How to build and manage a star BA team

Many organizations today have Business analysis teams and many more organizations are realizing the value of having a dedicated BA team.

As a BA manager, how do you really build up a star BA team?

We do have our own business analysis team and applied these principles to create a highly performing BA team. The framework that we have chosen is INSPIRE.

Each letter in this word provides us a suggestion.

• I, I for ignite.

Many of us would have heard an interesting story in which it is said that if a pack of lions are led by a dog they will behave like dogs and never win. Whereas if a pack of dogs are led by a lion, they actually behave like a lion. If you do not show passion for business analysis, it's really unlikely that the BA team will be inspired.

Business analysis as a profession is to take the organization to greater heights and that is the process in which you contribute to your organization and you can contribute to your customer success.

• N, N for nurture.

As a leader, you need to nurture your team. You need to understand the team’s strengths and weaknesses and make sure that you provide them constant guidance so that they improve over time. We hired professionals who were completely unaware of business analysis processes, tools, and skills, they have turned out to be fantastic business analysts over a period of time.

• S, S is for Suggest.

Let's all remember that what we're doing today, there are possible improvements in our business analysis process to make our business analysis processes more effective and more efficient.

• P, P for Provide.

As a leader, it’s our duty to provide the necessary infrastructure for business analysis. These may include BA tools. Fortunately, today, there are plenty of open-source, free and low-cost tools available to aid business analysis activities.

• I, I stands for Improve.

We are as good as our team. Unless our team is competent to perform, we are not going to perform well. It’s worth-while to remember that team competence can be improved through training and certification and giving them the opportunity to practice new things.

• R, R for Reward.

We must reward successes and efforts. The reason why we did not say only word success because, in the business analysis world project, we have projects which are experimental in nature. It's not necessary that every project will be a success. Always remember that you must reward not only successes but also efforts put in by your team.

• E, E for Engage.

It’s a must for every leader to stay connected to his or her team. Make sure that you understand the challenges that the BA team faces and remove as many obstacles as possible given the constraints of the organization.