I have often been asked what is the one thing that every Business Analyst should do - irrespective of industry and experience. My answer has always been the same - focus on continuous learning. We can go through life living in situations, but not learning from them. There is always a new skill or a new behaviour to be learnt.
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” - Mahatma Gandhi.
As individuals we should live through life constantly in the search of continuous learning - while at home, while at work, while driving and in fact even while watching TV. A Business Analyst is expected to play a number of different roles in the IT industry and is expected to know and understand the strategy, process, technology and people. This means that in order to continue performing at an acceptable level, it is imperative that the BA focus on learning - not only about the practice of analysis, but also about the domain in which she / he works. This has a flow on effect and it enhances the profession and further increases the value of having a Business Analyst on the team.
The best way to learn, I have found, is to try something new. Try this three step process and see how it changes your perspective on a task that you may not be comfortable doing, or may not have tried due to fear.
You should take a chance, challenge yourself and try something new - possibly a new facilitation technique? You won’t know how effective it is, or even how good you are at it until you try it in a real live situation.
Remember to take feedback. Seek out people that can provide you with actionable feedback. You may need to pre-wire them so that they can take notes and observe specific behaviours.
Incorporate some / all of the feedback and try it again. Each time you try it, you will get better at it and soon you can pick another skill / behaviour to improve.
Often, an organisation fosters a culture of learning and provides it’s staff with tools and an environment in which to learn on the job and develop as human beings. There is great benefit for an organisation in doing this as it grooms staff to innovate and go beyond their defined job descriptions. Definitely a win-win situation for individuals and the organisation!
Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn” - Benjamin Franklin.
No matter what your motivation, remember to keep learning.
A personal note: Learning plays a pivotal role in my life. It is this thirst for new learning, skills and experiences that led me to self-fund my startup. For me this learning-by-doing experimentation provides me with greater value that a course that would limit me by it’s scope and provide me with primarily theoretical knowledge.
