Introducing Zen Diagrams
An unapologetic view of professional life as a “business analyst”
This blog started as an exercise in writing, and its topic was options trading strategies. Simply put I needed a creative output and my hobby was, and remains, trading stock options. My strategies humbly doubled my retirement portfolio in less than four years. Rather than trying to explain via text message and phone calls with my kids and friends, it was both easier and more fun to write about it.
There are many day trader dudes writing about the topic and most of them are trying to lure the readers into a paid newsletter subscription or a $999 one day only special offer for a weekend get rich quick seminar.
Here’s my stock advice:
If you find a winning strategy, that’s your business - you’re only winning because nobody is doing what you’re doing
Play small ball - making 1% 95% of the time is a better strategy than making 95% only 1% of the time
Going forward there will be the occasional option trading tip. It is my other passion. Recently I’ve learned to embrace the thing that has kept me employed for decades and has enabled me to build a retirement portfolio that will ensure I do not “work” a day past my 59th half birthday. By embracing my role as what is commonly called a “business analyst” (BA) I’ve reached the following arrogant conclusion: Nobody does what I do as well as I do it.
Everyone’s got to be good at something.
Pivoting
Going forward this blog will cover topics relevant to business analysts, specifically those in the world of creative / digital agencies whose primary deliverable is some type of web site or mobile application. There are thousands of us in this role.
Most of us are at best ignored. Among our project teams, very few understand the our role nor can they quantify the value we add. If I had a dollar for every time I was instructed to “gather requirements” or asked “what are the requirements?” I would indeed be retired by now. Similarly, as we get into the lingo of the job, I could make the same argument for every time my effectiveness was a perceived perception of my aptitude with Jira.
Job Titles
We go by many titles. To explain here is a quick recap of my 30+ year career. After a four year stint in inside sales as a national account rep, I went to college for economics. In college I discovered a passion and aptitude for writing and rounded out those years working as a tech journalist and a managing editor of a magazine. From there I went into technical writing, which naturally led to the role we now know as business analyst. Sandwiched in there I worked in a group that did business process management, which was absolutely compelling.
At some point I landed in a small agency where I picked up user experience (UX) design, which I loved doing. However, work was sparse and it was much easier to remain on the BA track. Other titles I’ve assumed are:
Functional Analyst
Business Consultant
Digital Product Manager
Digital Product Owner
Information Architect
All of these titles do the same thing. Similarly I’ve also called myself a product designer, business practitioner, Design Thinker, or simply … analyst.
The Name - Zen Diagrams
My first career attempt failed. I wanted to be the Bob Dylan of my generation, which is Generation X (the demographic, not the band). This is why I started college on the wrong side of 25 after my songwriting and recording career fizzled. As a creative person I was constantly, and continue to, play with words.
In an economics class in 1996 I wrote “freak-o-nomics” in the sidebar of my notebook and thought nothing of it until years later when a real economist and a real journalist wrote a book of a similar title. This has grown into a small podcast empire and book franchise. About a decade ago I Dubner and Levitt at a book signing where I joked I would not pursue legal action.
Among the many wordplays scattered throughout the notebooks, Post-Its, and index cards that in my physical space is with the Zen Diagrams pun. It is however a near perfect name for what we do.
The few who describe us correctly think of us as the liaison between the business (abstract and creative) and “technology” (practical and defined). Venn diagrams are one of the many graphic representations we use to communicate concepts to our teams. Zen is… hell I still don’t know, but it’s some kind of way of being that’s connected to everything.
Going Forward
At this point let’s begin renaming the business analyst to product manager. Much can be said for what product manager does, and much will be said here on Zen Diagrams, however, going forward I will most likely use the title of business analyst when describing the current broken state. Product manager, and interchangeably “digital product manager,” will be used to describe how we should present ourselves and be seen.
I am still actively employed in this line of work; most of my commentary will cover ongoing struggles and in-flight projects. No clients or individuals will be named.
The world’s BAs need to evolve into proactive, confident digital product managers. Furthermore, the world needs more product managers. The better we get at our jobs the more nice things we all can have. This is not hyperbole. My goal here is to share my experiences and teach the next generation of BAs to be product managers so I can settle into the aforementioned retirement.