There have been many articles lately about the role of the BA on Agile projects. Some postulate that the BA role is closest to the product owner. After all, it is often suggested, they reside with and represent the business. They are in the best position to be the final voice when defining and prioritizing requirements. Others believe that the key role for the BA on Agile projects relates to testing. Since they define the requirements, they should complete the appropriate testing processes to ensure the final solution meets the requirements. I believe that neither of these is a business analyst role. That’s not to say that someone with the title of BA cannot play other roles as well. It’s just that when they are playing these other roles, they are not doing business analysis work.
Posts Tagged ‘business analyst conflict’
Is the BA a Product Owner or Tester On Agile Projects?
Posted: August 3rd, 2010 by ElizabethLarson. Comments »
Four Tips for Avoiding Conflict Between the PM and BA
Posted: March 10th, 2010 by ElizabethLarson. Comments » 
At a recent conference I sat next to a project manager who observed, “My organization hired a new consulting company to do business analysis work. They’ve completely taken over. Now they do a lot of the project management work that I used to do, such as meeting with the sponsor to uncover the business problems, determining what we’re going to do on the project…I can’t believe it! I feel like I’m being treated like a second-class citizen!”
Who Should Plan the Business Analysis Work?
Posted: January 8th, 2010 by ElizabethLarson. 4 Comments »
When I first read the BABOK® Guide, my initial reaction was, “What are they thinking?!” With my Project Manager (PM) hat perched squarely on my head, my reaction was “but… but this is project management work!” In my mind I imagined all kinds of conflict occurring as the Business Analyst (BA) took on more and more of the PM role. After all, as PM I had done such traditional project management tasks as creating work breakdown structures, activity lists, the estimating, the scheduling, and now a body of knowledge was saying that the BA was supposed to do this work? I could see heads butting already.
Can the Same Person Function as a PM and BA on the Same Project?
Posted: December 3rd, 2009 by ElizabethLarson. Comments »
One of the most frequently asked questions I still get from my clients is whether or not one person can be both a Project Manager (PM) and a Business Analyst (BA) on the same project. The answer, of course, is yes, they can. Another related question, though, is whether or not they should. I think there are really two different answers to two different questions.
