Did you know that the Department of Employment undertakes research into job prospects for business analysts. Their forecast is for continued growth in employment prospects through to 2020. The research also contains useful information on average earnings and typical skills required. The Department has, as you would expect, an in-depth understanding of the Australian business analyst jobs market as well as access to statistics and data not necessarily available to private industry. One of the Department’s initiatives is the…
Continue ReadingBusiness Analyst or Business Solution Designer?
07/09/2016 |
By IRM Training
At IRM we’ve long argued that investigating, eliciting and gathering requirements (i.e. analysing business problems) is only half the job of a business analyst. Sure the business wants you to understand their problems but more importantly they want you to come up with a solution. And not a technical solution but a business solution. As a business analyst you definitely need to understand how technology can be exploited. Just leave the technical (i.e. physical) design to others who specialise in…
Continue ReadingBoom in ICT hiring but are your skills falling behind?
09/08/2016 |
By IRM Training
There may be a boom in technology hiring for those with ICT skills but many employees feel let down by the lack of training. A recent (July 2016) article in ITWire – based on research conducted by recruitment company Hudson – throws up some interesting statistics: 31% of Australia companies surveyed plan to increase hiring 44% of employees were actively looking for new jobs So the good news for job seekers with ICT skills is that there are a lot…
Continue ReadingBusiness BA or IT BA – which one are you?
17/05/2016 |
By IRM Training
Like a business analyst, the terms hard and soft skills can be applied to many occupations. Think of a programmer who is predominantly concerned with applying hard skills (writing software) or a social services counsellor who needs to be an expert in people (soft) skills. However there are not may jobs requiring a strong mix of both hard and soft skills, the business analyst being a notable exception. You’ll need people skills to empathise with clients and explore their needs…
Continue Reading12 Positives To Being a Business Analyst
24/08/2015 |
By IRM Training
Finding solutions can be hugely satisfying in any job but in the business analyst job, you are by definition a problem solver, so it’s very easy to become “problem-centric”. Sometimes our job can just become one problem after another. We’ve got to be careful not to get depressed by all the challenges we face! So rather than just asking analysts what problems they have, what issues they need to tackle, we’ve also been asking them what problems give them the…
Continue ReadingHints & Tips for BA Job Seekers
22/06/2015 |
By IRM Training
As a training company we don’t want our clients thinking we’re poaching their best staff – that’s why we don’t get involved in recruitment. But in any given year we typically deal with over 100 organisations. We get a great insight into the issues facing business analysts and their managers. So to help those business analysts looking for a new job – and those analysts looking to progress their career – we’ve compiled a list of hints and tips on…
Continue ReadingSix Business Skills Every BA Needs
25/03/2015 |
By IRM Training
Back in 2003 one of our most popular papers, What is a Business Analyst (72,000+ downloads to date), made a simple but very powerful statement – “the most successful and valuable analysts are those who understand the business rather than those who understand IT”. Fast forward to the present and you’ll see everyone from the International Institute of Business Analysis to the Project Management Institute emphasising the importance of business skills. A recent article by Jas Phul posted…
Continue ReadingModelling and Your Next Interview
02/02/2015 |
By IRM Training
Have you ever had a business analyst job interview and had this said to you? “Your skills and experience are great but unfortunately you’ve never worked in this industry before”. And it’s not just business analyst job interviews. On many projects you’ll come across a user who’ll say “I haven’t got the time to explain to you how my business works”. Nobody can be an expert at everything but as a business analyst you’ve actually got some real advantages -…
Continue ReadingCommon Business Analysis Problems
16/07/2011 |
By IRM Training
One of the fortunate things about being a training company is that over the course of a year we get to hear from hundreds of business analysts about their problems and frustrations. It doesn’t seem to matter whether the analyst works for a finance company, in manufacturing, energy, utilities, telecommunications or for a government department, the same issues crop up time and again. Interestingly, the issues raised by business analysts are less to do with project methodology or personal skills…
Continue ReadingAnalysis of Business Analyst Job Adverts
04/02/2010 |
By IRM Training
Business analyst jobs are always a topic of conversation as a business analyst training company. And one effect of the global financial crisis was to put a lot of contract business analysts onto the job market. Many companies cancelled or deferred projects as part of their cost cutting measures. Contractors were among the first to be let go. With so many experienced business analyst looking for work, those employers who were hiring had the pick of a very experienced talent…
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