The Business Analyst Mindset in a Nutshell

BA mindset means taking responsibility for thinking

Photo by Fabio Bracht on Unsplash

As business analysts, we want everything to be comprehensive. We want our documents to be clear and complete, the tops of the backlogs well-groomed, and we like to create lists. And so it happened that when I was defining the business analyst mindset in my book three years ago, I came up with a list of twelve principles:

However, once in a while somebody would ask: “What’s a BA mindset?” and I would struggle to express it succinctly. How about one sentence, instead of a list of twelve items?

So I gave it some thought: considered the twelve principles and the common thread in them, remembered all the brilliant business analysts I’ve met before, reflected on the best projects from my experience, and looked for a common pattern.

Here is what the business analyst mindset means for me in a nutshell: it’s taking responsibility for thinking when identifying solutions for business problems and needs.