What is also important to stress is how Dr. Kesner and the other BA’s at Douglas County are supporting Product Owners as business analysts. The way the Product Owner role is defined (at least how I define it) is that it is the ultimate decision maker for a given project/product, so it idealy would be someone from the business area that is sponsoring the project. They have to live with the end results, so should be the ones making decisions about requirements, rules, etc. In this model the perfect application of the BA role is to coach those folks on business analysis techniques, especially when there are not enough BA’s to be on every project for every business unit.

By the way, Dave, I like the concept of a Customer Relationship Manager. Focusing on building relationships with our clients has been very beneficial. Our clients are starting to view IT more as a partner who will help them meet their strategic goals. The two-way communication also helps them become more aware of what efforts IT is working on, our processes, and even our challenges. The clients gain an understanding and appreciation of IT.

I would highly recommend that other organizations establish an Enterprise Analysis program. The perspective at this higher level is incredible. Being able to facilitate interdepartmental communication, identify opportunities for projects, and help ensure we are working on the right projects adds so much value to an organization. It’s one of those things where you don’t know what you don’t know. I really never understood the value we could bring until we started doing it here at the County. It is a great feeling when things start clicking…you start seeing those patterns, you start identifying opportunities, and you start understanding how the entire organization works together to achieve its goals.

I really credit our management team for having the vision to create an enterprise analysis program. But there is no reason why, as BAs, we can’t promote it within other organizations.

This is really another post entirely, but I know I have experienced the tension in my own work that when I get busy (or just go on vacation) and become a “limited resource” that the business begins to fill in and do more BA work. It’s a natural tendency to do what needs to be done to move your project along. In these situations I’m often handed a project much like Karie writes about, where there is some scope, but with analysis I start finding holes and rebuilding the scope. So, not having the staffing resources (which has a direct relationship to budget) is closely tied to this problem of expanding the role to include pre-project enterprise analysis work.

Dave, the role you mention sounds a lot like the role Mark Jenkins created in his group. It also goes to show that enterprise analysis can take a couple of different forms. First, the BAs had a role in governance. Now the role is in supporting governance by fleshing out ideas. I’m sure there is a lot of overlapping responsibility in these variations on the role, but also some differences. My current role is much more in supporting the governance process by fleshing out ideas and bringing them forth for consideration.

Thanks everyone for your input. Great as always.