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Read more about Maureen McVey

Over 20 years ago, Maureen McVey decided to make a career change. She found an opportunity to move from sales to working on a software development team.

“They needed someone to manage change. We didn’t use the term business analyst. But that’s how I launched my career,” says the senior business analyst, and consultant for Extended Education at the University of Manitoba’s Business Analysis program.

“I didn’t know business analyst was my title for quite some time, but I have been a business analyst since 1995.”

IIBA founded

McVey notes that even now, many business analysts, people who perform the tasks of business analysis as described in the Business Analysis Book of Knowledge (BABOK), may not actually be called business analysts. Of course, BABOK did not exist in the early days of her career. There was no formal description of common rules and processes at that time. So she helped to develop an organization and a book of knowledge to guide the profession.

McVey and her colleagues from Canada and around the world founded the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), based in Toronto. It’s the recognized professional and accrediting organization for business analysis with over 30,000 members worldwide.

BABOK is an amazing work, she says. “It’s a wonderful story. It validated what I did for a living. It provided ways to do the work. It identified the skills and techniques, and recognized that business analysis was a very complex and difficult job.”

Business analysis is different from project management, although there are overlapping tasks, she says. “We have a very different view of the world. We care about solutions. The project manager cares about delivering within the budget, on time. Business analysts are finding new ways, new solutions. They are good communicators, good listeners. They shift from considering a broad perspective to looking at the details.”

Every organization needs a business analyst, she says, and everyone is looking for a good one. In February 2018, business analyst made the list of the top 15 in-demand jobs in Canada, as provided by human resource service company Randstad to CTV News.

A rewarding career

It’s a rewarding career option, she says.

“I have travelled the world, worked in a variety of industries, met interesting people, seen how business operates. It makes me happy but it’s not for everyone. You need to be a people person, a communicator. You will be managing a lot of information so you must be organized. You will have to be comfortable with a certain amount of ambiguity, and sometimes, with conflict. People don’t like change.”

The Business Analysis program provides the fundamentals of BABOK skills, tools and techniques. “It’s a good program. Whether or not you end up with the BA title, I think the skills are so useful. Even if you have a different job, it can help you to understand the foundational skills in order to understand the business need for business analysis and justify its value.”

An exciting program

A BA helps to make evidence-based, informed decisions, she says. “The program content is well-structured and focuses on all the right areas. I’m excited about the program. I love the idea of an Indigenous layer. There is a lot of opportunity to provide valuable service with these skills.”

No organization can do without the business analysis skillset, she says. It’s something that can be developed, building on your education and experience. The program is a good start.

“In sales, I was trying to work with a client to solve a problem. That’s what I like to do. In business analysis, I find out how an organization works, collaborate with people, and hopefully see the results. It allows for some creativity. It’s interesting. One day is not like the next.”

Read more about James Fatoki

When an organization has a problem, it can be tempting to guess what the issue is and try to fix it right away. But without appropriate business analysis, a lot of time and money can be wasted on solutions that don’t address the underlying problem.

That’s where business analysis comes in.

“If you know there is a problem, you must ask why,” says James Fatoki, Consultant and Senior Business Analyst for Online Business Systems, and Consultant for Extended Education at the University of Manitoba’s Business Analysis program.

In the language of the business analysis profession, it takes a technique called “root cause analysis”. It’s just one of the processes, each with its own specific tasks, as defined in the Business Analysis Book of Knowledge (BABOK). A business analyst, by definition, performs the tasks of business analysis as defined in BABOK.

Problem solving

“There’s an art and a science to it,” he says, noting how there are specific ways to ask questions and techniques to adopt. “It’s discovering and analyzing information, and providing value to an organization by helping to solve problems.”

Helping organizations to solve problems and overcome challenges is very rewarding, he says. “There is such joy at the end of a project, when you have achieved your goal, applying BA methodologies and tools. The challenges you are able to solve, organizations are so much happier for it. It’s a big deal.”

Originally from Nigeria, Fatoki has also worked in the United Kingdom and Canada. With a background in Engineering and Information Technology (IT), he made his way into business analysis on the job when a project wasn’t going well and its requirements were poorly understood. “I was inquisitive about how to manage it effectively, to succeed and not fail,” he says, of that first opportunity when he stepped into the role in 2009. “There was a need. I have never looked back.”

Opportunity

Today, there is increased awareness of the need for business analysis, and many professionals perform the tasks whether they have the job title of business analyst or not. “We’ve come a long way. Organizations have a better understanding. People are getting more familiar.”
While Fatoki was fortunate to learn the ropes at work, with the guidance and support of coworkers, he says, “Some people might think it’s easy, yeah I can do it. Yes, I am good at what I do. But I had to learn. My learning curve was so steep. It would have been a lot easier with training or formal education.”

That’s why he is excited about the new program.

Experience and learning

The Business Analysis program is like compressing your learning and applying it immediately, he says. “You get experience and learning from a reputable organization, the University of Manitoba, and industry experts. You can take your first degree or experience and apply your transferable skills, go through the program and develop more. It is a good move, to educate yourself.”

Prospects for careers in business analysis are great, he says. “You take your knowledge and experience, layer the program on top, and get to work. The beauty of it is there are so many industries you can plug into. None of your previous knowledge is wasted. I have worked in many industries from IT to financial, insurance and government. There is a good demand out there.”

The program is a good way to get a sense of business analysis and what it is all about, he says.

“It’s a great overview and a good design. It’s about what to do and how to do it.”

Business analysis is about solving problems and providing value, he says. “Helping to solve problems, knowing the value I am providing is the biggest deal for me.”

It’s also a big deal to businesses and organizations because it supports their viability and success.

“Defining issues and problems is critical, whether a business accepts it or not. Without proper business analysis, it simply becomes trial and error. Companies will spend money, suffer financial losses, and lose ground in a competitive market.”