Good Books for the IT Business Analyst

[tomed]

I know there are some members here who are, or have been, BAs.

I would like to know what books you guys have read that you would recommend for me. I have been a Business Analyst for about 6 months now and am trying to find ways to better myself in this role. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Corran007]

Since a business analyst means alot of things, tell us more about what you do.

 

[tomed]

Well I do a lot of things. Mostly I support JD Edwards by working with users to identify things that need changed or added. I then take action to get these things taken care of. Which means different things. Could be as little as making a change to a field myself all the way to requesting security changes from our corporate office. I also will request changes to reports and programs from the developers and then implement and test those changes. That's the technical side of it.

Since JDE touches all parts of our business, I also do a lot of work with different departments on how their part of the business works and how we can make it better (with JDE and outside of the system).

Does that help?

 

[MalikPrabu]

I have not come across any books at this point of the time, but I do get most of my information via the net.

I am BA certified and I have attended various classes/courses in the past 5 year. I used to have a site filled with BA notes and links; unfortunately I don’t have that site anymore. Instead, I started this blog, which some people think it comes in handy.

http://business-analyst-ca.blogspot.com/

Hope this helps.

 

[mmorancbt]

I'll take time to make a shameless plug for my book - The IT Career Builder's Toolkit. However, it is not a book for business analyst but a value-skills book for IT professionals in general.

I started as a Business Analyst and then Project Manager - prior to consulting (I've been independent since 1995). Chapter 21 of my book covers Concept Over Process - a formal project methodology I wrote while employed for a company and since greatly expanded.

Before you buy it, check out your library. I know that several carry it.

I am working on another book directly geared toward Project Development (pre-project and in-project analysis - turning business requirements into technical solutions). I don't know yet if it is something my publisher (Cisco Press) will bring to market.

Otherwise, I liked what I saw an MalikPrabu's blog.

Matthew Moran (career blog and podcast below)
Career Advice with Attitude for the IT Pro

http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/career

http://techcareerconsult.blogspot.com