Thanks for commenting, Leroy.

I definitely get your point that sometimes your best might just not be good enough to meet, let alone exceed customer expectations. I think that might be one of the areas where what's true for burgers doesn't necessarily hold for the complexities of business analysis.

At the same time, I think that it is incumbent on us - as individuals and solution delivery teams - to set and manage expectations to minimize occurrences where we do our best yet "can't win for losing."

I think we can reasonably reach a point where we know what we can give on a regular basis, and our customer has a good idea what they'll get. Hopefully the situation would be rare where we just aren't good enough to get the job done.

Thanks for commenting, Doug.

I agree that a good analyst can be successful in any business or technical domain, but when it comes right down to it, if I'm considering hiring one of two BA candidiates, with all else equal, I'll take the one that either has more depth of knowledge of the industry or of the technology (whichever I happen to think more important in that particular instance).

At the same time - and as I said above - I don't really think there are many BA's out there that have been on the job for long that don't have a certain level of expertise dealing with the industry and technologies.

I've always been of a mind where I want to learn as much about every business/industry and technology I have the good fortune to work with because it's that knowledge that enables me to recognize the patterns in those areas that will help me be more efficient in my work. The one thing I don't like about the common notion that a BA doesn't need domain knowledge is that it might encourage a BA to ignore it, which, in my mind, would be a shame.

Looking forward to that book, Alex!

I think of specific systems expertise and general "possibilities of technology"-type knowledge as different rungs on the same ladder.

And I absolutely think it is incumbent on the BA to be able to break down the possibilities of technology in terms that business folk can digest. And to be able to do that, obviously, we have to have some of that knowledge ourselves.

I hear what you're saying on the domain shifts, David. I think there's a certain degree of technical know-how that you just pick up by working with systems in general over time, too. Regardless of the industry, you're well served by having a fundamental understanding of architecture, and the way systems work.

The analysis skills are the ones we can't do without, though.

I think that's a great suggestion for an upcoming topic, too. I think the vendor/software experience has a lot to do with multiple factors including - consultant vs. perm. BA for a company; consultant in a specific field or technology vs. general business analysis/project management consultancy, etc.

It is a conversation I think it'd be interesting to have. Just need to get my thoughts together on it, first.

You're most welcome. Thank YOU for providing all the great material. I love the wiki idea.

Funny! Yeah, the little ones love the youtube videos, too - chimpanzee riding on a segway.. Cat flushing the toilet, etc... What did we do without 'puters growing up, anyway?

Thanks for your comment, Suzanne. Thrilled to hear from you!

I'll gladly second the recommendation of Mastering the Requirements Process. It was one of the first books in my BA library and definitely provides some additional insight into requirement patterns.

I wasn't aware of the "Adrenaline Junkies & Template Zombies" one, though. I'll be sure to give it a look.

I don't think so, Craig. I tried telling her some user stories at bedtime once, and she just wasn't that into them.

Good stuff, Adam. Great idea on the initial article. It's been fun following the conversation here and over on your blog. I'll look forward to the new feature in Bright Green Projects!