Areas for Improvement for New BAs

Based on my observations from the past week of running my Practice class and from my personal experience, I've noticed a few common challenges that newcomers to the workplace often face, whether they're BAs or not. In this post, I'll focus on highlighting these common issues.

1. Teamwork

When working in a team or organization, communication is inevitable. Teamwork is a complex skill, but getting started isn't that difficult. You just need to pay closer attention to a few things:

• Agree on a common working style and process, and adhere to what's been agreed upon. Following the established rules demonstrates seriousness and professionalism in your work. Additionally, it helps minimize risks or unnecessary trouble if you accidentally break the team's rules.
• Clearly divide tasks to avoid duplication or stepping on each other's toes.
• Ensure transparent communication throughout the work process to avoid information gaps.

2. Providing Feedback/Reporting Information

Delayed feedback or reporting can cause difficulties for the project when dealing with consequences. For example, delays from the BA can affect development and testing.

BAs should strive to resolve issues promptly or provide advance notice if something can't be done. At the same time, you should also offer solutions as soon as possible to minimize the impact on the project. You can refer to the Japanese HoRenSo method for this communication aspect.

3. Writing and Managing Emails

Writing emails might seem simple, but how you write them reflects your attitude and professionalism. A well-written email with proper opening, closing, and concise content that gets straight to the point saves the reader time and makes them feel respected.

Also, pay close attention to who you put in the "To" and "CC" fields. Generally, those in "To" are the ones who need to read the email, while those in "CC" are included to keep them in the loop. Many companies I know have specific rules for "To" and "CC." Some even have penalties for incorrectly addressing emails.

Managing emails effectively can also save you a lot of time by allowing you to check only the emails that need your attention. Use your email client's filters to sort emails by purpose into separate folders for easier management. For example, emails for project X can be filtered into a project X folder, emails for project Y into a project Y folder, or weekly/daily reports for project X can be filtered into a "reports" folder within the project X folder.