
Because things get complex for various reasons –
Sometimes, again, politics, or historical reasons,
Some legacy steps,
Sometimes things no longer make sense
But nobody will step up and get rid of those steps.
And it falls to the business analyst
To question what is essential and needs to be kept
And what is not essential.
Because the more complicated the process
The more chances that things will go wrong
That things will slow down
And there will be problems, defects, and gaps in the end.
So it is up to the business analyst
To help their client determine the essential steps
And focus on those for defining the future state.
And of course, not just creating
that shared understanding, but taking responsibility
for shared understanding of requirements
by all stakeholders is a key,
because without that shared understanding,
nothing will happen.
Business analysts needs to learn
To embrace change and become part of the solution.
Changes will happen whether we like them or not.
And, again, it’s nothing personal, right?
It’s the reality of life.
Don’t get upset –
Change is normal and if you discover the change
And if you realize the change,
Even if you requirements need to change
Or the product needs to change
It’s a good thing
because then your product and your solution
Is better adapted for what is actually happening
With the business in real context.
So taking that into consideration is huge.
And since we are talking about both science and art
We have to remember the human factors.
We always work with human beings
And a lot of problems are created by humans
And replicated by humans
And we all have our own feelings and biases
So we all have to keep that in mind –
That we work with human beings
And apply that art of business analysis
The art of dealing with people,
Communicating, facilitating,
And managing relationships
To achieve a better success.
Finally, we want to always have that growth mindset
And learning mindset,
Learn and adapt,
So that we can thrive and
Enjoy our profession
And enjoy being a business analyst
And doing what we do.
Just to recap some of the key points:
remember always who is your client.
That’s what business analyst needs to remember.
It’s not a project manager,
It’s not a functional manager or the architect.
Business analyst’s client is
That business stakeholder that has a problem
or has a business need or a challenge
that you are helping to solve.
And this is who you need to think about,
Their needs, when you are working on business analysis,
when you are working on a solution.
Another aspect that comes right out of it is,
That helps us focus on the right problem,
Thinking of who is our real client.
So as this cartoon is saying,
It’s not about categorizing customer complaints more efficiently,
Even though on the surface it may look like progress.
it’s about finding the root cause of the complaints and correcting it.
Why our customers are complaining?
That’s more important,
Even if it wasn’t the first problem
That was put in front of you.
What is the right problem that needs solving?
We want to lead and facilitate
And we need to do it to be successful.
So there are many hats
That a business analyst may need to wear -
they mediate, the facilitate,
they play devil’s advocate.
And again, it may be a scientist’ hat
Or someone who is an artist
Who is a little bit of a psychologist or a therapist, right?
Sometimes we almost need to be like a therapist
For our client to listen to them
And really understand what their problems are.
And just to recap for business analysis professional
Part of their mindset is to always remember
that requirements don’t come from business –
they come from business analysis.
We gather information from business
We listen to them, we hear the stories
We hear different sides of the problem,
But we also apply analysis
We apply the science of business analysis.
We apply the tools, we apply the techniques,
We use functional decomposition
We use root cause analysis
To really, really get to what are the true
And essential requirements for the future solution.
So those requirements truly come
from business analysis activities.
And the true outcome of business analysis
Is not just requirements,
Quality requirements nicely captured.
If business analyst is the only person
who understands what they’ve captured,
and the only person who can explain
and interpret those requirements –
that’s not a success.
Complete requirements are not worth much
if nobody else on the team interprets them the same way.
So the most important outcome of business analysis is
A shared understanding of requirements by all stakeholders.
And finally, we know that business analysis
is not only a strict framework of logical processes.
It is also a social activity, right?
And that social activity requires constant collaboration,
and your success depends on other people.
It depends on how you engage them
How you keep them interested and motivated,
how they share information with you,
how you are able to collaborate
and bounce ideas off each other
and whether those people are willing to review your work,
and what you’ve done, and validate it,
provide you with feedback,
give you more information that you need
to help complete this analysis.
So your success depends on other people so much,
And on how you interact with those people.
Finally and most importantly,
this mindset, this business analyst mindset
is not something binary that you either have or don’t have.
It can be developed,
and it’s up to you to develop it
to be willing to develop it
and to see the value.
How you can do it?
You can practice focusing on what’s important,
What is essential.
Practice listening and paying attention,
And looking beyond the obvious,
Looking for real reasons.
You can practice empathy,
And we all need to do that.
We need to continuously learn from our mistakes
And accept our mistakes,
And accept that it’s good to learn.
Again, it’s not a personal failure to make a mistake.
We need to take pride in our work.
Practice standing up for what you believe in
even when things don’t make sense
and sometimes, speak up when nobody else will
because that will happen
and that act of bravery often falls to a business analyst
if you see the team all bravely walking together
in that direction that may not be
the right direction to solve the problem.
Sometimes, nobody wants to speak up,
And if you don’t speak up, then chances are
the project will just go ahead in that direction
and in the end may not be a good use of resources.
So are you willing to speak up when you see
That something doesn’t make sense?
That’s when your mindset comes through.
In conclusion, I want to use this opportunity
to thank you all,
all representatives of the business analysis profession,
for all the fantastic work you do
to make the world a better place
and to help companies become smarter and more efficient.
You can find more about the BA mindset
in my books, on my website and YouTube channel,
and everywhere you look.
Thank you so much for being here today.
I’m Yulia Kosarenko.
Have a wonderful day! Bye-bye.