I have written a series of posts on business analysis and the necessary skill sets that every successful business analyst should have.
But what about people who are interested in getting into the IT business analysis domain ?
Many business users regularly work with IT Business Analysts and soon enough they become interested in transitioning into that job role.
While it is possible to switch careers to Business Analysis, IT Business Analysts have some unique skill sets which are not so easy to learn.
Most IT Business Analysts might have the job titles of Business Systems Analyst, Technical Analyst, Functional Analyst and Software Analyst.
They have intermediate to expert knowledge of computer systems and might even do some programming work in their jobs.
This is because they need to be able to analyze, design and develop applications that would be used in the organization.
While this skill set can be leanrt on the job, it is not always the easiest thing to do, because most IT Business Analyst jobs require a information systems background.
IT Business Analysts need to understand basic IT terminologies such SQL databases, SSIS packages and what an API is.
They need to be able to analyze applications, perform root cause analysis, run scripts and query the database.
So if you truly want to transition into becoming an IT Business Analyst, then you need to take some computer science courses.
These courses could include an intro to programming, a relational database and some software design courses.
Regardless of your background, I think having a basic understanding of the computer systems is vital to your careers success.
While getting a business analysis certification might seem like the most important step in starting your IT business analysis career, I think having a business analysis certificate and understanding both IT business domain are equally as important.
Business analysis is basically about understanding the pain points of the organization, identifying the cause of those problems and finding solutions to those problems.
But it would be rather difficult to understand the problems in an organization if you cannot communicate those requirements to the solutions team.
For example if you are implementing a solution and the technical team needs to use an API to get information from the ERP system, you might find it difficult to get the right information from them if you don’t know what an API is.
While it might be difficult to learn a new technical skill within a short amount of time, it is doable.
It might take and sacrifice, but I think an investment in yourself is always an investment worth making.