I'm an analyst

I often get asked "what do you do (for a living)?" so I thought I'd blog it...

I didn't set out to be an analyst but an analyst I am. Like many others I wear whichever hat fits at the time. Data, database, systems, reporting and business analyst - been there, done that. I prefer the interaction and cross discipline of business analysis and the greater involvement it brings with the end users, but at the end of the day it is all about BPI (Business Process Improvement). I count myself fortunate to find myself in a role where I am paid to be nosy, ask awkward questions, prod and probe for answers and frequently given free range to determine what the real issue is that the business want addressed and the best solution to that issue.

I didn’t set out to be an analyst, just sort of fell into it. Fed up with having to deliver solutions to clients that developers had slaved over only to find that it was all based on poor initial analysis and a total lack of understanding of the business need I started doing the analysis and (sometimes) the build myself. I didn’t, and still haven’t, aligned myself with any one specific methodology for analysis or presentation but use whatever best fits the situation I find myself in. Accuracy and clarity with a total lack of ambiguity are the goal and the target audience is (i) the end user – to get their buy-in to the solution, (ii) the techies – so that they understand what they have to deliver, and (iii) the boss – commonly called the stakeholder, as he is signing off the cheque and needs to understand what he is paying for. Thorough, accurate analysis effectively documented in a way that the message flows from start to end and reads like a novel (without being the length of one) normally gets signed off because those three recipient groups can identify the content that is relevant to them and understand the part of the message that is aimed at them in their roles.

So I’m a hybrid. Some days are more stereo typed than others. Some are more interesting than others and some are more enjoyable. For me it’s a nice way to earn the money that pays the bills.