Spotlight: business analyst

Allan Hoffman recently posted an article on Monster.com, Career spotlight: Business Analyst.

He lists the main factors for requiring more business analysts as:

1. The increase in outsourcing patterns.
2. A continuous drive for improved efficiency.
   

Mr. Hoffman points out that the most important thing a business analyst can bring to a project is translation; or a furthering of understanding about what is required.

Kathleen Barret, president of the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), says business analysts' ability to translate -- an ability that's difficult to offshore -- is crucial to succeeding in the role. "[Business analysts] need to be there with the business," she says. "It's very difficult to do a good job virtually."

This echoes my thoughts from an early post, The why of business analysis. The central role of the business analyst is to foster understanding throughout the business and IT groups to provide the best basis for success.

Step back for a second, think about how easy it is to misunderstand and miscommunicate. Think about the costs and consequences associated to some of these misunderstandings when they happen on your projects.

Unfortunately, they aren't as humorous as the following video.