Beyond the normal peripheral items known by everyone I am of the view that product managers should understand the technical side of things more than what is generally prescribed. The reason is not to be more active in tech decision-making or use the info to validate software estimates. But the…

API designing is one of the key skills required for tech BA roles. Read to understand the tasks and responsibilities involved. The age of APIs is clearly upon us! APIs have become mainstream and business analysts are called upon to design them and make sure that they satisfy business and…

Pointers to stay ahead of the curve I often felt a sense of catching up in the role of a business analyst (BA), a kind of impostor syndrome. Do I know enough about the domain? What do I need to learn more about the technical side of things, or the…

Is AI going to be a gamechanger for analysts? Let's start with a story. You go to an interview for a business analyst role for a company that is looking for folks with good SQL querying skills. You are not really a data analyst and not very familiar with complex…

The ability to explain things The ability to understand a complex topic and explain it to varying kinds of audiences is probably the single most important quality a software business analyst should possess. Everything and I mean everything comes secondary. Domain knowledge, and technical skills, all come secondary. Imagine you…

and this answer should help you in deciding to become one or the other There is a lot of interest in the ‘product manager’ role and the skills that it takes to become one. Countless webinars, podcasts, blogs, and training materials have emerged enabling people to look at it as…

You got to have the basic tools and look for newer stuff to be ready for action Let's clarify one thing. Business analysts are not all about domain knowledge and soft skills. In this day and age, they have to be ready to get their hands dirty and dig out…

Watch for these to avoid getting into a misaligned role There are two ways to look at a job interview if you are a business analyst. The company seems good, I need this business analyst experience, I can learn something as well as make a contribution, and so I would…

Perhaps the most important factor in the success of a new business analyst — The business analyst role is very contextual — meaning getting a good hang of the role while you are a newcomer requires a lot of context/background info to be provided. You cannot just walk in with your techniques and knowledge and slot right in (at least in most cases). Here…