Many Business Analysts are also responsible for managing projects in their organizations.
Even though their official job titles are Business Analysts, they might also act as project managers in the organization.
So are they Business Analysts, Project Managers or both ?
But, first of all who is a Project Manager ?
A Project Manager is someone who applies the knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques that are needed to fulfill the project requirements.
Now who is a Business Analyst ?
A Business Analyst is someone who conducts business analysis activities.
They understand the structure, policies, and operations of an organization, and use their skills and knowledge to recommend solutions that would help the organizational fulfill its objectives.
So are Business Analyst’s and Project Manager’s tasks the same ?
No they are not, while both roles may perform similar project tasks, there is a distinct difference in the tasks responsibility.
For example in the planning phase of a project, the Business Analyst’s tasks would include the Plan business analysis approach and the Plan stakeholder engagement, while the Project Manager would be responsible for creating the project plan and the project roadmap.
While the output of the business analysts tasks might help the project manager with their tasks and vice versa, both roles have their own distinct responsibilities.
But there are also other business analysis tasks that overlap with the project manager tasks such as the assess risks task in the strategic analysis knowledge area.
This task involves both the business analyst and the project manager and both of them might have to work together to produce a task output.
Now do both jobs require the same skills ?
The business analyst and project manager share similar skillsets.
They are both change agents, organized, passionate and goal-oriented.
They help identify business needs and find solutions that would help fulfill those needs.
They also work well under pressure and are comfortable with the change and complexity of dynamic environments.
They have to be able to use their soft skills to get results, some of these soft skills include influencing, leadership, communication and trustworthiness.
They might also use the same software applications to manage their work. An example of such an application is Jira.
Do they have similar job descriptions ?
While the job descriptions of both roles might be unique to the needs of the organization, they are quite different.
Here is a comparison between the Business Analyst and Project Manager job descriptions.
| No. | Business Analyst | Project Manager |
| 1 | Document requirements, define solution scope and objectives. | Project scope and objectives definition. |
| 2 | Determine and document user requirements for various business processes. | Resource allocation and management. |
| 3 | Create and implement business analysis plans. | Cost estimation and budgeting. |
| 4 | Develop an in depth analysis of organizational problems and opportunities. | Identifying, assessing and managing the project’s risk. |
| 5 | Review, analyze and evaluate business information technology systems and the user needs. | Project documentation and progress reports creation. |
| 6 | Develop user acceptance test cases for the solution. | Manage the project team. |
| 7 | Evaluate, analyze, and communicate business requirements on a regular basis, and maintain business processes. | Apply project management best practices. |
| 8 | Create and update internal and external documentation. | Project monitoring and management. |
| 9 | Conduct regular systems analysis to maximize effectiveness and troubleshoot system problems. | Measure and assess the project’s performance to identify areas for improvement |
So in summary, while many business analysis might also perform project management, they do require additional knowledge and experience to take on this role.
But due to the similarities in the tasks that they perform, it is a natural progression for a senior business analyst to become a project manager.