Business Analysts: Don’t overlook the soft skills
As professional business analysts (BA) we are hired to perform functional tasks such as managing requirements, creating documentation and working as the liaison between business and technical staff. We are hired based on our skills, experience and knowledge across a large spectrum. These technical and functional tasks are very important, but it is also important that we add ‘soft skills’ to our BA toolbox.
What is a soft skill and why is it important? A soft skill is how you interact with clients and colleagues to solve problems, manage work and communicate. This article will provide a guide to some of the most important soft skills based on our experience. Developing these skills as we progress in our careers helps us become better at understanding and helping our clients. Although the outcome of our work is to perform the functional task we were hired to do, the concepts outlined in this article explain some of the soft skills to achieve stronger outcomes.
Being naturally curious
The ‘art’ of business analysis is to be naturally curious. Understanding how people, processes and technology work together is one of the most important skills for the business analyst. The nature of curiosity should drive the BA to ask questions and ask them often. Don’t wait for information to be volunteered. There is never a wrong question, in fact asking questions that may, on the face of it seem foolish, but helps others to grasp concepts or ideas that they may be afraid to ask for themselves.
Conversations with subject matter experts should be bi-directional. If you are having a hard time understanding a concept, then it’s likely that others are too. Feel confident to ask questions and get clarification for a subject in which you may not understand. Asking a subject matter expert to demonstrate their idea and provide commentary helps you as a BA and all parties to understand the demonstrated concepts. It’s important to capture the outcome of the demonstration through notes for future use.
Stay humble
Professional business analysts are often hired based on their experience and expertise. As a professional BA it is easy to fall into the trap of believing everyone is going to listen to you because you were hired as the expert. Although this is true, it is good to manage your attitude and stay humble. The client needs time to develop trust in your ability to manage their change.
Understand your client is undergoing through a change because you are there. Be sensitive to your client and learn the environment and culture, as well as build relationships with people, before recommending changes in their resourcing/process/technology. The hope is your client is looking forward to the change and embraces your expertise, but this is not always the case. We have to be sensitive to the fact that our job is to change the status quo.
Communication skills
In life we all know communication is the key to honest and healthy relationships and it is no different in the professional setting. It is always good to continually learn new ways to communicate.
Being honest and forthright with bad news is never easy or popular, but open and honest communication mitigates future issues and problems. Use bad news as an opportunity for you and your business team to problem solve. For example, if developers are unable to create a function specifically as requested, determine with your business team what is essential, what alternative solutions or workarounds can be used and present it as a hurdle to be overcome together. Bad news is never a stopping point but an opportunity to reflect and improve on previous decisions.
Lean on concepts such as Organizational Change Management (OCM). OCM is becoming more prevalent in projects and organizations as executives begin to understand the importance of managing the change well. Consider the following concepts when communicating with your clients:
Communicate often – Data shows us that an individual needs to hear something 5-7 times before it is remembered and understood.
Build relationships – This is key to understanding if the work being performed is effective and valuable. This is the best way to keep the pulse of an organization.
What’s In it For Me – WIFM – Whenever communicating changes, new systems or processes, it’s always important to look through the lens of your client. Relay what advantage they receive as part of the change.
The new client
The excitement of a new opportunity can be overshadowed by the anxiety of not knowing the people, organization, processes, project goals, etc. Not knowing everything is expected, therefore it is important to realize you may not understand these things when first starting the project. The picture will be revealed as you interact with your client and ask questions. Business analysts often have a series of “ah-ha” moments when they understand a concept or how an organization works together to accomplish their goals.
In the beginning, the BA should learn about the client. Studying the organization chart is important to determining work areas, hierarchy, and the relationships between people. Delving deeper, a BA will be able to establish solid working relationships by learning individual mannerisms, attitudes, communication styles and client vernacular/language (example: a word like ‘customer’ has a different meaning across the organization). Find commonality within their personal and professional lives, such as hobbies, families, and backgrounds. It’s not about building friendships but finding commonality that helps make future difficult conversations easier to maneuver.
Getting into the documentation will also ease the anxiety. Learn about the project by reviewing the project plan, decision paper, statement of work, request for proposal and response. Discuss the intricacies of the project with other people to gain insight into the project goals and expectations. The project approach, schedule and resources will also help the BA determine which deliverables will provide the most benefit to the client.
What about artifacts?
Soft skills can also apply to the more task-oriented role of the BA. It is important for the BA to know how to create supporting documentation and facilitate work sessions and meetings, but don’t forget your audience. Not all team members will have the technical experience to attain information from technical documentation. Create multiple ways to look at the same data. The BA may have to use multiple tools in their toolbox to represent data in a way the client can use efficiently. Tools such as process maps, charts, context diagrams, and workflows can be very useful tools. If you are presenting technical documents to non-technical folks, it helps to include a written narrative or a verbal description of the document.
Lastly, don’t create documents for documentation’s sake. Make certain that BA deliverables will be useful to the client before, during and after the project. Ask yourself, what problem will this document solve?
Effectively developing and using soft skills helps develop stronger relationships, solve problems, manage work and communicate. In the end, the effective use of these skills will help us provide the best solutions to our clients and benefit the project, the stakeholders, and the overall outcome.