CHALLENGES RELATED TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS ANALYSIS

"We don't grow when things are easy; we grow when we face challenges." — Joyce Meyer

There seems to be a lot of confusion among practitioners and experts alike regarding the division of work and the touch points between the project manager (PM) and the business analyst (BA). While the cause for the confusion ranges from unclear role definition (especially that of the BA) to unclear expectations and lack of understanding on how to effectively utilize the BA in project environments, the bottom line is the same — a mismatch of activities, expectations, ideas, and initiatives — some work well together, others do not, and the rest are in outright conflict with one another.

This chapters sheds light on the challenges in the important, interesting, and at times tense relationship between the PM and the BA — and between the PM-BA duo and the rest of the project team and the organization. The challenges will be addressed in this chapter, and more elaborate resolutions will be presented throughout the book.

DEFINE EFFECTIVE

The word effective often comes to mind when describing a PM or a BA; however, there is a wide range of ways to describe effective. Does effective mean impactful? Or rather fast? How about collaborative? Focused? Assertive? Problem solver? We live in an era where projects needs are not only about the individual skills of the people who lead the projects, or those of the team members, but rather the needs shift toward needs that are more integrative, collaborative in nature, and above all — people's ability to communicate with each other and work together toward success.

An effective PM is an individual with leadership skills and style that are appropriate for the circumstances of the project and the organization — one who can work effectively with a BA; who can share responsibility, delegate (once again, effectively), and integrate all points of view, ideas, and actions together toward one cohesive picture. In turn, an effective BA is not only one who understands the project's product, but can work alongside a PM — sharing relevant information, providing clear impact for actions (or inactions), and making recommendations that factor in the full range of considerations to benefit the project and the organization.

As this book is going to illustrate, there is only one way to bring together a PM and a BA and make them into a strong, effective team — a combination of collaboration, integration, and communication that focuses on the strengths that each individual brings to the table, while overcoming the weaknesses and ultimately, turn these two different people into one entity that is designed to take on the challenges at hand.

ONE ENTITY?

Many practitioners may claim that an attempt to turn the PM-BA team into one entity is not going to be as successful as simply utilizing one person for both roles. While in theory it may be true, and it may be applicable for smaller, less complex projects — larger or medium-sized projects require more from this unified role than the capacity of any one individual can produce. Furthermore, despite the many similarities between project management and business analysis, few individuals possess the skills and traits required for both roles. Experience shows that attempts to consolidate the PM and BA roles into one individual on larger, more complex projects ends up backfiring and costing the organization significantly more than the attempted related benefits. Having the PM-BA duo work seamlessly together as one entity on the larger, more complex initiatives generated very favorable results. For smaller, less complex projects, the PM-BA hybrid role has increased in popularity as more organizations shift towards a more change-driven or agile environment. This introduces the need for resources to be cross trained in both disciplines. However, the need still exists for the hybrid PM-BA to understand the integration points between project management and business analysis in order to deliver a successful project.

CHALLENGES

In any scenario where two people need to work together and perform activities that depend on each other, there will be challenges, differences in opinions, and often friction and conflict. Adding to that the existence of many moving parts, uncertainty, differing philosophies on how to perform the work, political pressures, third-party involvement, changes, and shifting priorities may lead to results that are common in most project environments. The PM and the BA have separate backgrounds and areas of focus, and they often report to different parts of the organization — representing different values and priorities. When attempting to combine their knowledge and experience, the PM and the BA often do not get along — they may perform activities that are not aligned and sometimes override each other.

Before diving into the myriad of challenges that impact the relationship between the PM and the BA and in turn, the combined value these two roles produce for the organization, we need to keep in mind that the role of the BA must not be limited to only Information Technology environments. Utilizing a BA to support both the project and the PM can substantially benefit most projects in a variety of disciplines and industries.

It is easy to find challenging areas when reviewing the roles of the PM and the BA; mainly due to the heavy involvement of both roles in the project work. The following pages covers the most common challenges and sets the groundwork for finding ways to address them and ultimately resolve these challenges.

Splitting the Work

Most PMs and BAs do not take the time to discuss how they can work effectively together or how to divide their workload. With multiple areas of responsibility that overlap, it is important to define who does what and where one role ends and the other begins. Different aspects of areas such as risk management, communication, relationship management, and change management need to be addressed by both roles. With no coordination or clear role definition, confusion is likely to ensue — leading to overlaps, redundancies, confusion, and conflict. Clear definition of both the PM's and the BA's roles and responsibilities will clarify who does what, both for those who hold the roles and for others (the team and other stakeholders). Further, the role...