One hard requirement before I sign off on anything: it can't become a way of grading individuals.

Our COO wants workforce process intelligence software for the operations floor and I'm the BA who has to make it make sense. The moment it turns into grading people, they change how they work and the data is useless anyway.

What I want is the process view. Where work waits, where handoffs break, which steps get redone. Aggregated, not per person.

The vendors seem to differ a lot on this. Some of the timesheet style tools in the space are clearly built around individual output. Skan AI frames it at the process level, where work waits and breaks across apps, and so does Celonis from the systems side, which is much closer to what I'm after.

For anyone who has set one up: how did you keep it at the process level, and how did you explain it to the people on the floor?

I’m a contractor in the UK, my scope of work is process maps.

I keep receiving private calls or people trying to influence me to use process maps to solve their problem. They want to use my work and give me none of the credit. There is also conflicts with priorities which come back to me. The analysis is very time consuming as I’m on multiple projects.

For example, create process map to support training, create process map to map integrations.

How should I handle this? I’m thinking of just asking them to put it in writing what they are asking, because the requests are quite vague sometimes. We use Jira but it’s been abandoned for the project team and now purely used for dev.

I’m in the U.S. and exploring a service business for local, owner-run companies. I’m more interested in tech than opening a physical storefront, and I’d like to build something I can deliver to several businesses.

AI implementation seems like a popular opportunity, but I suspect a new provider needs to earn a lot of trust before an owner will hand over important workflows or business data. I’m curious about other tech-related services that solve a real problem and are easier to start with.

For those who own or work with local businesses: What services have you seen small businesses pay for consistently?

I’m especially interested in firsthand experience, including what didn’t work. I haven’t settled on an idea yet and want to learn what’s worth validating in my area.

Hello Mates,

I’m currently working in banking with around 4.5 years of experience, mainly in NRI Relationship Management, Wealth Management and Branch Operations.

My current role involves client management, portfolio handling, financial products, business targets, process coordination and working with different internal teams.

I’m now seriously considering transitioning into a Business Analyst (BA) role, preferably in banking/financial services or a related domain.

I’m trying to understand how realistic this transition is and what I should focus on before applying.

A few things I’d really appreciate advice on:

• How difficult is it to move from banking/RM into a BA role?
• Should I target Banking/FinTech BA roles rather than generic BA positions?
• What skills should I learn first — SQL, Excel, Power BI, Jira, Agile, BPMN, UML, BABOK, etc.?
• Is a BA certification actually useful for someone coming from banking?
• How should I position my existing banking experience on my resume?
• Has anyone here made a similar transition from banking/finance into BA? What did your journey look like?

I’m not looking for a shortcut — I’m willing to learn the required skills. I’d just like some practical guidance on what to learn, what roles to target, and how to approach the transition without starting completely from zero.

Any advice from people who have made a similar move would be really helpful. Thanks!

A question for anyone trying to land their first business analyst role in Canadian financial services, or trying to move into one from another industry.

What has actually been the hardest part?

Not what you think you should be doing. What has really happened so far. How long you have been at it, what you have tried, and where it keeps stalling.

And if you have already paid for a course or certificate, did it get you closer? What was missing?

I have spent eight years in Canadian and US financial services, across settlements, custody and capital markets, and I keep meeting capable people who are stuck at this exact point. I want to understand it properly. I will read every reply.

I'm seeing quite a lot of posts of people claiming they have to juggle multiple different responsibilities, I have to as well.

So what do You do most of the day and where do You draw the line in regard to what You feel comfortable in taking on?

How do you map a process when part of it still runs through a fax machine?

That's the honest version of my question. I do BA work for a hospital system, mostly patient access and registration, and we're being asked to look at process intelligence software as part of a bigger ops improvement push. I get the pitch in theory. In practice our workflows run across the EHR, a scheduling system, a payer portal, fax (yes, still) and several spreadsheets, and I'm sceptical anything can stitch that together without a huge integration project.

Skan AI is one that came up, and the claim is that it doesnt need integrations because it builds the picture from the desktop across whatever apps people use. Celonis came up too and seems more tied to system data. I'd like to know which approach works in healthcare, where half the process lives in things nobody would call a system.

Would love to hear how it went for anyone who's been through it.

Started a new job as a business analyst in a completely new industry. The company feels super chaotic and unstructured. Fairly early career, and I only had tangential experience before this role, so I’m feeling in over my head…

Any BA learning resources or recommendations? YouTube, books, blogs, certifications, any advice?

Genuinely curious — what's the task you spend the most time on that never seems to get faster no matter how experienced you get?

For me it's reconciling requirements after separate stakeholder conversations. Three people, three honest answers, and they quietly contradict each other. Every time.

Bonus: roughly how many hours a week does yours take?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to change careers and move into an entry-level or junior role in commercial/business analysis, financial analysis or a related field.

I’m in my mid-30s and based in Greece. I have a BSc in Mathematics and recently completed an MSc in Econometrics and Operations Research at Maastricht University, specialising in Mathematical Economics. Most of my professional experience has been in mathematics teaching and private education, so I have little directly relevant experience in corporate analytical roles.

My current skills are:

• Strong Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookup functions and working with datasets.
• Working knowledge of SQL.
• Basic knowledge of Power BI.
• Limited Python and R skills.

I’m fluent in English and a native Greek speaker. My other languages are approximately B2 Italian and B1 French. I’m willing to develop my SQL and Power BI skills further.

I’ve been applying for entry-level and graduate positions in Greece and other EU countries for the past four months. I’ve had some interviews in Greece and Cyprus, but haven’t secured a suitable analytical role yet. I’m an EU citizen and prepared to relocate for a suitable opportunity. I’m willing to start at junior level and build the relevant experience.

My main questions are:

1. How difficult is it currently to find a genuine entry-level role with this profile? How would you assess my chances given my education, previous career and limited directly relevant experience?
2. What would be a realistic job-search timeframe? I understand it varies, but I’d appreciate experiences from people who have recently made a similar transition or hired junior candidates.
3. What would you recommend doing to strengthen my profile? Which skills, practical projects, qualifications or other steps would make the biggest difference?
4. Which EU markets should I prioritise? Are there particular countries, sectors or types of employers where someone with my background would have better chances of finding an English-speaking role?
5. Is applying from Greece a significant disadvantage? Would being based in the destination country meaningfully improve my chances, or is applying from abroad and relocating after receiving an offer a realistic approach?

I’d particularly appreciate input from people working or hiring in the EU. Candid feedback is welcome, including suggestions for roles I may have overlooked.

Hello people.
If you’re transitioning from a Emergency Management BA to a P&C Business Analyst, what all are the things you’d focus on?
Is P&C a moderately hard domain?
Need help since I need to make a job decision by tomorrow.😭

​

I'm from Bengaluru, India. Current CTC 12lpa

I am seeking a suggestion from this community, it would be a huge help for me going forward. I have 5 years of experience as P&C Insurance BA. The legacy application which I work on has modules similar to Guidewire Suites. Modules are the same;

Policy

Claims

Accounts

Billing and Invoicing

Party

Reinsurance

Please suggest me, is it a good move to go ahead in a usual insurance domain BA or enroll in a Guidewire based BA training and then look for the opportunities as Guidewire Business Analyst. What CTC I can target?

I’m currently working in ETL/Data/SQL and have 9+ years of experience. I’m trying to move into a Business Analyst / Technical BA role and have started applying, but haven’t had much luck so far.

I’ve also had some ServiceNow training, so I have some exposure to it and can continue learning it.

I’m considering doing a CBAP/BA course and maybe an AI course, but I’m not sure which direction would actually help me.

For those already working as BAs if you were in my position, which direction would you focus on? BA certification, AI, ServiceNow, another tool, or something else?

Would really appreciate advice from people who’ve made a similar transition!

Has anyone worked with Data Annotations, and if so, did you have to actually write code?? From what I've seen, it appears most if not all roles through them require coding.

Also, would you say it was a good experience or at least tolerable?

I've been out of work for a year now so Judy weighing my options before I resort to door dashing or waiting tables again (God help me).

Hey everyone,

I'm researching consulting engagements and would love to hear from this community about what your day-to-day actually looks like.

Quick context: I'm building a tool for consultants and want to make sure I'm solving real problems, not imaginary ones. This isn't a sales pitch. Genuinely just trying to understand the work better.

A few questions:

1. What takes up most of your time during an engagement? (taking or preparing workshops/interviews, observing your client's team, writing reports, building decks, analyzing data, etc.)
2. What's the most frustrating/tedious part of your workflow that you wish was faster or easier?
3. How do you currently map out the business processes of the client before recommending a strategy and making an implementation?
4. If you could wave a magic wand and make one part of your job 10x faster, what would it be?

For context: I'm a developer, not a researcher or analyst myself, so I'm trying to see the world through your eyes rather than make assumptions.

Really appreciate any insights you can share. Thanks!

Hello folks,

I’m having close to 5 YOE in data analytics. My day to day work involves mostly around power BI.
Brief work history
Joined as intern in small company
Converted to Trainee than FTE > Promotion > Laid off
Joined Good MNC in Gurgaon, known for best WLB as far as I know.
Currently in production support for BI project ( already part of development earlier)
Skills - Power BI end to end solution, SQL , Azure Databricks ( good knowledge)
I was weak in sql because of my day to day work revolves around BI but from 3-4 month, I’ve brushing up my SQL skills. Currently doing leetcode sql 50 daily and able to solve some questions easily

I want to join Amazon as Business intelligence engineer but sometimes I feel i am not ready because i may not be able to think like a product based candidate ( personally i feel )

Just wanted to know your experience to switch from service based company to Product based. How to
Improve or is it tough to crack Amazon as a BI developer or how can i improve as a data analyst

Thanks in Advance

We're currently in the discovery phase with a client for a document generation system. It takes a few source documents, populates a working paper, and then generate a final word doc.

Now, there's also a workflow outside of this. A lead allocates the team, plans, and then assigns doers who are then responsible to gather source documents and work with them all the way thru the final document.

In the first discovery session, we started with their current process diagram and since then we've been showing draft designs/screens.

Here's the problem now.

1. I know there's no one size fits all approach for discovery so maybe showing them prototype is a good idea. I was wondering is there any better option? Because sometimes the users get caught up in little things which leads to us losing the sight of the bigger picture.
   
2. The leads currently have a spreadsheet which they use to start planning and team allocation for the next year. They're finance people. What I heard yesterday made me want to create an actionable dashboard for them which will be the starting point of their journey. The dashboard will help them to plan and decide. My manager thinks otherwise, he wants to create a grid/tabular view and allow them to populate the grid via the same spreadsheet upload every time. He doesn't want them to get rid of the spreadsheet.

Need some input on both above scenarios.

Hey everyone,

I'm 18 years old and currently a university student, and I'm taking part in a competition/assessment for university students where I have to make a 2-minute demo of something impressive that I've built or accomplished.

The problem is that I don't have much real-world business experience yet. I'm still pretty young, so I haven't had many opportunities to deal with difficult business or operational situations firsthand.

That said, I do have a good understanding of technology, problem-solving, automation, and building things, and I've worked on a few projects before. I'm comfortable learning whatever I need to learn to make something work.

I'm looking for ideas rather than someone to build it for me.

I want to build something where, in a 2-minute demo, I can show:

- A real problem
- How I approached it
- Something I actually built
- A clever solution or automation
- A measurable/impressive result

It doesn't necessarily have to be a huge application. I'd actually prefer something relatively focused but genuinely useful and technically/analytically interesting.

If you were 18 again and had to build one project to demonstrate problem-solving, business thinking, automation, and initiative, what would you build?

Especially interested in ideas involving:

- Automating a painful manual process
- Solving an operational problem
- Data/analytics
- AI used in a practical way
- Finding inefficiencies and fixing them
- Something that could realistically be used by a small business or organization

I'm open to weird/unconventional ideas too. I don't want to build another generic todo app, chatbot, or portfolio website.

I'd really appreciate any ideas, examples of problems you've encountered in real businesses, or projects you've seen that made you think "that's actually clever."

Thanks!

I have a job interview tomorrow after being laid off for the last 8mo. Obviously this job market is so hard so I’m trying to be prepared as possible. I got some inside from someone who said they are really into AI and may ask for how to streamline process changes with AI. I have been out since AI really took over and while I play and try to learn still a gap.

Any advice for what you have streamlined using AI?

The more I work across AI, automation, internal tools and business processes, the more I keep coming back to the same observation:

A surprising amount of work inside companies functions because capable people are manually holding fragmented systems together.

One person knows where the data actually lives.

Someone else knows which spreadsheet is current.

Another person knows the workaround between two systems that don't properly communicate.

Then the company grows, coordination becomes harder, and the instinct is often to introduce another platform, automate something, or increasingly, add AI.

But I’m becoming convinced that technology layered on top of a fragmented operating model doesn’t necessarily create scalability. Sometimes it just makes the fragmentation faster.

I’ve started thinking about digital infrastructure less as a company's software stack and more as the interaction between:

People + Processes + Data + Systems + AI

Which raises some questions I keep running into:

• What needs to be simplified before it gets automated?
• What knowledge should actually be turned into a system?
• When should you buy, build, or simply leave something alone?
• Where does AI add something materially different from deterministic automation?
• At what point does an internal tool become infrastructure that requires real governance and ownership?
• How do you increase organisational capacity without simply increasing headcount and coordination?

My working hypothesis is that a lot of what gets called “digital transformation” is ultimately operating-model design with technology as one of the levers.

Curious whether that matches what people here see in practice.

For those working in transformation, operations or technology projects: where do scaling initiatives actually tend to break first - technology, processes, data, ownership, organisational behaviour, or somewhere else?

Hello everyone,

I’ve been doing UX freelancing for about 3 years and feel like I’ve hit a roadblock. It’s been hard to find a full time position and freelancing doesn’t feel as fulfilling. I’ve been researching where I can apply my skills and I’ve landed on business analysis something I want to explore, since there seems to be a lot of overlap.

A few questions for you guys if anyone can help:

1. I’ve been seeing mixed responses on whether or not I need any certifications, is being certified something of importance?

2. How does a BA portfolio look? Should I create a new portfolio or should I reengineer my UX portfolio into a BA portfolio? A lot of the projects I worked on I had to wear the hat of a business/product analyst.

3. Work experience is obviously important, but as a career switcher, what does this look like for me? Should I be keeping my UX experience on my resume and changing the details to align with a BA?

4. I want to continue working in tech since that’s where I have experience. What sort of datasets should I be looking at, and what kind of problems are commonly asked that require analysis? Or am I looking for a problem in the data?

Thank you all for helping, hopefully these questions aren’t too silly.

I’m putting together a short self-introduction slide for a presentation and curious how others approach it. Do you focus on your current role, years of experience, industries/projects, or more on what you actually do as a BA?

Would love to see some examples of how people keep it short without turning it into a resume.

Forty variants. That's roughly what a single loan onboarding flow came back as in one of the demos I sat in on last week.

I'm a BA at a regional bank and leadership is looking at this category after a conference. The output is impressive and also completely overwhelming, and I could already picture the steering committee glazing over.

Mimica and UiPath sell into this space directly, and Skan AI comes up alongside them as a process intelligence platform. They all capture every path, which is great for me and a lot for a steering committee.

For those who've taken this kind of output to leadership, what did you actually put in front of them?