Lessons learnt

Some of the lessons that I have learnt over the last few years...

1. Always make sure the Developer is doing what is needed and anything other than that, the BA has to stop it from moving on.

2. Always make sure there is a genuine mistake before raising the flag. Dont be in a hurry to do it, look at the specs before doing it. I looked at the wrong place for the link without checking out the spec.

3. Always ensure that protocol is being maintained and dev and db folks are ok with whats happening.
In one instance, the developer went and finished the ticket while he did his part as well as the db guys part, which is against protocol. I should have raised the issue earlier and should have ensured that protocol and responsibilties are being maintained.

India Rising ?

Just came about this figures about India.
Very Interesting. Maybe a year or so old information...

40 percent of the world poor live in india..
2nd highest number of hiv populated
3 nigerias in india...
300 million ppl live in less than a dollar a day
800 million earn less than 2 dollars a day.
300 million are middle classs...
17 major langs 22000 dialects..
The average annual income in India is just $737, versus $42,027 in the United States.
2.4 million Indians live in the United
They're also earning more; their median household income of $67,424 per year is top among ethnic groups.
There are about 100 companies in India with a market value of more than $1 billion.
Foreigners have invested in more than 1,000 Indian companies—a record for any country outside the United States

Now tell me who says India is not rising ?

Seth Godin The Man

I just finished reading 4 of Seth Godin's books and wished had read them earlier. This guy talks with crystal clarity, knows his facts and clearly thinks outside the clutter. The books i finished Everyone Is An Expert, Flipping the Funnel, Whos there and Knock Knock are must read for anyone trying to get feel for Web 2.0 and its vagaries.

I also found a video on Youtube about his newest book, All Marketers are Liars. It has already made the Amazon Top 100 and has inspired its own blog. Seth is also a renowned speaker, and was recently chosen as one of "21 Speakers for the Next Century".

What is a Business Analyst ?

What is the role of a Business Analyst ?

Yeah Yeah Yeah. We have heard it, we know it and its old news.

I quote…."A business/systems analyst solves business problems by designing information systems which execute the strategy defined by the business. These IT solutions generally achieve one of the following goals for the business: implement a new/novel business process, increase efficiency and productivity of existing business processes, or reduce operating costs of existing processes." Unquote…..

Nope I dont agree.. The above definition is true to some extent but is not complete.

If you have been in the IT industry and are closely working with any Business group. You would have surely come across some friction between the two groups. If you have not, then hmmm, well either you are not dealing with the right business group or well I need to find ya and learn from ya...how ? I again don’t subscribe to the view that there are no groups in my company, we all work for the same goal. If that is the case, then well you have a perfect environmental conditional to build software.

Back to my point, the basic job in my view of the business analysts is to make business feel that IT is with them and not against them. Agreed at the end of the day, you and I and all other BA’s get their money only to gather good requirements. But how do you do that, if the business views you with colored glasses. To ensure that you get proper requirements, to ensure that there is minimum rework. You need to ensure that the business is on your side.

Till that happens, you will not be a good Business Analyst. A good BA will be a bridge between all the groups and bring value to an organization.