January is a month where many people reflect on their careers and make plans for the forthcoming year. It is a natural time to take stock of the previous year's goals, consider what personal and professional development to pursue, and put an action plan together.  

Yet, the best of intentions yields little benefit unless actually followed. As anyone who is a member of a gym will know, there's usually a peak of new members in January. By February, a significant proportion of those people have stopped visiting. Just as having an annual gym membership but not actually attending is unlikely to lead to improved health, writing a professional development plan but not actually following through is unlikely to lead to improvement either!

The Benefit of Incremental Gains in Professional Development

One challenge when setting goals is that success seems so far away, and it can feel like a huge step-change is required. It's tempting to think that a large, one-off, transformational change is required. A business analyst who decides to hone their data modelling skills might initially think a five-day training course is the only way. Of course, finding the budget (and the time) will be a challenge, and it is all too easy to defer the goal because 'things are too busy…'.  Let's face it, things always feel too busy, don't they?

While a one-off training course could be an effective option, it might be equally effective to make small, daily changes. As with compound interest, a small but incremental investment in professional development might look insignificant in the short-term… but in the long term it makes a huge difference. Twenty minutes a day, across 200 days a year represents an impressive 67 hours of development (or around 8 days). And, since knowledge is being gained alongside work, it can be applied straight away.

Asking questions such as "What small change can I make each day to improve?" leads to many other options being identified. Spending twenty or thirty minutes a day reading relevant books, articles or watching videos will incrementally build knowledge (be sure to check our free learning zone for some inspiration!). Alternatively, conducting self-paced e-learning over a few months might be a practical option, leading to a shorter, more focussed training course taken later in the year.

Putting Knowledge into Practice

After accumulating knowledge, it's then important to gain experience through practice. This goes with any type of professional development—if knowledge isn't put into practice quickly it has a habit of evaporating quickly! Again, this can be undertaken incrementally, investing just a few minutes each day.

Examples could include:

Applying a BA tool or technique to a previous project

•   Take a tool or technique and apply it in retrospect to your last project. How would you have used it? In what contexts would it have been most useful?

Seeking peer review

•    Use an unfamiliar technique on a current project and ask for a colleague with more experience to conduct a peer-review. This is a particularly good way of 'learning by doing' as it involves peer-led feedback.

Presenting a new technique back to your team

•    Once a technique has been learned, there is huge benefit in presenting it to others (alongside examples). Presenting a technique to others, and answering questions about it, will highlight any gaps in practical knowledge. This could be an opportunity to present at a team meeting, community of practice event, or even at an external BA community event.

Think Broadly, Learn Incrementally

It's key to think broadly about development opportunities. There are often a whole range of opportunities to develop and utilise new skills, particularly when an incremental approach to development is taken. By thinking broadly and learning incrementally, and making a manageable plan and sticking to it, your professional development ambitions are likely to feel far more achievable.

Good luck with your 2023 goals!

Looking to update your BA toolkit? Check out AssistKD's wide choice of business analysis courses.