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Subject:RE: What is a Business Analyst? From:"Steve Janoff (non-Celgene)" <sjanoff -at- celgene -dot- com> To:Wade Courtney <wade -dot- courtney -at- gmail -dot- com>, "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Mon, 5 Nov 2012 12:17:47 -0800
Thanks, Wade -- that's fantastic!
I'm in San Diego County, btw, so that's really great news. (I'm surprised we haven't bumped into each other yet.)
I will study that IIBA web site religiously.
Much appreciated.
Steve
From: Wade Courtney [mailto:wade -dot- courtney -at- gmail -dot- com]
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2012 9:15 PM
To: Steve Janoff (non-Celgene)
Cc: Kat Kuvinka; Lauren; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: What is a Business Analyst?
As a business analyst/Product analyst/Junior Product manager I sit in meetings listening to what others want the software to do. I take what they want it to do and craft the requirements that will help the engineers create the features. I also take Marketing requirements documents and translate what they want for features in to the requirements for that feature.
BAs tell the engineers what to make, Engineers decide how to make it.
Sometimes being a BA requires mocking up user interfaces and data flow diagrams.
This button should do this
This text box should say that.
Requirements written by BAs usually start out with the system should...
As for a pay cut, it's not likely, depending on where you live. In San Diego County, BAs start at the highest Tech Writing Salary.
You don't need to be a tech writer to be a BA, but that all depends on what kind of BA you are, but it is a stepping stone to a higher salary, higher position, and more responsibility.
Wade
On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 2:45 PM, Steve Janoff (non-Celgene) <sjanoff -at- celgene -dot- com> wrote:
Perfect! What are we waiting for, then? ;) (It's Friday...)
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: On Behalf Of Kat Kuvinka
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2012 2:28 PM
To: Lauren; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: What is a Business Analyst?
Like the Project Manager/Project Owner, the Business Analyst is hard to pin down, but suddenly everyone must have one!
We had one at my current job, a contractor who had three degrees yet could not spell, had minimal technical knowledge, and asked me one day "how do you know what goes on around here?" So I am a little skeptical sometimes...like I am when programmers call themselves engineers. To me, the BA is the old Systems Analyst who does not have to be quite as technical.
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