Business Analyst vs Technical Writer
What is the role of a Business Analyst?
Business Analysts help businesses in improving processes, products, services and software through data analysis. These agile workers straddle the line between IT and the business to bridge the gap and improve efficiency.
What does a Technical Writer do?
Technical writers generate technical material such as user manuals, how-to guides, integration guidelines, computer system operation guides, and product specifications to improve the digital platform’s experience. They collaborate with other technical specialists, such as engineers and software developers, to ensure that the information they provide is accurate and easy to understand.
In general, the Business Analyst gathers information from the business, whereas the Technical Writer presents information from the deliverable.
Another way to characterize the difference is that the Business Analyst translates business policies, strategies, or regulations into system requirements for a project and takes a course of action to ensure the completion of the project, while the Technical Writer translates the business terms and technical information into simple, easy-to-understand terms and guidelines so that the project can be accomplished.
But both roles have to:
- Analyze and document current business processes to ensure that project stakeholders understand the information.
- Create and present process flows, information architecture, site maps and prototypes for complex applications.
- Identify and document future business processes, including process improvement potential.
- Understand the features, functions, and capabilities of applications or services or products in order to achieve high-performance goals.
- Partake in tracking changes to the project.
- Translate business requirements into technical and functional specifications.
- Collaborate with the technical resources or any subject matter expert to gather specific (data or design) information.
- Conduct, coordinate, and perform user acceptance tests, user walk-through sessions, and other ways to test the designs as well as create test plans to ensure adherence to specifications.
- Write user-friendly text for on-screen instructions, headings, button labels, link text and other matters that have an effect on a user’s experience.
- Create guidelines and follow best practices.
Professional Growth
Professional certification courses are a well-recognized credential that assists professionals in beginning and growing their careers. The Society for Technical Communication certificate is a well-recognized credential that helps professionals start and grow their technical writing careers and teaches you the foundation of the technical writer role and the technical writing skills you need to grow your career. For Business Analysts, the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is a professional association formed with the stated goal of supporting and promoting the discipline of business analysis. IIBA offers help and information to business analysts in order to develop their skills and further their careers.
Conclusion
In my experience working as a Tech Writer and Business Analyst both in the middleware industry, I believe that good Business Analysts are made great by proficiency in a technical writing skill set whereas both business and technical writing are modes of communication directed at an audience to elicit the desired outcome. Both types of writing are clear, concise, to the point, and employ a specific language format. Another similarity is that both are intended to provide information or give instructions that would lead to the desired outcome. However, being certified in either of these roles can open doors for you that may not have been available before. Both the Technical Writer and Business Analyst roles are constantly evolving and becoming more relevant by the day.
What are your thoughts? Do you prefer one of these roles over the other? Do you agree with my POV? Disagree? I am happy to hear all about it!
