06 Types of Business Analysts

To begin with who is a Business Analyst? A Business Analyst is any individual who perform business analysis tasks as mentioned in the BABOK guide. 

However, based on the behaviors showcased while attending to business analysis tasks, business analysts can be categorized in to several types-

1. Note Taker Business Analyst
2. Brick Wall Business Analyst
3. Technical Business Analyst
4. Librarian Business Analyst
5. Professor Business Analyst
6. Specialist Business Analyst

Note Taker Business Analyst

This is normally the business analyst who just entered to the arena of business analysts.  They write down everything people ask them to write down. They do not evaluate what the stakeholders mention or say no to anything they say.

However, we all start right there but along with time and experience moved forward.

Brick Wall Business Analyst

This type of analysts is must concerned about the SCOPE and the BUDGET of the project. Yes, exactly she/he is playing more of the role of a Project Manager. Such individuals are do not try to analyst the need of the stakeholders with the intention of creating VALUE which is the core responsibility of a Business Analyst.

However, such business analysts much useful when it comes to managing the stakeholders who need everything starting from the sun to the moon and universe because delivering some value to the stakeholders within a year is better than trying to understand all the needs and delivering value in another 10 years.

Technical Business Analyst

This type of business analysts starts analyzing the technology and design before understanding the core need of the stakeholders. This mostly happen to the software engineers who change their track to Business Analyst at a later point in their career. They try to solutionism before eliciting the requirement and end up developing a complex solution which is not required by anyone. For example, they will write requirements to implement a mansion when the requirement is a hut or a rocket to travel 10 KMs when the requirement is a bicycle.

These individuals should get in to the technical track and become solution architects. 

Librarian Business Analyst

This type of business analysts creates very accurate documents which are very clear and carry every little detail. The only pain is reading those documents as they are mini bibles which takes much time to read. In certain project environments such business analysts become bottleneck to the project as the documents are not ready for review and sign off for the initiation of the project.
These analysts hate Agile Project Management Methodology as it requires minimal documentation.

Professor Business Analyst

These individuals love building theories around the requirements discussions. They are visionary and much passionate about the solution. However, this type of business analysts should be controlled by another Business Analyst or Project Manager as unless properly managed a complex theory shall be documents which doesn't add much value to the stakeholders or business.

  

Specialist Business Analyst

This type of business consultants are the best to work with as they add much value to the project. Some business analysts are Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) specialists and they work hard to do the process flows for the entire project. Some analysts are data specialists and they work towards perfecting the inflow and out flow of data. These business analysts create value to the business.

I am an intersection of librarian business analyst and specialist business analyst. 

What about you?