Comments on Better Projects: Is the BA an endangered species with the growth of...

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2011-10-14T08:52:50.492+11:00

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2011-06-24T17:11:25.399+10:00

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As a business analyst, I don't see my role disappe...

2008-03-04T11:11:00.000+11:00

As a business analyst, I don't see my role disappearing any time soon.
What I see is an evolution of development lifecycles.

I think that Agile is just the next step in how to address risk factors in projects. It's a good way to get early feedback on what the team is doing. That makes it much more likely to get a good product at the end.

That doesn't seem to be mutually exclusive with what I do in any way. I work with the customer to help them explain their requirements. I also help manage their expectectations as well. It is usually my job to explain that yes, you will have a product you can look at in 4 weeks but no, it won't do everything we spoke about.

Can a developer do that? Some of them, yes. Is that where they should be spending their time? Depends on the size of the project and the team you have working on it.

Remember, this is not a one size fits all world. We are not all interchangeable parts.

David a quick google check and I learn you are rig...

2008-03-01T14:59:00.000+11:00

David a quick google check and I learn you are right. Just me assuming customised sionce everything always is.

I always thought the "C" in COTS was "Commercial"....

2008-03-01T02:04:00.000+11:00

I always thought the "C" in COTS was "Commercial"...

COTS = customised off the shelf.

2008-02-29T09:26:00.000+11:00

COTS = customised off the shelf.

I appreciate your comments Scott. I do agree with ...

2008-02-29T02:26:00.000+11:00

I appreciate your comments Scott. I do agree with you in that the actual role that a BA plays does need to change, in my opinion regardless of what process is being followed, Agile or not. It is a topic that has been suggested to me to blog about. The current blog was getting too big as it was, and the topic is worthy of its own space.

However, I don't swallow the Agile mantra hook, line and sinker. It is fantastic in theory. For instance, I'm something of an oxymoron myself, in that many I work with regard me as a generalised specialist. However, I'm rare in my cross discipline abilities. As such, where do I find others like me to populate an Agile team with?

The argument exposes what is in my mind one of several weaknesses of Agile. I think it was Martin Fowler who said that one of the key dependencies on the success of an Agile project is having high calibre team members? I would have thought that regardless of process, having a team of high calibre members would be a big plus. Unfortunately, the world is not full of high calibre individuals and you need to cope with the mediocrity of the masses. The majority of these people regardless of discipline who are available are specialists, and usually not even good ones at that, not high performing generalising specialist oxymoron's like the Agile movement suggests are required. And in a corporate environment, the years of experience is also usually a big variable.

If Agile is to have widespread penetration in practice, not just in name, then it needs to cater for the "normal" population, not be an elitist process requiring only above average team members.

Even though I am a developer, it is also a concern to me that the Agile movement appears to be a completely developer driven process, and then when you say the agile community have been talking about... BA's, where has been the collaborative inclusion of BA's into these discussions? Did you have a BA voice or representative during your deliberations on a BA's role in an Agile world? Or was that voice the BA's trying to push for more than in the eyes of the agilists are needed?

Personally, I believe that a minimum skill set for developers is communication skills. Anyone working corroboratively regardless of discipline requires the ability to communicate. However, most of the Agile software developers I have worked with, such as from TW, are generally arrogant and abrasive. Sure they can "communicate" fine, but they have no idea of relationship building and tend to play out the very weaknesses mentioned of BA's in one of your links, in having undue influence in decisions. They do not elicit requirements but dictate them.

What I have seen to date has not provided me with any evidence that putting requirements analysis completely in the hands of developers, as some of your links suggest, is such a good idea, even with "high calibre" Agilists. Though I do agree with many of the issues raised regarding deficiencies of BA's in your links. However, I see these issues related to anyone doing requirements gathering, not just confined to the practice of BA's.

So in this regard, I think we will have to agree to disagree, even though I'm probably in almost complete agreement with you on the issues with the BA role, it is in the conclusions we draw that we differ. I refuse to chase the theoretical ideal as seen through the agile prism, but try to apply what aspects I can to the real world constraints with which I have to work with. And in that world I see the BA role maturing and changing, but not going away.

I see Scott got here first... :-)

My view o...

2008-02-29T01:36:00.000+11:00

I see Scott got here first... :-)

My view on this topic is that only a small percentage of IT solutions involve new custom software, and likely only a sub-percentage are good candidates for Agile. I would think the main problem faced by Agile is continous business involvement.

So, that leaves the majority of projects where a BA role and other specializations are effective, especially COTS package acquisition; as a result, I have no fear of my role fading away because of Agile. What I can see, if not yet fear, is continuing improvements in the communication between Business and IT; if no translator is needed, then maybe BA's will be needed less.

A few observations that may be of interest:
1. ...

2008-02-29T00:06:00.000+11:00

A few observations that may be of interest:
1. The activities of business analysis are critical on agile projects, on all projects for that matter. That doesn't imply the need for someone in the specific role of BA.

2. Developers do in fact have communication skills, and can in fact pick up BA skills.

3. We're moving away from specialists towards being generalizing specialists. If one of your specialties is doing BA work that's great, but you need more than that to fit in on an agile team. See

4. For agile@scale situations having someone in a more specialized role can make sense. The implication is that we will need some people in the role of "agile BAs" (or equivalent) but nowhere near as many as what the BA community is currently trying to push for. These roles will likely be called "product owner" and not BA.

5. You can scale the agile role of customer/product owner via agile BA skills. See Scaling On-Site Customer (and Product Owner)

6. We've been talking about agile approaches to business analysis within the agile community since 2001. See Agile Analysis.

- Scott
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/ambler

Comments on Better Projects: Is the BA an endangered species with the growth of...

Thanks you for your views. I learned a lot with yo...

Business is a broad field. Many surpasses and many...

Blogs are good for every one where we get lots of ...

As a business analyst, I don't see my role disappe...

David a quick google check and I learn you are rig...

I always thought the "C" in COTS was "Commercial"....

COTS = customised off the shelf.

I appreciate your comments Scott. I do agree with ...

I see Scott got here first... :-)My view o...

A few observations that may be of interest:1. ...

I see Scott got here first... :-)

My view o...

A few observations that may be of interest:
1. ...