The Better Business Analysis Institute presence, the Better Business Analysis podcast with Benjamin Walsh. Hi, everybody, and welcome back to the Better Business Analysis. Podcast with Benjamin Walsh. And we are going to continue. On our BA Bytes series, and I'm going to talk about something controversial. I don't think there should be any permanent business analysts. Yes, it's controversial, isn't it? Well, I'm going to. Explain if I really believe that and what I mean by that.
In the next couple of minutes. So when I talk about permanent B as I. Am talking. About the project side of business analysis. So if we look at the full PS, we have people and obviously you've got human centered designers in that space. We're not talking about that necessarily today. We've got the process side and you may have a business architect who is looking across caabilities across the organization who may be permanent and that kind of
works. And you may have a process expert, process analyst or business improvement analysts, for example, who focus on the Lean 6 Sigma side of reducing waste in the organization. And in that case, I can understand a permanent role for people that plan that space. We also have the product side. So the product side is around kind of a product BA, an agile BA. Who's working on an agile team? On a stable product, and I would say that's your role, then that product analysis PO role could
also be permanent. What I'm focusing on is. Project business analysis or just business analysis? The nature. Of a project is. That it is finite. OK, at the end of the day, it has a beginning and an end, which means that. The resources on that project Project manager. And the. BA along with other stuff like testers. That. Side of it, especially the professional services side, not necessarily the development side. They. Don't necessarily need to be
there forever. And you could ask, well, OK then. Well. Why can't I just be ABA a permanent BA? And then I. Can work on projects and that's fine, and we'll talk about why you might want to be in that position. In a minute, but at the end of the day, when? You're an organization and we'll talk about an individual's perspective in a. Minute when you're an organization an. Organization wants projects to be done and done well.
They have a business case they're investing certain amount of. Money. For a. Certain type of outcome and they should. Really be optimizing who and what skills they invest in that project and what they ultimately are paying for a project requires specialist skills to. Complete an outcome and usually. Projects are based on a repeatable method using repeatable technology usually. Within unknown industry and so when you're recruiting and deciding. Who should work on those
projects? You really want to have someone who's. Experienced in that. Industry process, the product maybe or the method or legislation change. And that's why I'm suggesting that the best people that have those skills are contractors or consultants. I'll explain the difference between a consultant and a contractor. Right now, a contractor is really an individual consultant who's responsible for their own skills, and Uplift consultant is someone from a consultancy. Which is.
Almost mixed between a permanent and a contractor role. They are permanent employees, however they do get skills invested and they you do pay a. Premium for. Both a contractor and a consultant. And that brings me to. The other perspective, you as a someone who has skills across industries, who's worked in multiple organizations, who understand how to deliver a project well, you know, understands what this piece of legislation means. You should be charging a
premium. I believe that you're best being a consultant or a contractor. Getting maximum return. On your dollars and your time. Contractors and consultants. Generally have worked in multiple different industries. That's the whole point. They've travelled around, they have skills, they have worked in other organizations that worked in multi. Projects. That work with multiple teams. And that just means that.
Their skills have grown. And when you're a permanent employee in. That space in the project space, you actually, your skills stagnate. You're not. Generally trained. Up or to have the same skill development opportunities as you would and a contractor or consultants. Even if you have a. Great permanent team leader. Who? Pushes for that. That's very. Very rare. You also don't have. The same. Perspective because you haven't been exposed to different
people, different politics. And different. Opportunities to test your skills out by having this mobility, which you only get really from someone who's either a contractor or a consultant. You in that case, those people have enhanced skill sets, they have increased. Market value. And they have had career progression. And the. Good thing about. Hiring someone? In that space for a project work. Is that you know that the risk is.
Mitigated, and they can probably do the job well, and the organization gets a. Fresh perspective. From an outside lens, which is great, it reduces their risk as we talked about. And at the end of the day. It's actually cheaper to hire someone for a. Certain period of time than it is. To commit to a permanent role so it's effectively cost effective. And you could say to me, look at the end of the day, I'm taking a. Permanent role for job security.
I'm taking it for the benefits and I'm taking it for the fact. That I don't have. To worry at the end of a project about getting a new role and I'd say good on you. You're supporting your family. Good on you being a permanent BA. In the project space. I am just saying from a conceptual model point of view. So in. Conclusion An organization is. Better off. Hiring a contractor or a consultant when working on projects, they're more likely to
get the skills they need. Someone who can deal with multiple situations. I know. And you know. That there are some really bad. Consultants and contractors out there, I am talking about the concept, not necessary the individual. And for? An individual's point of view. If you are ABA and you are working on projects, unless you have obligations outside of work. Like family and you. Need. The benefits? That a permanent role gives you, which is understandable. No problem there.
You should really go contracting or you should become a consultant. And maybe it's a consultant, then a contractor. And you? Will maximize the return on your time and you will get paid more for the skills that you. Bring and it will give you more experience. I know. It's controversial. I want to hear your thoughts.
I'm happy for you to leave a note through and we can have a talk about it. And of course, if you want to be a consultant or a contractor, the perfect certification for you is the Certified Better Business Analysis Level One course. It will be enough to get you. Into that. Realm and start earning top dollar. I'll see you next week.