How To Start A Business Analyst Career-2

    

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Transition your Leadership Skills

The typical software developer is a heads-down coder who focuses on specific tasks and does not think in terms of the big picture or pay attention to it (not a big picture thinker).

However, if you have been a technical or team lead, then you are comfortable with thinking and working on the big picture and at the same time, managing all the smaller details that accompany developing software such as:

1. Estimating, planning or assigning tasks with project managers
2. Gathering or validating requirements for the developers with business analysts
3. Planning iterations, releases or builds with release managers
4. Hiring new team members with IT Management
5. Validating high-level business cases, user stories, vision and scope documents with the business team (directors, senior management, power users, customers and business analysts).

In this leadership and big-picture role, you would have learned how to delegate tasks, solve human problems as opposed to purely coding issues and worked with all sorts of professionals: customers, IT / project managers, business team etc.

This ability to work with, relate or communicate with different types of corporate users is a skill that you will transfer to your new business analysis career.

Transition your Technical Writing Skills

Technical writing is a skill that is frequently practiced or exercised by senior software developers and technical or team leads.

This is because from time to time you are asked to write software manuals, create help files or document the internal workings of software systems with Use Cases or UML.

Even in companies where there is a full-time technical writer, you may be asked to assist with documenting the procedures, business processes, architecture or business requirements because the technical writers cannot keep up with the volume of work!

So, you have probably practiced or exercised written communication skills which are transferable to your new career in business analysis!

Transition your Software Requirements Gathering Skills

Many developers have had to gather, analyze, validate and document software requirements at some time in their careers because their team lacked enough dedicated business analysis resources.

In this role, you would have had to identify the critical stakeholders or customers, elicit and analyze their requirements, document and validate the requirements with your software development or management team.
In this role you would also have practiced critical thinking and analytical skills, developed or managed professional relationships and exercised vital oral communication and networking skills.

Here is the main takeaway from this post for you

1. Take an inventory of your skills
2. Identify your transferable skills
3. Bridge the gap to your business analyst career using your transferable skills

This post discusses how to start a new business analyst career. Follow the steps outline in this post to instill self-confidence in your abilities or bridge the gap between your current occupation and your desired career in business analysis.

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