BA

In this presentation I plan to elaborate on one of the several ways business analysts can step into the role of product owner.

Who else is more suited than the masters of bridging gaps, delivering business value and getting things done?

The first part of this talk runs through some generally accepted definitions of a business analyst’s role. I then briefly talk about the basics of scrum before diving into a more in-depth exploration of the Product Owner role (in enterprise contexts.) Lastly I talk about some of the areas I believe that BA’s may need to adjust their thinking when moving from a traditional BA role to the PO role.

This conversation is far from over and your contribution to the discussion is most welcome.

The role of the BA differs from the role of the Project Manager in that the BA is responsible for defining and managing the scope of a business solution, while the PM is responsible for the work necessary to implement that solution.

Business analysts often play a critical role in aligning the needs of business units with the capabilities delivered by information technology, and may serve as a translator between those two groups.

It includes the definition of organizational goals, how those goals connect to specific objectives, determining the course of action that an organization has to undertake to achieve those goals and objectives, and defining how the various organizational units and stakeholders within and outside of that organization interact

As a BA, I find my client area is glad to have someone to deal with that “techo” stuff and therefore the challenge is to ensure a level of common understanding and “getting the business system right” first time.

Business Analysts get the job done. It's that simple - they get the job done. When everyone else retreats, gives up, waffles or disassociates from the job the analyst gets the job done.

The product owner

• Assure team is pursuing a common vision

• Establish priorities to track business value

• Act as ‘the customer’ for developer questions

• Work with product management to plan releases

• Plan, elaborate and accept user stories and iterations

• Technical: understand and prioritize refactoring and infrastructure