Why Exactly do I Need a Business Analyst on My Next Project?

and it’s only going to get worse.

Why Exactly do I Need a Business Analyst on My Next Project?

Moderator

• Chair since 2007, RRC since 1996 (after 18 years in industry)
• Part of the School of Business and Applied Arts
• Responsible for
• Business Information Technology (BIT) – former CA/P and IST
• All the accountants
• All the Business Computing faculty
• Business Technology Management (BTM) champion at RRC
• Diploma & Degree conforming to CCICT BTM framework
• Very interested in perspective of SDEC12 conference attendees
• Most looking forward to input and insight of panel members

Guy Dugas

Panelists

• In the software industry for over a decade
• Most experience in Product Management and Business Analysis
• Strategic product planning
• Market differentiation
• Detailed feature road-mapping
• Visionary who enjoys tying product strategies into larger strategic initiatives
• Thrives in a team environment
• Enjoys the community at Protegra
• Outside of work
• Spends time at the cottage with her family
• Is an avid golfer

Guy Dugas

Chair, Accounting & Computer Education

Red River College

Angie Duncan

Business Analyst, Protegra

Barb Spurway

Business Analyst/Consultant, Protegra

Kevin Giles

Senior Business Consultant, Norima Consulting

Angie Duncan

Barb Spurway

• Member of the SDEC12 organizing committee
• Variety of IT delivery and consulting roles
• Program management
• Business analysis
• Product and software development
• Favorite consulting assignments
• Helping achieve better business results through process improvements
• Building and implementing software
• Loves problem solving, contributing to excellent teamwork, and working at Protegra
• She spends her free time at the cabin with friends and family, and is an extremely avid, if not altogether competent, golfer.

• Recently a senior systems analyst with Investors Group
• Over 12 years of experience in Information Technology
• Specializing in systems and business analysis
• Recently, business intelligence solutions for IGM Financial group
• (Investors Group Inc., Mackenzie Financial Corp. & Investment Planning Council)
• President of the IIBA Winnipeg Chapter
• Former VP of Professional Development and VP of Communications
• He is married to Liz and has two children, Katherine and Nolan

Kevin Giles

Thank you

Guy Dugas: gdugas@rrc.ca

this prezi posted at:

http://prezi.com/g2vt1rptlhuo/why-exactly-do-i-need-a-business-analyst-on-my-next-project/

Do you see value in RRC’s

proposed BTM offerings?

Proposed offerings

(CCICT/CIPS approved)

• Business Technology Management (BTM) diploma
• Targeting sequential students out of HS
• 24 months, full-time day
• 4 months Co-op or Industry Project
• Business Technology Management (BTM) degree
• 28 months, full-time day BIT diploma (incl. 4 mo. Industry exp.)
• 8 months classroom or distance delivery Business & PM
• 8 months Industry PM experience
• Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
• Bridging into degree program

Personal & Interpersonal

• Self-awareness, self-management, ethical reasoning, client relationship management, business courtesies, self-presentation
• Listening, oral and written communications
• Appreciation of the strengths of a diverse workplace
• Giving & receiving feedback, negotiation, conflict management
• Team leadership, including ability to:
• Persuade, influence, motivate
• Facilitate group innovation, analysis, decision making
• Engender & sustain trust
• Use technologies to facilitate & support group activities & processes

Technology

• Current and future issues in IT
• Operations, software development, infrastructure lifecycle, landscape lifecycle
• Plan, design, integrate implement, operate
• Contemporary technologies in network & computing platforms
• Custom software, packaged software
• Information’s role, management, & uses
• To support operations, decision-making, risk management
• How to model, prepare, structure data
• Technologies for managing & facilitating the uses of data, knowledge, collaboration, multimedia

Business

• History, role, trends of business
• In society & global economy
• Business design & business models
• Risk management
• Financial, operational, reputational, external
• Structure of various industry sectors, ownership, governance
• Performance factors, structures and processes.
• Functional roles, processes, and structures
• Business support functions
• Business operational functions

Technology in Business

• Contributions of ICT to strategy, innovation, decision-making
• in various organizations, sectors, processes, functions
• ICT’s impacts
• Individuals, groups, communities, culture, social, environmental
• ICT industries’ structure, offerings, dynamics
• ICT’s function
• Structure, processes, economics, challenges, career paths
• Risk & mitigation re use of ICTs
• Procurement management of ICT products & services

Processes, Projects & Change

• Organizational learning
• Innovation process / life-cycle
• Business process analysis
• Project management
• Business change management

Integrative Learning

• Plan, manage & lead a business technology project
• Understand & analyze a business problem
• Analyze a business process, develop "to-be" design, create implementation & change management
• Design & communicate a technology solution to a business problem
• Analyze a business need, develop RFP, evaluate responses, and structure a contract.
• Evaluate an implemented information system
• Examine & communicate strengths, weaknesses, usefulness of a new technology

Business Technology Management (BTM)

Learning Outcomes

CANADIAN COALITION FOR TOMORROW'S ICT SKILLS (CCICT) (http://ccict.ca/)

Proposed offerings

(CCICT/CIPS approved)

• Business Technology Management (BTM) diploma
• Targeting sequential students out of HS
• 24 months, full-time day
• 4 months Co-op or Industry Project
• Business Technology Management (BTM) degree
• 28 months, full-time day BIT diploma (incl. 4 mo. Industry exp.)
• 8 months classroom or distance delivery Business & PM
• 8 months Industry PM experience
• Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
• Bridging into degree program

Current offerings

• Business Information Technology (BIT)
• Full-time day – 28-month diploma
• Technology Management
• Full-time day – 1-year post-graduate diploma
• Business Analyst (IIBA BABOK v.20)
• Classroom and distance delivery - certificate
• Project Management (PMI)
• Classroom and distance delivery - certificate

CCICT

Corporate Members

Subject-Matter Experts

Academic Partners

Enter BTM

Business Technology Management (BTM)

CANADIAN COALITION FOR TOMORROW'S ICT SKILLS (CCICT) (http://ccict.ca/)

• Co-designed with CCICT Corporate Members and academics
• Now offered at 11 universities
• Graduates are hybrid business and ICT specialists
• Full accreditation program in progress through CIPS
• College and Continuing Education programs planned
• Recruitment tool in pilot
• Many other schools across the country are considering

CCICT

CANADIAN COALITION FOR TOMORROW'S ICT SKILLS (http://ccict.ca/)

Founded in 2007 by a group of visionary organizations

To help increase ICT-related post-secondary enrolments and to inspire young people to pursue tech and tech-related careers

Bottom Line?

• Huge demand to 2016 (18k ICT workers/year)
• Severe systemic shortage of supply
• Not attracting, much less graduating, enough students
• Almost impossible to find ICT skills + domain experience
• Limited training capacity

A tech-savy BA is getting harder to find.

Post-secondary

system slow to adjust

Demand

growing rapidly

Too many ICT-only focused programs

• Comp. Sci. not in Business faculties/schools

No concerted government/industry/education strategy

• Post-secondary still largely sequential model
• Split between day-programs and CE/DE

Two skill profiles in particular

ICT skills + understanding of business

• Business context and business processes (why & how)

ICT skills + technical skills important to another field

• Particular industry or sector (e.g. healthcare, multimedia)

Pervasive mismatch

Outlook for HR in the ICT Labour Market, 2011-2016

A little background...

But there’s a problem...

Outlook for HR in the ICT Labour Market, 2011-2016

Prism Economics and Analysis, March 2011 (website: www.prismeconomics.com)

Skill Requirements and Skill Supply

• Employers increasingly dissatisfied with ICT professionals
• Technical skills OK
• Soft skills or relevant business experience lacking
• Pervasive asymmetry in labour market
• Expanded capabilities’ profile sought by employers
• Skills and experience of job-seekers lacking
• Especially recent grads and IEP

Report looks at

• Trends Shaping the Demand for ICT Professionals
• Trends Shaping the Supply of ICT Professionals
• Occupation Trends
• Skill Trends

Tech-savy BAs are hard to find...

Business Analysis 101

The traditional road to a career as a Business Analyst

Career experience

• Projects/initiatives re. business or IT problems

• Professional Development

• Commerce

Formal education in IT or Business

• Business Administration

• Computer Science

Discover an affinity to business analysis

• Wow! I can do this! (and I like it...)

• Wow! She can do this! (and she’s good at it)

Panelists

Audience

Panelists

Tell us about your background.

How did you get here?

What different roles do you assume in your different environments (corporate, product, and consulting)?

• Why do you think BA is important?
• Why would you really need a BA?

• What is the balance between domain and BA experience?

• What makes the BA role special?

• What is the hole that the BA fills?

• Do you find demand increasing?