I’ve been working as a consultant in New York City since 2005, performing business analysis activities for client organizations either as a stand-alone service or as part of a larger consulting packaged service related to custom software development.

We all know that meeting notes are important. Some of us live and die by our notes. Some of us loathe getting “stuck” taking the notes. In many organizations, the leader of the meeting must fill multiple roles. You probably created the agenda, are guiding the discussion, and trying to take notes. Having someone else [...]

One of the most important considerations when interviewing for a business analyst position is the perspective of the hiring manager. This person is most often the person in the hot seat to decide whether or not you are hired.

Hiring managers can have varying perspectives. Their point of view will depend on:

• The scope of their responsibilities—do they oversee just BAs or multiple areas of responsibility?
• Whether or not they have been a BA before.
• The pluses or minuses of previous people they’ve hired into a BA position.
• The strength or weakness of the business team.
• The strength or weakness of the technology team.

Oftentimes you can read into job descriptions to find hidden information about perspectives. Lines like “will ensure we stay on scope” or “will keep the development team on track with requirements” often brush over some of the core issues the manager is trying to solve by hiring a new business analyst or filling an open role.