Building Sandcastles: Why the world needs Process Analysts, not Business Analysts

I'm not a BA god damn it! I'm glad I'm not. I used to be one and I hated it. But why do agencies still call me about every BA job under the sun?

If you are not aware there is a huge differece between a BA and a Process Analyst:

BA: Scoping, requirements gathering & documenting, testing, training, etc

Process Analyst: As-is and to-be analysis, mapping of process, gap analysis, recomendations, change management, communication.

To me, the roles are chalk and cheese. A BA is down and dirty with all the intricate details. A BA is a car mechanic tinkering with nuts and bolts. The Process Analyst looks at the car and identifies its flaws or they design the car.

So why are there so many BA's and so few Process Analyst roles? To me it's basic ignorance. Most companies think a BA can do the job of a process analyst as well as the job of a BA. Judging by a lot of the process maps I've seen, that's not the case. Process is a speciality, a skill, a mindset. You wouldn't get a handyman to build you a house, you'd get a builder.

The good process people I've seen aren't focussed on the nuts and bolts - they see the big picture. For me, the ideal combination is a BA and a process analyst working in unison. The Process Analyst painting the picture of the landscape and the BA focussing in on the process analyst's recommendations.

But time and again I see projects filled with BA's, and time and again I see projects doomed to fail. BA's fill a very important role, but without a process perspective those projects are merely building castles of sand.

TPN

Comments

[data devil]

I have never really thought about this until I read your story. I can relate, as our business analyst is now doing processes, and the mind set is very different.
To be able to see the entire process you must step back a level or two, and in the case of our BA, it seems to be difficult due to them knowing the nuts and bolts as you put it, but struggling to seperate the two.
Thanks for the article.

[The Process Ninja]

Thanks Data Devil - appreciate your comments - keep 'em coming!

[Ganesh Janakiraman]

Very valid point. Unfortunately the evolution path that I've noticed for most BAs is Technical analyst->Business analyst->Pseudo process analyst. The transition seems more forced that organic. BAs I've worked with still struggle to understand the importance of looking at processes for improvement opportunities. They immediately jump to the technology side of things when faced with a problem. Cant really blame them for it as it is their comfort zone. As you mentioned correctly, this is very evident in their modelling approaches as well, they struggle to understand basic differences between control flow and data flow. They start looking down the data flow path and often end up with a totally skewed analysis.

[Declan Chellar]

Good post, PN.

I agree with you that Process Analyst is a specialised skill and it is not the same as, say requirements analysis.

However, I have always thought of Business Analyst as a (poorly defined) umbrella term that covers many skills, including Process Analyst, Information Analyst, Business Strategist, Requirements Manager, and so on.

I don't disagree with your point at all, however, and I have seen companies put BAs in place as process analysts because they have domain knowledge, but who do not know how to model a process.

All the best.

[The Process Ninja]

Totally agree Declan! It's a large and poorly defined umbrella - I've been under that umbrella many times - and still felt the rain!