Business Analysis is Not IT !

In continuation of the rich tradition of the Leadership Talk Series, we got an opportunity to interact with not one but two eminent business leaders, Ms. Kathleen Barret, President and CEO of International Institute of Business Analysis and Mr. Ashish Mehta,Vice President and Global Practice Head- Business Analysis at Keane Inc.

Established in 2003 with its base in Canada; International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is the leading association in the world of Business Analysis. The organization with its team of 20,000+ members worldwide is working extensively to build a body of knowledge reflecting the generally accepted practices in the field of Business Analysis.

Keane Inc, is a U.S.A based Information Technology services firm, which offers Application Services, Infrastructure Outsourcing and Business Process Outsourcing solutions.

The session started with Ms. Barret, who has over 25 years of experience in the field of Information Technology, posing the first teaser question to the audience, “What is Business Analysis and why should you care?” That served as the perfect ice-breaker as students put on their thinking hats.

Ms. Barret went on to explain the assembled group the value proposition that a business analyst brings to the organization. She stressed on how organizations have mostly doers rather than thinkers and the most common assumption made is that “Movement is Progress” which is a misnomer and that is where business analysts can come in to help companies strategize, “By thinking first, before doing.”



Another misconception is that “Business Analysis is IT” and here is when Mr. Mehta, shared the most valuable secret, “It’s the lens with which the Business Analyst is viewed”.
The function of a business analyst is much more than of providing support to an IT enterprise.

To put things in perspective, Ms. Barret then shared a simplistic definition of business, and business analyst.

Business is, “A factory designed to develop, package and sell products and services to customers to generate revenue.”
Business Analyst, “A disciplined approach for introducing and managing change to the business”

Mr. Mehta also explained to the students that for a Business Analyst, “Strategy Focus, Domain Competency and Process Expertise matters.”

In a Product Life Cycle, it is the Business Analyst who understands the business problems and opportunities in the context of the requirements and recommends solutions to enable an organization achieve its goal.

The golden rule is “Don’t just be efficient, be effective!”



Throughout the session the students kept the speakers occupied with their questions, ranging from “How is Business Analysis linked with other frameworks in an organization to measurement techniques applied in Business Analysis”

It was a rich exchange of ideas and had it not been for the time constraint our eminent speakers would have continued further in their discussion with the students.

An opportunity to listen to and discuss with the business leaders in the field of Business Analysis  does not come every day and the students were appreciative of the learning that they gained by understanding the key role of a Business Analyst in the changing world of business.

Hopefully we would get another chance to play hosts to our speakers in the future.

-Saurabh K