Paul:
Business Analyst:
Business Architecture & Business Analysis Team
Hi Paul, so tell us what a Business Analyst does?
A big component of our work is managing expectations. Depending on what project your working on, which area of the business it’s in and which business owner you’re working with, then you’re constantly re-prioritising. Once you’ve got that right, it’s into the general business analyst work such as speaking to the business owners, figuring out what the projects are about, understanding them, doing the analysis and seeing if they’re viable and should go ahead. And then repeating that cycle continuously. In my approach to my work, I like to be thorough and have a high standard of work, but not in a boring way (as I like to enjoy myself and not take things too seriously by bringing some humour to it). In order to be a good Business Analyst, it really helps to be able to understand people, work and collaborate with them as well as to be able to understand what their work involves.
How did you first get started in your career?
I started my career in marketing. From there, I progressed more into the online work-space, which led me into a combined Analysts and Developer role. I think at some stage I realised that I didn’t want to be a full-time Developer, because I like to be more forward thinking and to develop an understanding of the business objectives and direction. So from there, I progressed into a solely Analyst role and then to where I am today as a Business Analyst at ooba.
What’s the best thing about working at ooba?
The people. Everyone I deal with are experts in their field, which makes it very easy to work with them. It’s a place where it’s safe to disagree and challenge ideas, because we all understand the bigger picture and we’re all working towards the same goals. It makes it very easy to work with everyone here, on the whole.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of a career as a Business Analyst?
The best qualities to have as a Business Analyst, especially at ooba, include: you must want to learn (all the time); there’ll be a lot you don’t know and a lot of challenges you have to overcome, so you need to be able to adapt to that all the time; you must be ‘nosy’, meaning if you don’t know something you must want to go find out about it and ask people about it – the ‘take it apart and put it back together’. If you do those things and enjoy being like that, you’ll be very good as a Business Analyst.
Thanks for sharing, Paul!
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