Originally published by Joe Newbert at Future Business Analyst
Author, Speaker, and Above All a Teacher Founder of Business Change Academy
In this conversation, Fabricio Laguna and I explore coaching the business analysis mindset to foster a corporate culture and the importance of carrying compassion for humans alongside IT.
Fabricio is a consultant and trainer known as The Brazilian BA. He loves business analysis and likes to explain complex things in an approachable and charming way.
Here are just a few of the highlights in this episode:
“A business analyst is just a programmer that was punched in the head many times.”
Fabricio shares how he graduated in computer science and started as a programmer when an old guy with very white hair told him that from now on, he would be responsible for talking to the users.
“The main role of the business analyst in an organisation is to foster a mindset of business analysis.”
Fabricio sees two types of business analysts, one abstract and one specific. He observes that traditionally business analysis was related to creating documentation and bureaucracy, but this is changing. Today, the primary role of the (specific) professional business analyst is to foster a mindset of business analysis in the (abstract) organisation. Fabricio emphasizes that this responsibility is about evolving business analysis practices in the organisation.
“It’s not very hard to show the value of business analysis.”
Fabricio believes an issue lies in people’s lack of understanding of what business analysis is. He advises that the key is to convey that business analysis is related to understanding problems and making better decisions on how to solve those problems or seize the opportunities. Fabricio concludes that it’s helpful to share techniques and concepts to demonstrate this value.
“Business analysts can even change business behaviour just by chatting with artificial intelligence.”
Fabricio imagines a future where AI can execute business analysis commands through natural language. He believes that AI armed with business transactional data and the organisations’ knowledge base, can help businesses to be nimble in sensing and responding to change. Fabricio stresses the importance of these AI users possessing a good understanding of business analysis practices when doing so.
“To do business analysis well, we must have compassion.”
Fabricio says that having compassion is crucial for conducting successful business analysis. He defines compassion as “with passion” in Portuguese and emphasizes that it is about feeling pain and joy. Fabricio highlights that compassion should be extended to all people and the planet.
“A business is a collection of components.”
We finish up with some thoughts about business change and configuring the business operations for better business outcomes.
Tune into the episode below or listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.
Brought to you by Business Change Academy skills development and career building business analysis courses.
