Are you a business analyst who wonders how you can use your business analysis capabilities to be competitive in the job market for the next 3 to 5 years? As I first noted back in 2017, product owner and product manager roles offer a viable career path for business analysts, especially those who currently work on custom software development projects. Come to this session to learn about the similarities and differences between business analysis, product owner, and product manager roles. Then discover how you can apply your business analysis experience to becoming a product owner or product manager. Along the way, you’ll hear about the lessons I and others have learned from moving from business analysis through product owner to product management roles.

1. Moving from Business Analyst to
Product Owner to Product Manager
Kent J. McDonald
kentjmcdonald@gmail.com
https://insideproduct.co/bbc-2023

2. A little bit about me
Industrial
engineer by
training
Recovering agile
coach
Started Business
Analysis to
learn IT
Unemployable
Write to learn
and earn
Proj Mgr / BA
rotation
Content
Creator/ Trainer
Practice to stay
current
Product
manager for
Enabling
Products

3. A little bit about you
Stand up if you are a…
Business
Analyst
Product
Owner Product
Manager

4. Roles
Product People
Play

5. McDonald’s Product Role Hypothesis
The only
consistency
in product
roles is that
there is no
consistency.

6. “All models are wrong,
but some are useful.”
- George E. P. Box

7. What product people do -
a gross oversimplification
Create a
solution
That solves a
customer problem
And meets
business
Goals

8. Product Management
ProductTeam Competencies https://nealcabage.com/framework/product-team-competencies/

9. Product Manager
Different PM’s specialize in different areas
JR PM
B2C
PM
Internal
Tools/
B2B PM
SR PM

10. Product Owner

11. Business Analyst

12. Why move into
product?

13. Why move into product?
Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
Job Openings (April 27,2023 USA) Salaries (April 27, 2023 USA per Glassdoor)
Role LinkedIn Indeed
Product
Manager
140,241 13,924
Product
Owner
81,343 9,369
Business
Analyst
40,243 12,806
Role Min Average Max
Product
Manager
61,000 102,223 170,000
Product
Owner
57,000 90,409 143,000
Business
Analyst
51,000 76,498 115,000
More
Jobs
More
Money

14. Why become a product owner?
Prefer working
with devs &
Designers to
build solution
Your org has
gone through
agile
transformation
PO = BA +
Decisions

15. Why become a product manager?
Want to work
with product
team in both
areas
Your org is
going through
product
transformation
PM = BA +
Decisions +
Experiments +
user research

16. Product Transformation
Project Orientation Product Orientation
How much will this cost? Budgeting How much are we
willing to spend?
Fixed Duration Time Frame Entire Product LifeCycle
Deliver an assigned solution Defn of Scope Asked to Solve a problem
Output, on Time, in Budget Success Accomplish Outcome
Temporary, Split Focus,
Pulled from Resource Pools
Team Makeup Stable, dedicated,
All Needed Skills
Build only Team Owns Build and Run
Expense IT Org Investment

17. How to move into
product

18. Gratuitous
2x2 Matrix
Teams
that own
Systems in
your org
teams that
own your
orgs
Products
B2C or
B2B SaaS
Products
Same type
of system,
different
org

19. Enabling product

20. Teams
that own
Systems in
your org
teams that
own your
orgs
Products
B2C or
B2B SaaS
Products
Same type
of system,
different
org
Pick up strategy
skills
Figure out how
to measure
outcomes
Find the teams
already “doing”
product
Practice
discovery with
your users
Figure out how
your work
impacts
customers

21. Teams
that own
Systems in
your org
teams that
own your
orgs
Products
B2C or
B2B SaaS
Products
Same type
of system,
different
org
Build a network
through events
like this
Find companies
in an industry
you’re familiar
with
Describe your BA
work in product
terms
Practice user
research on
Org’s customers
Learn what you
can about
target Org’s
strategies

22. Revenue Product

23. Teams
that own
Systems in
your org
teams that
own your
orgs
Products
B2C or
B2B SaaS
Products
Same type
of system,
different
org
Work on
customer facing
systems as an
interim step
Be very familiar
with your org’s
products
Practice
discovery on your
org’s customers
Familiarize
yourself with
Market and
Competitors
Network with
Product
Managers in
your org

24. Teams
that own
Systems in
your org
teams that
own your
orgs
Products
B2C or
B2B SaaS
Products
Same type
of system,
different
org
Consider B2B
Enterprise
products
Create your own
product
Find companies
in an industry
you’re familiar
with
TRY.
THE.
PRODUCT.
Describe your BA
experience in
product terms

25. Lessons
Learned

26. Don’t worry about title, focus on skills
Title: Delivery Lead
What I Did: Map current state, design database, model
processes, IDentify Business RUles, Coach team

27. Explain how BA experience applies to
Product Management
Focus on accomplishments instead of activity
How did you help customers solve problems, and meet
business objectives

28. Do Discovery (and Analysis) in increments
Refinement Board
Delivery Board

29. Acquire additional skills while in your BA role
Usability Testing Roadmap

30. Much Thanks To

31. Kent J McDonald
kentjmcdonald@gmail.com
insideproduct.co/bbc-2023
Connect on LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/kentmcdonald
Subscribe to InsideProduct
pages.insideproduct.co