I am novice with the use of blog. However, I am all excited to have my first blog ever on Business Analysis – Gathering requirements and Multiculturalism. I have been a Business Analyst for approximately 10 years and always been fascinated by the impact of properly understanding the message sent by the people you are communicating with.
I am currently living in Canada. This country is the perfect example of multiculturalism. People are coming from all over the world to live and work in our Country. I myself moved from Europe to Canada 16 years ago. Every immigrant has its own background and way of dealing with people and situations. However, in the work place we usually are still thinking that everybody will have to follow one pattern and one mind.
We are all different. Even coming from the same family, we do not necessarily think, express ourselves, react the same way. So imagine when the people you are dealing with are from different countries, different cultural backgrounds. Our world is global no doubt about it. But, when involved in gathering requirements, have we as Business Analyst really tackled and taken into consideration that the people in front of us are different. We learn the techniques to gather information, to communicate with our Business and IT contacts. But do we really learn the human side of Business Analysis.
While taking a course or reading books about gathering requirements, we learn how to properly analyze, document requirements. The main item is to use our listening skills to capture the essence of the requirements. But are we really capturing the requirements even after validating them? Are we really trying to understand the people behind the message they are sending us? Are we really opening a door or gate to have more and appropriate information. Within the BA program, I have not really seen a course focused on people and communication. Sure, we have courses about communication but they are more focused on presentation skills.
With the different approaches (i.e.: phone, e-mail, video conference) in mind, I think it is quite important to have as much as possible face to face discussions. You can better adjust your gathering requirements sessions when you see people and how they react and feel. Within the company I am working for, I am personally tempted to start a survey to show the different backgrounds we have. This is not to have stats but also to open doors to an easier communication and explanation of our cultural differences.
I would like to know if you ever experience situations where you felt that you were missing something in the communication with your Business or IT contacts.
Thanks and hope to see your comments soon
