The document discusses the role of a business analyst as a leader, outlining how they can provide facilitative leadership at different levels including self-leadership, leadership within projects and organizations. It also examines the collaboration between business analysts and project managers, identifying potential conflict areas and how they work together on scope management, communications, risk management and requirements. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of properly defining problems to find effective solutions.

1. building talent, driving results
The BA as Leader
(El Influenciador del Cambio)

2. building talent, driving results
Who am I?

3. building talent, driving results
Agenda
 Introduction.
 Facilitative Leadership
 Leadership of self
 Leadership within your project
 Leadership within your organization
 Business Analysis and Project Management
 BA / PM Collaboration
 Conclusion
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4. building talent, driving results
Putting Things in Context
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5. building talent, driving results
What Does a Business Analyst Do?
 Involves understanding and responding to a business situation
 The role purpose is to turn strategic goals and visions into reality while adding
value
 It begins with understanding challenges and problems
 It discovers new opportunities that help the business meet its vision and goals
 It helps the business realize the identified benefits and values of an
opportunity
 It requires innovative thinking, collaborative working, and strategic acting
To fulfill a business analyst role at this level the individual must act as a leader
within the project and the organization.
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6. building talent, driving results
The BA as Leader?
 Work with the business to draw out what is really needed.
 Must have a strong and committed mindset.
 Have the courage to challenge appropriately and
respectfully at all organizational levels.
 Have the drive to make a difference.
 This is Business Analysis Leadership
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7. building talent, driving results
BA versus Holistic BA.
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BA (Junior / Mid-Level) Holistic BA (Senior / Consultant)
Detail oriented Detail oriented
Good analytical skills Good analytical skills
Enough communication skills to ensure scope is clear to all
stakeholders
Enough communication skills to ensure scope is clear to all
stakeholders
Requirements gathering Requirements gathering
Understand enough techniques, tools, and methodologies Understand enough techniques, tools, and methodologies
Requirements documenting Requirements documenting
Ability to challenge requirements defined by operational
management
Ability to extract out issues that need consensus at a
senior level; i.e.: conflicting priorities, use of resources,
etc.
Ability to anticipate organizational change
Ability to anticipate changes in the marketplace that
affect a given organizational project
Ability to overcome resistance and anticipate obstacles

8. building talent, driving results
The BA as Facilitative Leader.
“The defining feature of facilitative leaders is that they offer process and
structure rather than directions and answers. In every situation, they
know how to design discussions that enable group members to find their
own answers.”
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9. building talent, driving results
Leadership of self.
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10. building talent, driving results
Leadership of self.
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Leadership of self.
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12. building talent, driving results
Leadership of self.
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Leadership within your project.
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Leadership within your project.
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Leadership within your
organization.
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Leadership within your
organization.
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17. building talent, driving results
Leadership within your
organization.
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18. building talent, driving results
Business Analysis and Project
Management.
 How does the work of business analysis and project management
connect?
 How can business analysts and project managers support each other?
 Who does what, and which tasks overlap?
 Are both roles necessary?
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19. building talent, driving results
Why The Business Analyst
Role?.
 The ones requesting don’t know what they want.
 The engineers do not understand the requestors business.
 The requestors and engineers have a different vocabulary.
 The requestors and engineers have different goals.
 The working world of both groups is in constant flux.
 Both groups, and individuals within each group, are geographically
dispersed.
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20. building talent, driving results
Why The Project Management
Role?
 Monitor and manage the interactions between all the
variables that affect completion of a project.
 Work towards meeting the project goals within the
specified constraints.
 Plan, monitor, manage and drive to completion project
related tasks.
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21. building talent, driving results
The BA /PM Alliance.
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22. building talent, driving results
The PM/BA Concerns About
The Other.
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PM Fears About BA BA Fears About PM
BA endlessly collecting requirements without effective
coordination, facilitation, or realistic deadline.
PM is unwilling to fully investigate and analyze
stakeholder needs.
BA will create unrealistic expectations with stakeholders
regarding project commitments that jeopardize
deadlines.
PM doesn’t understand the complexity of defining,
analyzing, and managing requirements; rushes the BA.
PM left out of the loop on critical meetings and
conversations (BA off talking to sponsor and
stakeholders alone – after requirements are locked!)
PM sees the BA as an assistant and not owning
anything.
BA doesn’t have functional or technical knowledge to
articulate requirements accurately.
PM moves on after the project is done, but BA has to live
with the consequences (good or bad) and face the
sponsor far into the future.

23. building talent, driving results
BA /PM Collaboration.
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Potential Conflict
Areas
Business Analyst Project Manager Both
Scope Management
Defines high level
deliverables scope
during Enterprise
Analysis (Pre-Initiation).
Plans and manages
project scope including
integration of the
business analysis
approach and analysis
deliverables into the
overall project.
PM and BA have
responsibilities that
relate to scope.
After project
authorization facilitate
agreement and scope
approval from business
stakeholders.
Responsible for project
scope management.
The BA is responsible for
the product deliverables
(solution) scope.
Focus on planning and
defining deliverables
scope and ensuring
product deliverables are
aligned with the project.
The PM is responsible
for the project scope and
incorporating the product
scope into the project
scope.

24. building talent, driving results
BA /PM Collaboration.
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Potential Conflict
Areas
Business Analyst Project Manager Both
Communications
Management
Primarily with stakeholders
directly or indirectly
affected by the product
deliverables (solution)
requirements.
Accountable for all project
related communication with
all project stakeholders.
Stakeholder analysis is
completed by BA and PM.
Communication with above
stakeholders is likely
throughout most of the
project life cycle.
Responsible to the project
sponsor about all aspects
of the project.
The PM needs to know the
stakeholders for project
planning purposes.
The BA needs to know the
stakeholders for business
analysis planning purposes,
which must be incorporated
into the project plan.

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BA /PM Collaboration.
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Potential Conflict
Areas
Business Analyst Project Manager Both
Risk Management
Identifies and
communicates business
risks and analysis risks to
the PM.
Create the overall project
risk management plan and
for managing project risks.
PM and BA identify and
analyze project and
business risks and help
develop risk response
strategies all stakeholders
agree with.
Works closely with the PM
in gaining stakeholder
consensus on risk
strategies.
Responsible for
incorporating business risks
and analysis risks into the
project risk management
plan.
Assess implementation and
organizational readiness
risk and plan/implement
along with the PM
strategies to reduce overall
project risks.

26. building talent, driving results
BA /PM Collaboration.
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Potential Conflict
Areas
Business Analyst Project Manager Both
Requirements
Management
Responsible for defining,
tracing, and creating a
requirements management
plan for how requirements
will be analyzed,
documented, and managed
throughout the project.
Works with the BA in
planning the business
analysis work.
BA and PM work together
to determine which
activities will be done and
which deliverables will be
produced.
Incorporates the
requirements management
plan and the business
analysis plan into the
comprehensive project
management plan.

27. building talent, driving results
A Common Language Model.
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28. building talent, driving results
Conclusion.
 “The significant problems we face today, can not be solved at the same
level of thinking we had, when we created them.”
 - Albert Einstein
 “If I had only one hour to save the world, I would spend fifty-five
minutes defining the problem, and only five minutes finding the
solution.”
 - Albert Einstein
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29. www.esi-sp.com
Questions?
Santos Pardos
@santos_pg
Santos_pg@Hotmail.com