Category: Blogs

Business Analysis – A Career Less Ordinary

Let’s be honest, ‘Career Planning’ isn’t a term often heard within BA circles. It could even be said that many of today’s leading practitioners drifted into the role. Some may have been press-ganged into a BA position following some minor involvement in a change project, others, at a career loose end, might have held a vague notion that business analysis was something for them and signed the pledge card. Certainly very few of today’s BAs would have started their working lives with the firm intention of becoming one…

However, there is recent evidence to suggest that Business Analyst is now becoming a job title of choice rather than convenience.

Over the last five years, we have seen a more well-defined and progressive career path emerging for BAs. The role is certainly more widely recognised now and for many organisations, BAs are firmly embedded in the fabric of change.

For many talented individuals, the role will have a broad appeal with the promise of a career less ordinary. A licence to investigate problems, think creatively around solutions and help organisations do the right things might sound too good to be true.

Many larger BA practices now have a formalised BA job family in place. A typical BA job family might include an entry level role and extend to a dedicated and full-time Head of Practice role. Many practitioners will take solace from the fact that a business analysis role finds a home within SFIA, providing a universally available framework for BA skills management and resource planning.

The prevalence of the BA Manager or practice lead role is a relatively new phenomenon and a useful measure of an organisation’s intentions around developing BA capability. It is now unusual to find an organisation investing in substantial change that doesn’t have a BA practice leader.

Worth noting is that the first BA Manager Forum held in 2008 attracted 10 attendees whilst in 2016 150 practice leads gathered to swap notes on best practice. There are now simply far more practice lead roles in existence and this is a significant investment for most organisations. A BA in possession of management skills, combined with a broad knowledge of what makes an organisation tick and a practical understanding of stakeholder engagement, has the right attributes to progress to more senior roles. More on this later in the article.

The diversity of make-up of practitioner roles makes it impossible to capture every nuance of this role in one article. There are no right and wrongs as organisations shape BA roles to suit their needs. We should, however, note the emergence of the principal BA, business partner or consulting level BA role. This level of the role is in response to the change director view that senior BAs should not ‘run out of road’, with the expectation that they engage early in the change lifecycle and take an enterprise view. This is quite a responsibility for BAs to shoulder. Looking at the responsibilities held and skills often used at this level, reveals a role with surprising scope and authority. A role profile at this level might include:

Increased scope and authority in the role is in fact reflected at every stage of an emerging career path. Whilst there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ job family, there are typically four levels of skills and aptitude. The AssistKD career planning tool is a useful start point for anyone wanting to benchmark roles, responsibilities, skills, certification and SFIA definitions. You can request access to the planner via the AssistKD website.*1

Certification is an important part of any developing profession. A high percentage of BAs hold at least one BCS Diploma certificate (some 70,000 at the last count). Importantly business analysis certification now better supports progression in the role. Business Architecture, Data Analysis, Team Leadership and Benefits Realisation are just some of the modules available under the recently launched Advanced Diploma scheme. *2

At the entry level, work continues to develop the BA apprenticeship scheme, with the hope that this is formalised before the end of 2016. Around 30 organisations have shown interest in this scheme with ten acting as first-line supporters.

Beyond a career in business analysis, the role can then provide a strong platform for reaching the organisational stratosphere. For anyone in any doubt, one FTSE 250 investment company has proved this to startling effect. From an original team of four BAs from four years ago, one is now Head of Product Development, one is the Commercial Director, one is an IT Director in an overseas office, and one remains the Head of BA – extraordinary progress for a small team.

Look through the LinkedIn profiles of one-time BA practitioners and you begin to see the range of doors opened through the development of BA and BA management skills. Below are a selection of titles taken from a ten-minute sweep through a selection of BA acquaintances on LinkedIn.

With these many different opportunities emerging, it’s an exciting time for all BAs and is sure to lead to many more making business analysis their career of choice rather than of convenience.

*1 http://www.assistkd.com/knowledge-hub/the-assistkd-career-manager/

*2 http://certifications.bcs.org/category/18430

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Goodluck from everyone at Certes

1. BRMs must remember that the BRM is the bridge or “glue” between both the business and IT.  BRMs need to ensure they remember this and give their equal time to both (within reason).
2. Both BRM and other IT colleagues need to be “one voice”.  This does not mean BRMs simply take the “heat” when there are issues nor BRMs simply blaming IT colleagues for technical issues to the business (which seems to the perception of both parties at present).  It means having a strong relationship with each other, where everyone understands each other’s roles, are happy to work collaboratively on projects, service reviews etc., and have clear lines of communication at all times.
3. BRMs must remember they need strong relationships with both the business and IT to be successful.  There is no point sitting in front of a key business stakeholder to discuss their roadmaps if on arrival at the meeting, corporate email is down and the BRM is unable to provide any input as to why it’s down and when it’s likely to be resolved.
4. BRMs need to ensure everyone (i.e.  the business and IT colleagues) are aware of their role and what value they bring.  IT colleagues can perceive BRMs as “blockers” due to a lack of understanding. 
5. The success of a BRM function is heavily dependent on a mature and effective IT operations department.  If this doesn’t exist BRMs are more likely to be asked to resolve tactical issues, which has an impact on a BRM’s brand and how they’re perceived.   A stronger relationship with IT colleagues will undoubtedly help here. 
6. BRMs need to establish communication processes with IT colleagues so IT can understand what work is coming down the pipeline, BRMs have clear visibility of technical roadmaps, BRMs are aware of P1s/P2s before the rest of the business etc.
7. One way to help improve a relationship is to ask senior IT stakeholders to highlight how they currently perceive the effectiveness of BRMs via workshops and help understand the impact and alternative actions to improve this relationship.

Whilst IT colleagues (certainly senior management) can help close the disconnect it is the BRM who will need to take the lead.  However, as this is an area where BRMs should excel (it’s a key part of their role) surely the current disconnect is more to do with a lack of focus with IT colleagues rather than an inability of BRMs to do so?

Your thoughts and comments are, as always, welcome.

– James O’Driscoll BRMP® (james.odriscoll@certes.co.uk)

James O’Driscoll is a search and selection consultant with 16 years’ permanent recruitment experience, with a particular focus and network within the Heads of Department and IT BRM/IT Business Partnering verticals.  

A recent report of 300 IT professionals revealed 65% expect a serious data breach to hit their business within the next year

Cyber attacks and cybersecurity failings have continued to dominate headlines in recent years.

Sony, VTech, Talk Talk, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics are just a small number of high profile organisations exposed to cyber breaches.

Yesterday, Okta (an identity management firm) released a report that highlighted just how concerned IT leaders were with the current cyber situation.

Cyber security systems are, it would appear are losing on the digital battlefield.

Information Age spoke to David Baker, chief security officer at Okta, about this survey and the future of the cybersecurity industry.

Were the results of the report shocking, or expected (given increased business connectivity)?

We don’t see the results as shocking, per se. But certainly interesting, especially because the results and trends are analogous to where many similar enterprises in the U.S. were as recently as the last two years.

It is actually very encouraging to see enterprises in the surveyed regions recognise their current challenges with becoming both more agile and more secure with their on-premises IT technology stacks.

Enterprises will recognise how best-of-breed cloud and mobile solutions will address these challenges.

How can the risk of breach be reduced through today’s IT technologies?

In simple terms, reducing risk means reducing the number of attack avenues (we use the term “attack vectors”) that are exposed to possible attackers.

Attack avenues are things like servers with outdated software versions, or vulnerable operating systems, misconfigured network devices, and even poor administrator access practices.

The list can be extensive — and justifiably so because deploying and maintaining IT infrastructure is difficult and complex.

The reason to approach cloud services to replace your on-premises IT infrastructure is to remove those attack avenues from your infrastructure.

Best-of-breed cloud services primarily focus on delivering a few key services very well (i.e. box for file collaboration, workday for HR systems, etc.).

Moreover, these services are held to high audit standards such that their infrastructure, personnel, and processes are always under focus and testing.

Attack avenues found in the typical on-premises IT infrastructure have been mitigated and blocked.

Best-of-breed cloud solutions need to be leveraged.

These services will offer the best avenues of feature integration, mobility usage, and service reliability — all while removing the attack avenues and improving cyber security for the enterprise.

What is the most common cause of a data breach (human error or external), and how can they be improved?

The most common cause of data breach has been and remains loss of access credentials from human error.

I define human error events to be everything from writing down credentials on notes and reusing weak passwords to falling victim to spear phishing attacks.

Users can be trained to avoid these types of errors.

Providing easy-to-implement and easy-to-use security solutions that protect users’ identities even in the event user credentials are compromised is a key prevention control.
 

Are trends like BYOD having an effect on the compromised security of data?

The answer here is really yes and no.

Users that continue to use antiquated and fragmented Android platforms or old iOS versions, can become an attack vector if they inadvertently install malicious applications on the devices.

That being said, we see that — in large part — most of these types of malware attacks on older mobile devices are targeting users with persistent adware.

Users that are using newer Nexus-based Android devices or maintaining their iOS devices to the latest operating systems and are leveraging good habits in patching apps — and companies with BYOD policies that insist this happens — are not necessarily compromising security.

Source: InformationAge

Surprisingly, the UK is lagging behind in adopting connected healthcare technologies compared to other countries. Despite the high access to healthcare in the UK, the integration of healthcare and technology is amongst the lowest with an FHI score of 53.7.

A major barrier on uniting healthcare and technology is the cost of technology adoption and this could be the deterrent for the UK as in 2016 only 8% of the UK's GDP is spent on healthcare.

Infographic: Raconteur

For more information , visit Raconteur report 'Lessons in healthcare from around the world'

Source: Raconteur

Keeping safe from cyber threats is a top priority for us at Certes and to help combat cyber threats we are now working closely with the National Cyber Skills Centre to educate and provide businesses with means to defend themselves against cyber threats.

For more information about who the National Cyber Skills Centre are, visit them here.

Certes specialise in IT staffing for all sectors and industries and working with the National Cyber Skills Centre we can provide staffing to companies in need of cyber security. Interested in cyber security jobs from Certes, click here.

Today Certes attends the SUPC framework launch event and have now awarded under the SUPC’s Lot 4 framework.

Anisha and Stephen were ready to answer any questions and hand out gifts

Working under the SUPC framework will provide Certes with access to large number of further and higher education establishments in England, in a structured way, with ready made compliant contracts for clients to save time and money while calling-off resources from suppliers.

For candidates, Certes are able to offer a wider range of roles and opportunities to suit their skills and aspirations within the education market place.

For more information on what Certes being a part of the SUPC framework means for you, please contact Stephen Lord Stephen.lord@certes.co.uk 01675 468371 or Anisha Najran Anisha.najran@certes.co.uk 01675 468 949

The forum consisted of delegates from various industry sectors where discussions were held on various trends, challenges and ways of working.  

For an indepth look at what was discussed during the forum click here.

Due to the successful turnout of the forum, another meeting is being planned. If you are interested in joining this group please get in touch with James O’Driscoll:

Email – james.odriscoll@certes.co.uk

LinkedIn – https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jamesodriscoll

To keep up-to-date with everything BRM and information on upcoming forums, please join Certes' IT BRM/Business Partner LinkedIn group.

Though the benefits are sought after by every organisation seeking improved positive development, there are some challenging barriers to entry, for example making changes to the company structure in order to make room for the agile business process to an overall resistance to adopting agile.

But in order for companies to stay competitive, agile should be an important investment. However, what companies need to take into consideration is that applying agile is not a quick fix and it will take some time for the rewards of agile to take effect. Companies need to embrace being agile in order to reap the benefits.

For more information, read Keys to unlocking agile business success from Raconteur.

Source: Raconteur

Exploiting data, whether behind a company firewall or with an open approach, can create value and transform business fortunes

The risk posed by disruption has created a new gold rush. Senior executives see the impact of data-savvy startups, such as Uber and Airbnb on traditional sectors like transport and accommodation, and recognise the need for affirmative action. In an attempt to avoid being disrupted, business leaders are seeking insight from their data stockpiles.

Researcher IDC confirms this trend, forecasting $187 billion (£152 billion) will be spent on big data and analytics technology by 2019, which is a 50 per cent rise from the $122 billion (£99.2 billion) invested in 2015. Yet executives should note that the introduction of a software tool is no guarantee of success. Technology can only transform business performance if the organisational culture changes, too.

Lisa Heneghan, global head of KPMG’s CIO advisory practice, says this change in culture represents a significant challenge for many companies. A large proportion of the history of IT management, she says, has been focused on operational service rather than business enablement.

“People say technology is creating a fourth industrial revolution, but it’s only recently that business has been really ready to exploit the tools at its disposal. And that exploitation is creating an exponential shift,” says Ms Heneghan.

Business transformation

The success of Uber and Airbnb suggests the biggest transformation comes when businesses embrace data and take an open approach to change. Yet an open attitude to the game-changing power of technology is not confined to Silicon Valley. Across all areas of business IT, executives are looking beyond the enterprise firewall, and connecting to external partners and customers.

Just as the public cloud has reached a tipping point in terms of business acceptance, so too more executives are willing to share knowledge in the hope of creating new opportunities. Take Omid Shiraji, interim chief information officer (CIO) at Camden Council, who is a big believer in openness. “Expose your data and you’ll get more value than you’ll ever imagine,” he says.

Camden uses its open data platform to publish information on publicly funded parking spaces across the London borough. A startup called Appy Parking has built a business using that data. The app uses geo-location data to tell users when and where they can park.

“By releasing our data we’ve enabled a business to be created and have improved the lives of citizens,” says Mr Shiraji. More developments could come soon. He says Camden is keen to explore the internet of things and is trialling parking bay sensors. “CIOs must look for ways to change customer experiences for the better – and you can create new value from exposing your data,” says Mr Shiraji.

Not all business leaders, however, will find it as easy to take an open approach to data. Decisions about openness are often closely related to sectors and business models. Market-leading technology firms, such as Apple and Google, have maintained a market edge by keeping their intellectual property and details surrounding product releases a closely guarded secret.

Research from Russell Reynolds Associates suggests industries that are least disrupted often have perceived higher barriers to entry. In other sectors, a closed approach simply makes good business sense. Executives in heavily governed sectors, such as finance and law, are often unable to embrace openness. However, a sea change is taking place even here.

Chris White, CIO at global law firm Clyde & Co, recognises the crucial role of data in his business. The firm runs eight different case management systems, yet the proliferation of information means it can be difficult to create a single view of the customer across a number of lines of business.

Camden Council publishes data on publicly funded parking spaces enabling companies such as Appy Parking to tell users where they can park

Value for customers

Big data technology is helping Clyde & Co turn a manually intensive task into a competitive advantage. The firm is using analytics to create case reports automatically and encourages clients to come and see the results in real time. Mr White says an open approach to information can add value for customers.

“If you can mine the data you have, you create something really valuable”

He envisages a situation where quantitative data bolsters qualitative opinion. Rather than simply relying on experiences, lawyers at the firm would be able to look at management information and present a factual answer on the chances of winning a case.

“If you can mine the data you have, you create something really valuable,” says Mr White. “Being able to look back on hundreds of cases and tell a client their chance of winning is potentially huge. We can then start to advise, rather than just represent, our clients.”

IT leaders at large firms, therefore, are keen to find ways to make use of information that might otherwise stay stuck in data silos. Rob Harding, European CIO at finance firm Capital One, says the key to success is using technology to shorten the time between data collection and the generation of insight.

“In Capital One, we used to talk about big data – now we talk about big and fast data,” he says. “I can’t get excited about huge data lakes; I can get excited about being able to generate interesting insight from the data we collect. Using information to improve our product set is for me the essence of big data.”

Mr Harding points to QuickCheck, a service-based solution designed by the IT team that allows customers to test their suitability for credit. The firm continues to invest in new analytics tools. Many of the firm’s 30 data science specialists are now focused on using Amazon Redshift to help fine-tune score modelling for the credit risk management of customers.

“There’s no end-point to your work around big data,” concludes Mr Harding. “CIOs must think about how quickly they can capture, analyse and generate insight, and then incorporate that knowledge back into something the customer actually finds valuable.”

Source: Raconteur