Computer Networking

BAs must appreciate the complexity involved in technical networking

A computer network is an interconnected set of computers. This simple definition belies the complexity of the networking systems used in most organizations. A network of computers is created using a sophisticated combination of hardware, operating systems, networking software, and communication protocols. There are many different types of networks: LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network), intranet (internal closed network), extranet (internal network with controlled access by outside parties), and internet (an interconnection among or between public, private, commercial, industrial, or governmental networks). There are IT professionals who specialize in setting up and maintaining networks. These professionals should be consulted on any projects that will utilize networking. Business analysis professionals should be aware of potential networking changes and work with the IT professionals to learn about the ramifications for the project and, most importantly, the business environment.

Data Management

A key technical awareness—BAs must be aware of the importance of information in information systems; ignoring data requirements will guarantee project failure

Every successful organization in the world needs information and a lot of it. Organizations can’t make intelligent decisions about launching a new product without knowing the characteristics of potential customers. Organizations can’t adhere to government regulations without being able to report financial statistics along with descriptions of where those numbers come from. Organizations can’t offer employees benefits without knowing important data about their families. So how do organizations keep track of all of this data? Much of it resides in sophisticated software databases and files that fill billions of bytes of storage on PCs, servers, and mainframes. BAs must understand the importance of data, how it is stored, and more importantly how it is accessed. A BA who does not understand fundamental database concepts may struggle.

To this end, it is imperative that every BA get formal training in data management and database concepts. You don’t need to be able to build a database, but you must know what a database looks like, how it is created, how it can be changed, and how it is used. This fundamental knowledge is the building block upon which much of your technical awareness will rest.

New BAs should familiarize themselves with their organization’s data management approach and with concepts like data integrity; conceptual, logical, and physical data modeling; relational database structures; data dictionary; data warehouse and business intelligence systems; data mart; database access methods; and data security issues. Find out which database management systems are in use in your organization (e.g., Oracle® or SQL Server®). It is not critical that you understand a particular database management system, but it is important that you know what a relational database looks like (see the next section) and where they are used in your organization.

BAs will be asking questions like:

• Who owns the data? How is this ownership maintained?

• How is the data used? Why is it maintained?

• What volume of data is expected?

• What is the data’s “golden” source? How many places is this data stored?

• How is data mapped after a merger?

• How will data be converted from a legacy system to a new Web application?

• How often does data change?

• How often is data in the data warehouse refreshed? Is real-time data needed?