Focus on the Business

HELPING BUSINESS CHANGE
I think it's important to remember that we are all here to help the business. Business objectives are what make a business successful. The role itself evolved because of the lack of focus on the business.

BEFORE VS. NOW
When the early IT departments were growing their automation solutions, they would approach the business with a big mainframe standing behind them. The focus in the 70-80's was, "How can I solve your problem with this big box?" Given that there were few other options available, this was considered acceptable. When other client/server options became available, the question should have changed to "What is the most effective way to solve your business problem with what we have available today?"

CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY
Eventually some of the larger companies hired their own analysts on the business side to focus on their business needs. These analysts tended to help the business better because they were focused on the business need. They were successful if they solved the problem, regardless if they used the IT department or purchased a solution. They became more valuable to the business than systems analyst for obvious reasons. They were actually solving business problems.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO FEEL THE PULSE OF BUSINESS NEEDS
I don't think business analysts are the only ones that should be focusing on the solutions for the business, but they should be intimately familiar with how we're doing at meeting the business needs. Everyone needs to understand the business needs, and be involved with solving business problems. Although BA's are the liaison between IT and the business, they need to be in the front seat with the business. They need to feel the challenges of the business, and not only the IT team.

We all need to be the pit crew for the business. The BA should be on the headset with the driver, but everyone on the crew needs to be ready to quickly address changes needed. Any technology or methodology tools that we put together should improve our performance.