Moving from Developer to Business Analyst

Moving from a developer to a business analyst role is a commonly considered career move for IT professionals. It is a natural progression for many just like getting into technical architect roles. It depends on aptitude and interest. (At some point in time, losing interest or not finding it motivating enough is the biggest motivator)

Considering the career prospects of a business analyst, transition to a business analyst role is a good idea.

In this article, we are going to discuss the steps involved in the transition.

Strengths of a Programmer/Developer

As a programmer/developer, you may have one or more of the following strengths:

• A good understanding of the IT industry
• Understanding of the software development process
• Experience in developing solutions for customer needs

What does a Business Analyst do?

A business analyst is responsible for understanding the business requirements and then translating the same to the technical team. Here is a list of tasks that a business analyst does on a team:

• The business analyst collaborates with stakeholders, including clients, end-users, and subject matter experts, to identify and document business requirements. This involves conducting interviews, workshops, and analyzing existing documentation to understand the project's objectives and desired outcomes.
• Translate the business requirements in the form of detailed briefs to the tech team. Once the requirements are gathered, the business analyst analyzes and organizes the information to create comprehensive documentation. This includes creating functional specifications, use cases, process flows, and other artifacts that provide a clear understanding of the business needs.
• The business analyst works closely with the development team to evaluate potential solutions and technologies that address the identified business requirements. They collaborate with architects, designers, and developers to ensure that the proposed solutions are technically feasible, scalable, and align with the business goals.
• The business analyst actively participates in the validation and testing phase of the project. They assist in creating test plans, scenarios, and test cases to verify that the implemented solution meets the defined business requirements. They also coordinate user acceptance testing (UAT) and gather feedback from stakeholders to refine the solution further.

Understand the entry level BA skills requirements and conduct a gap analysis

The first step towards transitioning to the business analyst career is to understand the skills needed to become a business analyst. Since you are already working as a business analyst, you must have already acquired some of the skills. So, you might need to acquire and work on incremental skills. We will discuss that part a little later in this article.

First of all, let’s look at the key skills of a business analyst, as defined by Techcanvass CRAFT framework.

The CRAFT framework defines the top 4 skills of a business analyst, as listed below:

a) Good communication skills: as you will have to communicate effectively with the business as well as the IT team

b) Formal business analysis skills: This is probably the most used and important skill for a business analyst. If you have to transition to a business analyst role, you must learn these. In essence, this translate to the following:

• Requirements elicitation techniques
• Process Modelling (UML Modelling and/or DFD Modelling)
• Data Modelling (E-R diagrams and/or Class diagrams)
• Writing requirements specifications (User stories/Backlog, SRS/FS, Use case specifications)

c) Functional knowledge: Functional knowledge refers to the business domain knowledge. It is not a must to switch to a business analyst role. But it’s an important skill for succeeding as a business analyst.

d) Functional testing: As a business analyst, you will be responsible for validating the developed software, before it is delivered to the customer for UAT. Functional testing, most probably, you will be familiar with. Just brush up on the scenario testing concepts.

The next step in your transition is to consider the certification.

Do you need a certification?

Having understood the skills needed to move to a business analyst career, you also need to consider the business analyst certification.

Do you need a certification? The certifications are the only means for an employer to be assured of a minimal level of skills. Certifications alone may not be able to get you a job, but it plays the role of an enabler.

IIBA ECBA Certification is the most valued entry level business analyst certification.

When should you make a switch?

When should you think about making a switch to a business analyst role? Is there a right stage or is there a minimum level of experience you should have? There may not be a perfect answer to this question, but, you should ideally have a couple of years of experience before making a switch. That provides you with a good platform to start your BA career because of your understanding of the software development aspects.

This article is written to provide you with simple steps and answers to relevant questions so that your move to a business analyst career is easier.

Here are the steps to follow:

Step1: Conduct skills gap analysis

The first step is to identify the skills that you are lacking to switch to a business analyst role. Read about the skills you need if you want to become a business analyst and work on the skills that you lack. Remember, acquiring soft skills and hard skills may require different strategies.

Step2: Decide an approach to learning the skills

The next step is how you are going to learn these skills. You can either go for self-paced learning or free courses. But, once you gain the confidence, you can opt for a professional course to learn these skills.

Step 3: Prepare for the ECBA Certification

This step is getting certified in the business analysis domain. Getting a certification is necessary as it will enable the employer to differentiate your resume from other candidates. Moreover, a credential will also validate your knowledge and expertise in the business analysis domain. ECBA certification is an entry-level credential for business analysts and it is one of the most reputed certifications offered by IIBA.

Step 4: Prepare for the certification

This step is very crucial as it involves rightly preparing for the certification exam. One must aim to clear the certification exam on the first attempt. Therefore, it is important to do your research, make a study plan, invest good hours, and opt for training courses that take care of all the exam training for you.

Step 5: Prepare for the interview

Once you have given your certification exam and cleared it, the next step is to prepare for business analyst interviews. You can look at recorded interview sessions online or you can also opt for interview preparation classes.

Additionally, search for common business analyst interview questions and rehearse your answers to further enhance your preparation.

Step 6: Face multiple interviews

The final step is attending the interviews. It is important to understand that as many interviews you give, your confidence will boost up and enable you to crack future interviews if you don’t crack it on the first attempt.

You can also read our blog to know How to prepare a Business Analyst resume

How to prepare with Techcanvass for certification?

Whether you're an IT professional or a non-IT professional seeking to transition into a new field, Techcanvass offers a range of certification programs designed to cater to your unique needs.

Are you an IT professional aspiring to transition into the dynamic field of business analysis? Look no further! Our ECBA (Entry Certificate in Business Analyst) course is specifically designed to equip individuals like you with the essential skills needed to thrive as a business analyst, with your IT background. We understand that business analysis is not limited to the realm of IT professionals. That's why our ECBA course welcomes both non-IT professionals and IT professionals alike, offering a comprehensive learning experience tailored to meet your unique needs.

Moreover, when you enroll for the course, we have a special module that will help you understand the IT industry on a deeper level in an easy way.

Conclusion

Making the switch from the developer to the BA role should be done methodically and with planning. A professional will need to conduct an in-depth study of the BA function, evaluate their own pre-existing skills, and identify any abilities or gaps they need to close. Once the gaps have been found, it is advised to establish yourself as a BA through the tasks and duties chosen by the professional with the intention of developing into a fully fledged BA.

So are you ready to make your career switch today? If yes, then take the leap of faith and enroll yourself in an ECBA certification training course.