The BA is the least knowledgeable about Agile

 

Agile Business AnalystImage Source: Flickr (Massimo Variolo)

According to VersionOne’s 2013 State of Agile survey, Business Analysts rank as the least knowledgeable about Agile.

Agile Business Analyst - leat knowledgeableI sort of understand this, but it really shocked me when I saw it.

As can be seen in the image above, the ScrumMaster is judged as being most knowledgeable. That makes sense to me.

The Project Manager is ranked as the next most knowledgeable. More so than the Developer. That was news to me. From what I have seen, it’s the Developers that have been embracing the Agile concept with passion, and a lot of this is filtering upwards.

To read that the BA was at the butt-end of the list had me break out in a cold sweat.

Why?

I can imagine that because the Business Analyst has been traditionally involved in the big “document it up front” way of doing projects (aka Plan-driven), that there is quite an adjustment to move into a change-driven approach.

Also, a lot of the Business Analysts knowledge is very BABOK 2.0 -based. And the BABOK 2.0 didn’t even mention Agile until they published the “Agile Extension” in 2013. (Fortunately, IIBA will be releasing version 3.0 of BABOK soon that takes a completely new look at the Business Analyst and how it fits into the real world).

But is this a valid excuse for being listed way down at the bottom of “most knowledgeable”? I think not. There are plenty of resources out there that help even the most documentation-addicted Business Analyst become a little bit more knowledgeable about this philosophy.

Why do you think Business Analysts know so little about Agile? What else can be done to improve this situation?

Want to learn more?

Below is a selection of resources that I personally feel are relevant to this blog post, and will allow you to get more in-depth knowledge. I do earn a commission if you purchase any of these, and for that I am grateful. Thank you. (Important Disclosure)

    1. vickipps
    2. Bruno James
    3. bakevin
    4. Angie Perris
    5. Colleen Meesey
    6. Jody
    7. KentMcDonald
    8. simon marriott

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