From Analyst... to Architect  

Victoria Banner, Vicky Rothwell, and Michael Greenhalgh are experienced business analysts who are now business architects.  

In this article they explain why they made the move; discuss some of the challenges involved; and share some useful tips.  

All three are contributing authors to the newly published Business Architecture: A comprehensive guide.  

The Business Analyst Years  

After studying business as her degree, Victoria was a business analyst for many years, rising in seniority and gaining vital experience in product ownership, agile delivery and in business change and transformation along the way.  

Michael joined the HSBC graduate scheme and was attracted to the BA role. He progressed into leading BA teams and mentoring other BAs. He then moved to the British Council as Head of Business Analysis.  

“A proportion of the projects I worked on as a BA were long term transformation projects. I enjoyed seeing the entire process from initial talks through development to going live and post implementation support.”  

Vicky’s first BA role was at Job Centre Plus. She was part of a team which moved beyond the functional requirements to looking at the bigger picture including the business services, their triggers, and the capabilities and solutions that would be needed to deliver the desired outcomes.  

“A friend of mine dared me to apply for senior BA role at Highways Agency. I got the job and was delighted to be part of a team trying to establish a virtual architecture function.”  

Discovering Business Architecture  

During his time as a BA, Michael had already worked in the same team as Enterprise Architects and in a practices team rolling out Lean Six Sigma and Agile, setting performance metrics and standards, so he had a good foundation for business architecture. Like Victoria, he realised he had strengths useful for business architecture – his curiosity about the various parts of the business and the ‘big picture’; his enjoyment of thinking strategically and piecing things together; and his ability to collaborate. Studying for an MBA through the Open University opened his eyes to the transferable skills he had already acquired as a BA.  

When Vicky joined the Highways Agency, her colleagues pointed out to her that she was already ‘doing’ business architecture. With encouragement, she took a business architecture approach within her role, and she loved it. Vicky’s lightbulb moment was when there was a national salt shortage in the UK. Her team had to work with the Department of Transport, designing a solution with end-to-end business architecture.  

Victoria spent time with business architects working on major transformation projects, and loved the approach they took to the work, she realised the business architect role would allow her to lean into her strengths (which included seeing the bigger picture, strategic thinking, and the ability to develop her competencies), Victoria took her postgraduate qualification in strategic management whilst still a BA.  

Making the Move  

In her new role at the Highways Agency, Vicky consolidated her business architecture knowledge and experience whilst retaining her Senior BA job title. She is now a Consultant Enterprise Architect supporting strategy and transformation at Airelogic. Vicky improved her understanding of business architecture through:  

• Gaining the Expert BA Award through BCS.  
• Speaking to respected peers and job shadowing them to understand how best to apply business architecture in the real world.  
• Getting an in-depth understanding of the various architecture reference models and methodologies.  
• Completing the IIBA CBAP award.  

Michael found ways to segue into process improvement and business architecture before he had the formal job title. His Lean Six Sigma training was invaluable providing a data-driven approach, whilst change, strategy and operations management modules and assignments from his MBA were the perfect grounding for Business Architecture. Michael also gained relevant experience through:  

• Working alongside an Enterprise Architecture lead and moving into a more strategic role, as well as building a practice at the British Council.  
• Networking, and speaking, at the BA Conference (where Debra Paul acted as a mentor).  
• Taking the IIBA CBAP with pre-exam support from Adrian Reed and targeted BCS training including Business Architecture and Process Modelling. 
• Moving into Lean and Business improvement lead role at Astra Zeneca, during the pandemic, where he helped develop understanding of application in a quality function.  
• Gaining professional certifications and qualifications, reading widely around the subject (as well as listening to podcasts). Attending conferences. 
• Reading the content and output of the Business Architecture guild.  

“I am now Head of Business Architecture with Places for People. The role requires rounded experience, building a practice focused on business collaboration and performance, alongside strategy and change colleagues.”  

Victoria made her interest in business architecture clear to her leadership team to gain support in making a future transition. She asked to work alongside contracted business architect on modelling activity, capability assessments, mergers, and acquisitions – so that she could gain the knowledge and experience. Other steps Victoria took to gain business architecture expertise included:  

• Taking the Professional certificate in Business Architecture as part of her Advanced BA Diploma. This fed into her growing knowledge base and understanding.  
• Referring to the guidance and principles of the Open Group architecture framework (the main practise model for Enterprise Architecture – which has component of Business Architecture). Also studying materials from the Business Architecture guild.  
• Learning ‘on the job’ from great Enterprise Architects.  

“My experience allowed me to move into my current Business Architect role from Principal BA role a few years ago. I like knowing what is going on across the organisation. I find it a really rewarding role, and it builds on all the relevant BA skills, whilst developing some new ones.”  

The Challenges  

Michael’s organisation recognises business architecture, but he still gives regular presentations to explain its function and to show its value.  

“I explain the advantage of the strategic view, of business architecture sitting outside IT.”  

Victoria found that finding an organisation which supports and values business architecture as a discipline is a challenge.  

“In the early days you can develop imposter syndrome. I had that, particularly in the first few months, even though I had already done the work. When you make the transition, resist slipping back into the detail and mechanics, your old BA habits and ways and comfort zone that provides. I overcame that by drawing on my management experience, taking regular stock and going back to my learnings.”  

Like Victoria, Vicky found there were organisations which do not value business architecture but instead focus on the technology rather than the bigger picture. Vicky is enthusiastic about elevating the business architecture skills set.  

“There is so much to de-bunk! Some people think that business architecture closes Agile down, but it expediates change and helps with scope and impact. You can still gather your requirements in an agile way. People also think that being Architecture led clashes with user led design and service design but in fact the two go hand in hand. Others have the misguided viewpoint that business architecture is just process modelling, but it involves stakeholder engagement, managing people, listening, negotiating agreement and more.”    

Hints and Tips  

Michael, Vicky, and Victoria have produced the following hints and tips for anyone who is interested in moving from business analysis into business architecture.  

• Make it clear to your leadership that you want to move into business architecture. Nobody can support you if you keep your plans in your head. Find someone to champion you.  
• Find the right organisation, one that recognises and values business architecture as a discipline or is open to business architecture.  
• Get along to the Business Architecture conference. Network and learn at the IIBA, IRM and other forums, groups, conferences, and events. Speak to people who are doing the work. The conference scene in the UK is strong, try to get sponsorship to find out what is going on in the industry. Be inquisitive.  
• There is so much great training and knowledge out there. Take the qualifications if you can. Read around the subject. Find good Business Architecture tools, often the creators of the tools publish white papers and articles which are a rich source of information.  
• Experience matters. You need confidence to work at enterprise level and have relationships with leaders. Work with business architects and enterprise architects and learn from them.  
• When you move across, you are moving to take more of a helicopter view. You need to broaden your vision, to understand the ‘why’ and the ‘what for,’ the strategy side. You need to know and be able to explain the difference between a capability, a process, and a service.  
• You will be challenged, especially if you are moving into an organisation where there is no current business architecture capability, so you need to be comfortable with that. You must be confident, personable, and able to explain from a point of understanding. Especially if you are sitting in a technology domain. You must stand your ground with senior stakeholders and other business architects.  

 Business Architecture: A Comprehensive Guide is available from the BCS Online Shop and on Amazon.