Undecided between Business Analysis and Project Management?

The greatest decisions of life are never easy. The best of them are actually taken under pressure. The palpable tension here is about the debate between whether to choose project management or business analysis as a feather to add to our hats. The following article strives to wipe out any doubt in the reader’s mind pertaining to the line of the debate with valid points and practical considerations.

The decision to take either business analysis or project management as a career precedes ay another career-related decision and thus weighs a lot on the mind of the candidate. The following preparation, personality development, knowledge gaining, and not to mention the certification are all the successive decisions to be taken upon the former choice of career. To consider one of the said choices is only a one-time decision and cannot be revoked or chosen both of them. Researchers and statisticians have long proven this, that project managers and business analysts may work in a similar modus operandi but can never match each other’s calibre.

Business Analysis and Project Management: The differences in the roles:-

– Project managers are the heads/authorities that manage a team working for the completion of a project in an organization, whereas business analysts may work individually.

– Project managers are oriented for the completion of the project from the initiation, whereas business analysts are oriented towards the welfare of the organization in general.

– Business analysts are generally concerned about the feasibility and appropriateness of the steps an organization is taking on the whole, whereas project managers undertake actions such as initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and completion of the assigned projects.

– The roles may be merged, but eventually, it beckons loss as some part of each field is neglected when there comes a conflicting feature of the project that does not match the goals of the organization. Here the project managers require to stick to the project, whereas the business analyst must work for the ultimate goal of the organization.

The similarities of roles:-

– Both project managers and business analysts are oriented towards the betterment of the organization in the long run. A smoothly completed project and a calculated business step are both in accordance with the organization’s goals.

– Both require to possess skills that can be listed as critical thinking, relationship building, resource allocation, feasibility tests, stats, evaluation, and monitoring, etc.

– One may argue that project managers and business analysts may be the same person in an organization as they both need to ‘manage’ operations and functions.

The certifications for both types of careers:-

Business analyst: –

The best certification to get for a candidate aspiring a better future in the field of business analysis is the CCBA certification offered by the IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis). CCBA stands for the Certification of Competency in Business Analysis. A person with high aspirations of clearing the CCBA certification must ensure the eligibility criteria that include

• a) a minimum of 3750 hours of experience in the role of business analyst,
• b) 900 hours minimum in any 2 of the provided six knowledge areas of BABOK or at least 500 hours in any 4 of the said six areas
• c) in the past years, the experience of professional development hours must add up to a minimum of 21 hours in the least and d) preferably have undertaken a CCBA training course.

Project managers:-

The PROJECT MANAGERS (Project Management Professional) certification provided by PROJECT MANAGERS (Project Management Institute) is one deemed the best in this area that requires the individual to have either a bachelor’s degree or high school diploma, 35 study hours as per PROJECT MANAGERSBOK, three years of work experience along with 4500 hours as a project manager (in case of bachelor’s degree) or five years experience along with 7500 hours in the shoes of a project manager (in case of high school degree).

The career choices of project management and business analysis are both very successful, provided there are proper preparation, dedication, and hard work on the part of the concerned individual. The overlapping and unique areas and the certifications involved with both the choices have been discussed above clearly with the proper choice of words so as to provide the reader with better guidance in the choice of his or her career.