[Sigia-l] Frustrated Mid-Level IA job seeker
Susan Moller
spaulsen at 9flights.com
Tue Feb 28 20:08:59 EST 2006
Malahat,
You don't need a business degree to be a BA. As Donna said, you need the
skills. For BAs that includes gathering requirements, meeting facilitation,
concensus building, writing requirements, and sometimes even designing the
interface (an IA/UX skill) and writing Functional Specs. In some companies
and industries they prefer BAs to know something about the business, but
I've found that in most, the BA is an entry to low-level job that really
doesn't require pre-knowledge, but gives you the chance to learn the
business through your "analysis" skills.
If you bring design thinking and the right focus on the user to a BA
skillset, you will see a marked increase in both the business and the
implementation team's estimation of your value as a team member. Keep
throwing around the idea that you are using a user-centered design process
and you'll carve your niche.
Susan Moller
Manager, User Experience
Standard & Poor's
-----Original Message-----
From: sigia-l-bounces at asis.org [mailto:sigia-l-bounces at asis.org]On
Behalf Of Malahat Hosseini
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2006 7:17 PM
To: alexander.johannesen at gmail.com
Cc: sigia-l at asis.org; donna at maadmob.net
Subject: Re: [Sigia-l] Frustrated Mid-Level IA job seeker
wow...that is a bit discouraging... I don't have a bussiness degree... I
wouldn't mind being called a BA but actually doing user research and design
though!:)
On Wed, 1 Mar 2006 11:00:58 +1100 alexander.johannesen at gmail.com wrote:
> Hey,
>
> On 3/1/06, Malahat Hosseini <mhosseini at sfu.ca> wrote:
> > Well I can see that 'applications' is a whole lot different thing.
>
> I use the term 'application' in the broadest sense, as in the
> application of what the project is about. It doesn't matter if that's
> a website, a web app, desktop app, a video game, a presentation, a
> work process or whatever.
>
> > But what about websites? do you think BA's would know what is best to
> > present? and in what priorities? ( not talking about the mode of
> > presentation... : interaction/visual design)
>
> My *personal* opinion is that the most-often used role of BA is a
> misguided attempt to have the design process in the control of the
> business side; it's all about what the business side wants and you're
> in *luck* if they've thought about the user, most often they don't
> think about what the user wants but what they think the user needs. An
> IA/UX person would at least make sure the user is better prioritised.
>
> But hey, I'm looking for work these days too (albeit on a senior level
> :), and the BA route seems to be the only real path to follow here in
> Australia too. Hopefully businesses will over time understand that all
> things they think is BA is better done through IA/UX.
>
>
> Alex
> --
> "Ultimately, all things are known because you want to believe you know."
> - Frank Herbert
> __ http://shelter.nu/ __________________________________________________
>
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