We unabashedly admit that we developed BASE (Business Analyst’s Skills Evaluation) to sell training. However, visitors to the website found several additional uses for this versatile tool that we wanted to share. Who knows, you might come up with the next great idea on how to leverage your BASE to make a positive change in your life.
How Can BASE Help My Business Analyst Career?
BASE is a business analysis skills self-assessment of how comfortable you are in each of 48 different business analysis tools or techniques. You rate your skill level on a scale of 0 to 5 (0 means unaware of the topic; 5 indicates mastery of the topic and the ability to teach others). The BASE app then groups your individual scores into the six Knowledge Areas identified by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®). For each knowledge area, it shows you graphically how close you are to the eighty percent (that score is required by the IIBA to pass their Certified Business Analysis Professional™ or CBAP® exam). If your score is lower than 55%, it shows a red line; 55 – 79 shows yellow and 80 or above show green. You can see at a glance which areas you need to work on to move closer to being an expert in every area.
Evaluate BASEHow You Can Use BASE
A lot of access to the tool has been by organizations that use it to identify skills gaps and tailor our training courses to their specific group. You can view an explainer video on that process at your leisure, so I will not delve into details here. Since that is primarily why we designed BASE, we do not count that as creative. The most obvious (and by definition least creative) use by individuals is to use the results to plan their business analyst career development. Again, that was the idea that led to the tool and to support that idea, we recommend specific training courses and consulting based on how you score in each knowledge area.
Use It as an Interviewing Tool to Hire Business Analysts
We are working with an organization that might use the tool as one of many components in evaluating potential business analyst hires. Recruiters would look at the tool and be able to structure their questions around the applicants perceived business analysis skill levels. We think that is an excellent and creative use of the tool.
Use It to Get a Job as a Business Analyst
On the other side, assume you the individual are looking for a new job. You could take the evaluation to get your BASE scores, print them out, and take them with you to your next interview. You can actually show the recruiter how confident you are in each business analysis knowledge area and, if their need meets your strengths, you might just be a step closer to that new job (or contract if you are an independent contractor).
Use It to Get a Raise
Assume your Business Analyst Career is thriving and you already have a job as a business analyst. You could take your BASE scores to your boss to impress upon her or him how your qualifications obviously indicate a higher salary. A word of caution: you should only do this if the outcome of the evaluation shows clearly that you are overqualified for your current pay grade. Otherwise, you might use the results to identify areas in which you need to improve before you approach your boss.
Mentor Your Business Analysis Peers
Another neat idea an imaginative visitor suggested was having everyone in her workgroup take the evaluation and compare results. That way, everyone would know who could mentor whom in each knowledge area. In the event that you try this and discover that there are areas in which many do not score well, you might actually use the tool for its intended purpose – namely to identify what training courses we can offer your group to improve your business analysis skills.
Final Disclaimer
Of course, we assume regardless why you take the BASE test that you rate yourself conservatively. It would be embarrassing if you overstated your qualifications and were unable to meet expectations when the rubber meets the road – and you know it will eventually meet the road.
