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A Link Between Business Analysts and Business Developers?

June 2, 2008

While I was preparing to write this post, I initially wanted to talk about the great business related events I went to last week. But, I just couldn’t put it together correctly… the prose just seemed too cheesy.

Then inspiration hit me. I thought about the Cincinnati International Institute for Business Analysts (Cincy-IIBA) chapter meeting. The last chapter event was held on Tuesday, 5/20 @ 6:30, the topic was “Information Visualization Techniques for the Business Analyst” presented by Keith Burtoft. His presentation talked about how to convey complex ideas with pictures, text, and spoken word to appeal to people who are psychologically positioned to understand information faster through visual, auditory, or kinetic inputs.

A quick synopsis…

Business analysts should not only be liaisons for IT and representatives for business, but also the missing link. As a BA you should be able to learn the business, build fantastic relationships with IT and the business unit(s), create fabulous and accurate requirements, and properly describe those requirements in terms that every stakeholder and developer can understand. To accomplish most of this, the BA usually drafts use cases, sequence diagrams, action diagrams, data flows, etc. However, the translation back to the business may be the thing that a lot of business analysts do not well but already know how to do well… draw a picture! Simply put, drawing the picture takes the “tech speak” and simplifies it into an easily digestible context that gets ideas across quickly and accurately.

Great topic… but could this also apply to business development?

Lynn Mcinturf Associates, certified trainers for Sandler’s Professional Development Program, teach a system of training that encourages business developers to understand the customer. So understanding the customer, is paramount in business development because you cannot sell YOUR solutions to a customer, you can, however, provide them with answers to their problems. In order to get to their problems, you need to listen, build rapport, and listen – all the qualities of a business analyst focused into development. Not development for coding or engineering, but development of relationships, of understanding, of business.

Business. The link between analyst and developer is business.

Should a business developer draw pictures and diagrams to ensure they understand the point/problem their prospect is trying to make? Maybe… in some situations… yes. I say drawing conclusions is suicide for a business developer, yet drawing pictures is worth a thousand…

To answer the question of this topic, I think a business analyst would make a fantastic business developer if they have the drive, patience, and toughness needed to be in business development… because they already have all of the other ingredients they need.

Just my 2 Cents…

- Paul Stephens

PS… Shameless plugs:

- If you are interested in learning more about business analysts, check out http://Cincinnati.theiiba.org (this site will look a lot better soon!)

- If you are interested in advanced business development training, take a look at www.lynnmcinturf.com.

Written by PaulStephens · Filed Under Business & Leadership 

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