Justin Anniroot advocates business analysis for tactically linking strategic formulation through the practical implementation of organisational strategy.
Justin Anniroot is a management professional, having held senior positions in the banking and IT consulting sectors. His specialities are in business analysis and business architecture.
Justin’s experience empowers him to draw on the relevant understanding in order to exploit opportunities that align to the overarching strategies within organisations. He has passion and energy while also possessing a strong work-ethic, and the positions he held are a testament and portrayal of his dynamism.
Congratulations on your recent talk at the Business Analysis Summit Southern Africa, it was well received by many. For those who weren’t fortunate to attend, could you give us a synopsis of what your presentation was about?
Thank you Joe. It was a privilege to be afforded the opportunity to speak at the summit. I’m glad that the presentation was well received.
In a nutshell, my presentation related to organisational strategy and how it is implemented in practice through business analysis. I undertook in academic research and SME interviews regarding strategy and business analysis in order to understand their underlying constructs or themes. What I found was that
… organisational strategy involves strategic formulation/planning while business analysis involves strategic implementation.
This highlighted that strategy and business analysis are concepts which have a significant linkage.
The topic is clearly an area that you are personally passionate about. Why do you feel this subject is relevant and important for the business analysis profession?
I’ve work on strategic initiatives across several companies. My key interest in strategy has always been the implementation of strategy and the role that business analysis plays in this. There is a common perception that I have observed in the business analysis community that strategy is pie in sky or blue sky thinking which has little bearing on daily activity on the ground. I find this perception of strategy strange because
… the value of a strategic plan is achieved when it is translated into action, stemming from business analysis and the implementation of projects.
Having shared your ideas with the business analysis community. What key points would you like people to take-away, reflect and act upon?
- Firstly, strategy is thinking about the bigger picture. It’s easy to get caught up with the daily obstacles in the business units that we seldom take time to think about the organisation as a whole, the industry and the external environment.
- Secondly, all projects should be justified by some form of business case.
- Thirdly, build reports and KPIs into our specifications that allow us to measure if projects realise the benefits promised in the business case.
- Lastly, business analyst’s tend to change the organisation and therefore people’s jobs significantly so be aware that change management is a process, not an event.
Business analysis summit spoiled in terms of the learning and networking opportunities. What was your greatest personal insight taken from the business analysis conference?
The keynote speakers were fantastic. What I found intriguing was that they highlighted
… the importance of business analyst’s to conduct ourselves in a manner which adds credibility to us as individuals as well as to the business analysis community as a whole.
The IIBA-SA launched 9 years ago from humble beginnings and grown tremendously. At the conference, I felt like one of the “lost generation” because I started my business analyst career before the IIBA-SA existed and have not contributed to the community up till now. I encourage both the old and new generations to participate in the community.
Having been a first time speaker at local business analysis events. What words of encouragement do you have for people who may be considering presenting in future?
To be honest, at first I was a bit reluctant to speak at the conference. I mean, what message could I possibly give to the business analyst community that would add value to the jobs that they already do so well on a daily basis? As I worked for months on my presentation, I realised that
… each of us in the business analyst community are like a piece of a puzzle. We each have our unique background, experience and diversity that affords us a different perspective of common topics.
Your unique perspective will add value to the community as a whole.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Yes, there’s another insight from the conference that I would like to share. Coming from an engineering background, I’ve always placed the most emphasis on technical skill such as spec quality, requirements traceability and minimal defects. At the BA summit a great emphasis was placed on the soft skills in business analysis such as conflict resolution, teamwork, networking and stakeholder management. I’m glad that soft skills are covered by the IIBA-SA because my experience as business analyst manager is that
… it’s the soft skills combined with technical insight that will ultimately be the catalyst to career progression for a business analyst.
Download Justin Anniroot‘s slide-deck from BA Summit SA 2016 to get more insight about Practical Implementation Of Organisational Strategy. Share your experiences for the practical implementation of organisational strategy with @Newbert over on Twitter.
