Project manager route or business analyst?

[TykeMerc]

I've never met a business analyst who does much of anything except get paid and drink coffee (and attend cosy back-slapping meetings).

I have.

A good BA can make or break a project especially where Business Process Re-engineering is likely. My last gig had a lot of BPR changes in multiple projects and the programmers wouldn't have had a hope in hell of unravelling those concerns.

I do agree that having a technical background as a PM is a sizable advantage, but being a software developer first doesn't always mean that you're better than a PM with a different background for many projects, it just applies a different perspective.

Shoes said: Take it from me as the director and owner of a succesful consultancy since 2 years after graduation, the move from technical to PM or BA is not an evolution in any sense

I don't agree at all. I get paid a fair bit more as a PM than I did as an engineer and I also get far more responsibility with all that implies including control, accountability and satisfaction. I call that an evolution.

[alreadypacked]

I'm on top of things.

I like a man on top

[TykeMerc]

I like a man on top

MATRON!!!!

[Xenophon]

I like a man on top

[aussielong]

I have.

A good BA can make or break a project especially where Business Process Re-engineering is likely. My last gig had a lot of BPR changes in multiple projects and the programmers wouldn't have had a hope in hell of unravelling those concerns.

They are parasites feeding off the development team! Like small fish on the side of a whale! Failed developers mainly.

[alreadypacked]

They are parasites feeding off the development team! Like small fish on the side of a whale! Failed developers mainly.

I guess you have users who know what they want. Try a project where the requirments are so vague you are not sure which application they refer too. You will swap body parts for a good BA.

[TykeMerc]

I guess you have users who know what they want. Try a project where the requirments are so vague you are not sure which application they refer too. You will swap body parts for a good BA.

No kidding.

What's the point in trying to write code or for that matter having coders on the project payroll until the requirements are extensively buttoned down and signed upto by the business involved?

I've seen too many projects fail due to lousy, vague or plain wrong requirements.
A BA can come from many disciplines and can be one of the developers but they are always part of the team in projects with any complexity.

[Bluebird]

They are parasites feeding off the development team! Like small fish on the side of a whale! Failed developers mainly.

BAs can work without IT, developers can't.

IT projects only form part of the scope that a BA will get involved within an organisation.

But, going back to the original question, start of in an organisation as a BA, you'll get a good view of how the organisation operates and a view of a number of the business and data streams, then head of into a PM role.

Developers can make good technical project managers, but tend to get too hung up on technology rather than what the the actual business requirement was in the first place.

[malvolio]

They are parasites feeding off the development team! Like small fish on the side of a whale! Failed developers mainly.

Ermm, bollocks.

FWIW the best PMs I've used have come up from Support, not coding. Comes from having to deal with mutliple (and usually conflicting) priorities whereas coders' problems tend to rather more linear. They also get a much better insight into the business impact of their decisions. I'd much rather they were looking after a £15m spend that people who simply follow a spec sheet...

[TykeMerc]

Ermm, bollocks.

FWIW the best PMs I've used have come up from Support, not coding. Comes from having to deal with mutliple (and usually conflicting) priorities whereas coders' problems tend to rather more linear. They also get a much better insight into the business impact of their decisions. I'd much rather they were looking after a £15m spend that people who simply follow a spec sheet...

I share that opinion, but since my background is support rather than development I'm more than a little biased

What Bluebird said about developers making good technical PM's, but having too narrow a view for the the whole project perspective can be true, unfortunately it tends to cause plenty of upset if Programme Managing and the opinion ever becomes known. Yes I do have that tee shirt.