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It might not be *exactly* what you're looking for, but I think that guides, lists and especially the reading list provided by The Personal MBA (http://personalmba.com/) are all really good. Read their manifesto http://personalmba.com/manifesto/ to get a quick overview of what's it all about. PMBA resources might not be as good as interviewing BAs, but might help you form the right questions and find the best direction.
Mladen
________________________________
Mladen Zagorac
Technical writer
________________________________________
From: techwr-l-bounces+mladen -dot- zagorac=lionbridge -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [techwr-l-bounces+mladen -dot- zagorac=lionbridge -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Nancy Allison [maker -at- verizon -dot- net]
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 11:15 PM
Cc: TECHWR-L
Subject: Tech-writer-to-business-analyst thread?
I've just read through some archived tw-to-ba threads, and I would like
to reopen the discussion with some followup questions.
In a post from January 2007u, David Eason said (among many informative
comments):
"BA's have special skills with project
management, workflow processes, business modeling, and software such as
UML (uniform modeling language), use cases, entity-relationship diagrams
(ERDs) and relational database concepts, object-oriented technologies
(Rational Rose, object-oriented analysis, object-oriented design,
object-oriented programming), and the systems development lifecycle
(SDLC).
"Documentation and Visio expertise won't even get you in the door.
However, having BA skills, such as requirements engineering, workflow
processing, process modeling, use-case writing, and some other
documentation-related tools can augment technical writing . . ."
I am trying to figure out if I would be good at business analysis; I
enjoy tech writing but have also always been interested in the broader
business goals of the companies I've worked for. For what it's worth, I
think it's going to be important to have a broader resume in the years
to come, since I think we're in for a hard time economically.
I'm about to start taking our BAs out for coffee one by one to interview
them about what they do and what their background skills are, to see if
this might be a good transition for me to make.
I've come across some online courses that might be useful, if I decide
to make this transition. Has anyone heard of the Villanova online BA
certificate course? Any ideas about how I could find out if their
certificate is respected? Boston University also has courses.
Has anyone here worked as a BA in the past, or does anyone here combine
that work with tech writing?
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Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
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You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
