Project Manager vs Business Analyst — a role mix-up or an identity crisis!
I remember, when I almost figured out what a BA actually does, that was also the time where I confused it with a PM role.
And, to be honest, sometimes they both look extremely familiar in their day-to-day activities, which is a pretty frequent scenario for a person who is new to this field.
Let’s take a closer look at their distinctive jobs before delving further into their similarities and differences.
A business analyst is someone who knows the industry inside and out, can identify its issues, and can find creative solutions.
A Project Manager is a person who initiates, executes and completes a project (set of predefined tasks to achieve a particular goal) and makes sure it is achievable.
Projects are actually initiated to achieve the organizational goals and a Business Analyst jumps in with their solutions to make sure it happens.
A Project Manager’s top priority is that the team completes all tasks more effectively, on schedule, within budget, and using the resources that have been allotted, whereas a Business Analyst is more focused on the final result.
Here’s a typical conversation between a PM and a BA😄
PM: “We have to complete this task in this sprint”.
BA: “But this is quite a big chunk which needs some time for the developers to implement”.
PM: “We have to keep in mind the time constraint or else we’ll lose the client’s trust”.
BA: “We’ll lose their trust anyway if the quality of the product degrades”.
BA & PM — separating both roles
A BA and a PM clearly have different tasks and priorities, so it is best to keep their roles separate.
When undertakings are large and fraught with risks, separate roles are expected. The more components in the product, the more dedicated resources will be needed to handle it.
If the impact due to a change in the existing product, or the creation of a new product/service, is major, then it’s best to have a separate BA who can assess the AS-IS and TO-BE situation for better acceptance, and a separate PM who can plan for all contingencies (an unpredictable future circumstance).
It is more advantageous to keep both roles aligned towards their separate goals when a project has several iterations (amount of time reserved for development), versions, and ambiguous criteria that keeps changing, causing disagreements among stakeholders.
One should look at the project, while the other should look at the product.
Taking an example of my very first telecom project, which involved a great risk and was a never ending project. A small mistake in telecom networking can cause a huge downtime and millions of dollars of loss (sometimes a life risk too).
Given the stringency (quality of being very severe) of the project, a separate PM assisted the entire team in keeping all stakeholders informed up front regarding the timeline and budget, while a BA assisted the internal team of network engineers in monitoring the quality of service they were delivering to ensure the final result is achieved without any losses or technical limitations.
P.S. - Timeline is a major constraint here, as delegating a network deployment to any later date can cause a huge number of additional costs.
BA and PM — combining both roles
Although a single individual fulfilling the roles of Project Manager and Business Analyst is not particularly typical, it does occasionally occur in cases of smaller, less hazardous projects, where a dedicated resource cannot be afforded owing to financial and time constraints.
As long as it doesn’t significantly affect numerous business divisions, I think it is occasionally acceptable to have one individual perform both responsibilities.
If the requirements are clear and simple to comprehend, and everyone is on the same page, then both the BA and PM roles can be addressed concurrently while still taking into account the time and cost element and ensuring that everyone benefits from the final product.
Taking an another example of my previous project, our Project Manager left the organization during the last few remaining sprints. Due to time restrictions to hire a new resource and considering no such risk since the project is almost at the end, I supported both roles at the same time.
I made sure to keep my team on track with what they had to do and also updated my stakeholders in a timely manner about our progress.
Although there were few additional responsibilities for me, such as initiating every meeting with stakeholders whether its about timeline or product, keeping track of our product roadmap, presenting every week’s update in our sync up call with end stakeholders, etc., but I felt all these enhanced my knowledge and capability as how I can take myself ahead while dealing with business people.
BA & PM — overlapping roles
I suppose I gave a number of characteristics above that can clearly distinguish between BA and PM roles. But the reality is different.
As you delve deeper, you’ll notice more and more overlap between the two.
By overlap, I mean the areas where both the BA and the PM have to get their hands dirty, such as when preparing business analysis work, going through the RFP process, establishing business needs and scope, etc.
Here is a very basic approach that takes place for a project to get started:
“Who will define the business need”, one wonders now?
Both BA and PM will undoubtedly respond with their names if you ask them separately.
And why not, given that a BA has a complete understanding of business, can recognise business challenges or possibilities, and can then offer a solution in line with those needs. This will also serve as the foundation for their future requirements.
On the other hand, a PM has to look at whether the project is going to solve a real business problem or not, as it will be the deciding factor for their success or failure. Hence, a business need is also a project’s foundation.
Same goes with a business case, where both BA and PM want to get involved as it will compare and define the amount of money, relief and risks associated with the identified solutions to the business problems.
A sponsor is generally responsible for creating a project charter document, but they do it in the presence of both BA and PM since it will include high level detailing about the project.
At the end, scope is again something in both the BA and PM domains — the BA will be responsible for solution and product scope (what is needed to solve the problem) and a PM will make sure the project scope (project planning) is well articulated.
Project and product overlap can occasionally lead to disagreements over which set of activities belongs to whose domain and can give the other party a false impression of knowledge.
But it’s not impossible to avoid, either. Whether it’s a Business Analyst or a Project Manager, they should understand that they both are supporting pillars to each other. The main aim for both of them is to provide solution to the business problem within certain limits.
It depends on how collaborative they both are. Giving an example of my current project:
We are a team of more than 40 people since our project is 4–5 years long and a risky assignment. Each sub-team has their designated set piece to work on. Under each sub-team, we have a product manager, business analyst and scrum master.
Now, the whole sub-team sits together and discusses the product features, communicates them to the designers and works on them with the developers. Our product manager focuses on the timelines and sets aside the priorities, which is his strength. And as a Sr. BA, I focus on researching what is currently happening in the market and how we can enhance our product with efficient features.
At the end of the day, it’s a collaboration between both our strengths to make sure we deliver the expected end product within an agreed timeline.
In conclusion, I just want to point out that even if the duties of a BA and PM appear to be diametrically opposite, their ultimate purpose is somewhat converging at a shared bridge.
So rather than getting confused about the responsibilities of both roles, I would suggest you take part in each other’s day-to-day activities, whenever possible, to recognize the value-add that the individual brings to the table.
For more insights on the most common doubts and problems of aspiring BAs, follow Bhavini Sapra.
