Business Analysis

I had this book for my 300 level Business Analysis college class (rented from the university), and liked it so I decided to buy it. My field of study is business analysis. Pros: *Concise-very readable! Right to the point, no fluff *Great explanation of business analysis in relation to business strategy and the IT technical side of a business *Easy-to-follow organization and layout Cons: *(for USA) Some techniques described are more common in the UK than in the USA my professor said, but most topics are universal *Lack-of-in-depth description, direction, and examples would make this text hard to use on its own. With in-class demonstrations, though, it becomes a very handy companion. Purchase this book if you want a good overview of what it means to be a business analyst. *Headers do not say what chapter number you are in- Why not?! I do not understand how textbooks are allowed to be printed without headers on each page saying what chapter it is. FYIs *The book is in all black and white. *For taking tests: the diagram on page 172 is incorrect; "business continuity" should match the text and be under the "General" heading, not the "Non-functional" heading. *Since the book is written in British English, at first I found it slowed me down and distracted me when I was reading it, because I wasn't used to English wording and spelling in the business world. "Program" becomes "programme," "organization" becomes "organisation," and "agree to/with" becomes "agree." If I hadn't taken the class I still would buy this book to have a better understanding of the field of business analysis.

I was taught Systems Analysis and Design at university and I have been an analyst/application developer for years, so the material in the book was not totally new to me. I bought this book to prepare for the BCS Business Analysis Foundation exam, to fill gaps in my knowledge. I read the book twice over a period of time (months, though with a gap in between). The book is fairly easy to read, though I didn't find it captivating. There are places I felt could have done with lists or bullet points, rather than continuous prose. There were a few typos and editing errors. As for the material itself, I think it was good enough, though the section about system development lifecycles and approaches did not clearly distinguish between lifecycles and approaches, though the text effectively said that they are distinct. I sat the exam today and passed. I think I scored well over 80%. (Waiting for official results - Update: I got 37/40). The exam covered the content of the book.

A rich and thorough discussion on the role and techniques of the business analyst. It's a much more enjoyable/easy read than the BABOK, yet still highly relevant to BAs more familiar with the IIBA way of doing things. The new edition incorporates lots of relevant discussions of Agile in relation to the BA role. Every BA will benefit from reading and referencing this book. Pro tip: Be sure to read it with a British accent. ;)

I've been recently transitioned asa business analyst at work and have been combing through all sorts of BA material to learn more about my new field. I've been through at least 7 different BA books and this one is by far my favorite. I keep it with me all the time... it's a great reference book. It also presents the material in an easy and understandable way. I highly recommend this book to any business analyst... new or seasoned.

This is an excellent book for learning about the roles and responsibilities of a business analyst. It is an must have for a wannabe BA as well as an experienced analyst.

Will recommend it to anyone just starting out as a business analyst. Will not recomment it to a more experienced BA.

The book introduce you to all the models and techniques. It combines Strategic analyses with UML and Six Sigma. The Requirement specification model is simple and practical.

As a graduate student, this book was required for class. It did provide good detailed information and was very useful for projects.

Just received the book today, so I cannot comment on the content for now, but the delivery was as expected.

Good for young analysts

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A good read for Kindle, excellent prep for BCS BA Foundation and a handy toolkit to carry on the job

As a seasoned business analyst in my younger years and also having been BCS certified, I decided to purchase this book to refresh my memory and pick up on points that I may have otherwise missed. In my view, this is the de facto standard in Business Analysis. The book begins with setting out some of the challenges that modern Business Analysts face (and have previously faced), a model to determine the maturity of an organisation (and how far along they are where business analysis is concerned) before detailing tools and techniques that every business analyst ought to have in their trust toolkit. It's a great book, easy to read, and a must buy. After having read it, I decided to do a small 5 minute intro to business analysis in a youtube video. Search for "Plato Hack" in youtube if you'd like to see it.