Hello and welcome to The Surfing Analyst blog. I’m Simon and I hope to use this blog to engage in a conversation on business analysis with you; fellow practitioners, customers and general know-alls.
Who is the Surfing Analyst? I am a practicing business analyst working for 10fifteen as a senior partner. Our business is about helping both individuals and businesses better perform business analysis. My job is wide ranging and exciting as I have opportunities to provide consulting to customers as well as training to fellow practitioners. Through my work I’m exposed to the challenges of both sides of the customer supplier relationship. Customers tell me what they want (or should that be ‘what they demand’) from their business analysts and fellow practitioners share with me the at the coal face issues. Needless to say the customers and suppliers don’t always see eye to eye.
Times are rapidly changing the world of business analysis. Strangely late compared to other roles in information technology, it is only now being professionalised. Certification has been the norm for a while in many of the other information technology roles, and is only starting to gain traction now for business analysis in the minds of customers and practitioners. I think the lag in the professionalism of the practice is mainly due to issues of ambiguous definition of the role ‘Business Analyst’.
As an activity in training, I ask delegates to come up with their own definition of a business analyst. The responses range from ‘technical writer’, to ‘financial guru’ through to ‘customer facing developer’. Whilst I don’t think any of these definitions is wrong, it does illustrate that the business analyst is some kind of chimera beast that is both an amalgam of many elements as well as being its own unique beast.
The growth of professional organisations such as the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) has definitely progressed thinking on what it means to be a business analyst. In my mind, the impact of definition cannot be under estimated in terms of solving fundamental problems which I think stem from the customer supplier engagement. I can feel the topic for my second post forming in my mind right now.
What I would like to do with this blog is to share my experiences working as a business analyst as well as to invite relevant topics for discussion with you, the reader. Unfortunately, this is one way conversation at the moment until I get the comment system working. In the meantime I do encourage you to contact me via the 10fifteen contact page.
And yes, the Surfing Analyst does surf! Not often enough but as time and travel permits. I’m eying up an exquisite 9′10″ long board as the next acquisition for the quiver. I’ll keep you posted!
