I am very pleased to be able to introduce Yasas Vishuddhi Abeywickrama, today’s Interview with an IT Professional. Yasas is a Business Analyst/Consultant. Originally from Sri Lanka, Yasas has worked in various locations around the world. Yasas is an International award winner from Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA, UK) and holds an honours degree in Computer Science from the University of Columbo. Yasas has authored a book on IT and has his very own blog. Yasas is also active in the IT community, and this year is on the Branch Executive Committee of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Computer Society. For more information on Yasas, please visit his blog: http://yasasva.blogspot.com/index.html
Your current role is as a Business Analyst/Consultant. How would you describe the role of a Business Analyst?
I have my famous example to explain the BA role, i.e. The Business Analyst is the bridge between the software developers and the business. These two shores work differently and speak their own languages. The BA comes in to marry these two ends being very understanding about both sides.
At the beginning of this industry, computer programmers used to gather requirements but time proved that most systems had issues with identification of the real business requirements and aligning systems with business objectives, so BAs came into the picture as unbiased professionals to fill this gap and today almost everyone accepts the fact that BAs are essential for crucial business systems. Even though BAs don’t write code, their contribution is mission critical.
Being more specific, in a nutshell we gather, analyse and document the requirements to propose the best business problem solving systems to improve the business processes in order to meet the business objectives in a feasible way.
What components of being a Business Analyst appeals to you?
Overall, I like everything about the BA role. Certain aspects of it get highlighted based on the specific project and the given scenario. However, the best part for me is the interaction I build up with the users or the client interfacing side of it. It opens doors to deal with many people who have different interests, motives and objectives. This is the greatest challenge for a BA where your negotiation, analytical and communication skills play a vital role. Change management is also an area that I love. When I am challenged by such tense situations and require speedy solutions, I feel I work at my best than on a lull slow phase.
A lot of people when they think of IT, they think of a career that involves sitting in front of a computer, day in and day out; writing code. How different to the perception most people have of IT, is a career as a Business Analyst?
Thanks so much for asking this question! That’s a ball I love playing at! This is one of the main things I want to get across to the IT community.
There are so many people who don’t take into IT assuming that it is technical, specially the ladies and people who have prior exposure to non-IT business operations. My message is that IT is not entirely technical but there are so many facets to it. There is something for everyone and all of these are just as important as coding. I started as a programmer myself, but figured out that it wasn’t for me.
BA is the link between the technical developers and the business, so we don’t code all day or sit in front of a computer at all times, but still provide a critical service to the success of IT systems. This awareness is something we need to work on especially at university level, so that we encourage more and more young people from different backgrounds into the industry.
What advice would you give to someone if they wanted to become a Business Analyst?
The most critical thing is the attitude, you have to have a friendly approach and be able to build strong relationships with just about anyone. You never know who your client/business representative/business user would be. So, whilst developing your professionalism it’s important to build-up your ability to mingle with people.
A good attitude is not going to get you far if you don’t get your basics right. Be it the business or IT, know your basics. Sometimes, you get to do requirements analysis in a business where you are not an expert, but if you know your basics, it’s easy to get adopted to and catch-up with things. You need to know about IT solutions and where the industry is at and where it’s heading. How can you advice others if you don’t know those yourself?
Building trust is vital so be honest. If you don’t know something, say so and talk to the appropriate people to learn. If you cant/don’t deliver something, tell early and explain reasons.
Be inquisitive. Improve analytical skills. You need to analyse a lot of underlying business processes to propose new solutions, for which you need to think of every detail and ask the right questions from the right people at the right times.
Be a good planner. You are going to be a multi-tasker. So improve the organizing skills. I personally am a very detailed planner, in and out of work. Whilst I plan every detail at work, I do the same for my personal stuff. I have a plan for everything and think of all the relevant resources, risks and opportunities in order to achieve set objectives. My opinion is that, if you improve those personal habits, you are going to deploy those at work.
Be a lifetime learner. This is very critical! This industry grows at a speed that our previous generation can’t even imagine. If you don’t read and learn, you are going to miss out. The IT train is not stopping to see whether you have dropped off!
Apart from this, have fun! Balance your work-life well. Spend time for the society and the IT industry. It’s going to take you places you never imagined. If you do something good, you are going to be rewarded no matter what.
Throughout your career you have worked in the USA, UK, Sri Lanka, and Australia. What are some of the challenges you have faced by working in the different countries?
I think it’ll be appropriate to explain a bit about my background here, because when most people read my profile, they ask how and why type of questions.
I was born and grew up in the beautiful island of Sri Lanka as a normal local boy and I studied in local schools and attended a local university. Of course I played some cricket as well, even though I wasn’t a Sanath Jayasuriya! I come from a not-so wealthy but an affectionate and respectable family. My father is a very senior pubic administrator heading the Sri Lankan Plantation Ministry, which includes tea, yes Ceylon Tea! And he has dedicated all his life to serve the country and I think he set examples for me from an early age. My first chance at seeing the outside world was when my hard work was rewarded by an international award from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) in London, by which time I was half way through the university.
Coming from such a background, it was not that easy to adjust into different countries and cultures. But, I knew what I was doing and what I needed to do. As long as you do your job convincingly, people like to help you out.
I went to the USA and the UK when I worked for my previous employer Virtusa, a USA based Software Company which had branches in the UK, India and Sri Lanka. As a BA, I went onsite to gather requirements and work closely with the clients. The UK stint was with the British Telecom. In an offshore model, we basically talk about a round-the-clock working model which is a result of the time difference between the countries. This created a lot of challenges starting from long hours, getting up at mid night for meetings to communication obstacles such as explaining screen designs over teleconferences.
Cultural differences also created some challenges, but I think I managed to face them successfully. First thing is to get adjusted and understand different accents and the use of words/phrases. For a BA, every expression is important, if a user uses a specific expression to show disgust about a system functionality which is not used elsewhere, we need to be very good at picking those up because that tells a big story, which you need to be aware of and also take care of.
The other challenge to date has been keeping close with my family and friends and the constant disruption to a settled life. New technology has made life better, but there is no alternative to the actual presence!
What skills and experience have you gained by working overseas?
It gives a lot of experiences and exposure and also brings many disadvantages such as living away from family and friends. The best lesson I have learnt by travelling extensively is that it’s humans who live everywhere, as long as you be nice to them, they will be nice to you.
I experienced better working patterns and better use of technology. Meeting the challenge of time difference, different working patterns, language differences, cultural differences are some of the other valuable experiences. I have improved my ability to adjust to different environments quickly by this. I also learnt to respect each and every individual as I figured out that every society has unique features and is different to one another, but still it’s the same blood that runs inside!
As well as your role as a Business Analyst, you are very active in the IT community, whether it is on your blog or by being on the South Australian Branch Executive Committee (BEC) of the Australian Computer Society (ACS). What is it that drives you to do more for the IT industry, than just perform your job?
I think this is a part of my character. I have been a social animal ever since I was in school. I am driven by being involved in social activities. Also as an IT professional I have a passion for what I’m doing so naturally it gives me a higher self satisfaction to be involved in good causes in the IT industry. The key thing for me is to be a help for someone. Those are my objectives when writing things or doing something for the industry.
Apart from this, the social work and my job complements each other and it helps to broaden my understanding about the society. It’s a way of balancing your work-life as well. The support I get from my wife, Sasani in all these activities is immense.
An author of an IT book, a writer of many technical documents and articles, and your blog, all demonstrate your strong writing abilities. How has writing helped you with your career?
I started to write to Sri Lankan papers on IT related subjects in a simple language, and my objective was to take some of the fascinating things of it to the general audiences. Some of these articles were published in international conferences as well, but that was just a by-result. Later, I collected those articles and published as a book. Well, it’s not meant for IT gurus though.
About my writing skills, I don’t think I have the best writing ability, to be honest. In the first place, my first language is not English and I don’t come from an English speaking family or a school. But through education and my personal effort, I have tried to build it up and I am still improving it. However, the skill I already have has helped me greatly in my career. As much as you talk as a BA, you have to write as well because you are responsible for documentation. For a developer, deliverables are software modules, for a BA it’s documents. So, the more I write outside of work, it makes better inside work.
What was the name of the book and how can people get a copy?
The name of the book is ‘A bit of BIT’. The articles in this book can be categorised into the high-level topic of Business Information Technology (BIT), however, since it’s a collection of articles, it doesn’t cover the full breadth of BIT, hence the name! If someone wants a copy, please drop me an email at “vishuabey@yahoo.com“.
Where do you see your career taking you next?
To be honest, I am on the verge of a big career move! Obviously, it will be in the same track but I am planning to move towards a more consultancy role within Business Analysis. Fingers crossed on the move….. I don’t think I will ever move to a total management role, even though I can. I feel that managing projects without really being involved in the business/IT process is not so rewarding for me. So, once I move to a consultancy role, I think I will try to build up in the same lines.
What would you like to achieve that you haven’t already?
Well, I am not satisfied on the service I have done to the IT industry yet. It’s still been a very short journey and I think I need to do more with regard to that aspect. I would like to be a part of a few large critical projects, which could change the way the majority of the people live for the better. I would also like to travel to more different countries around the globe! I also want to do some higher studies as well. There are endless possibilities so you never know where life can take you.
If you could change anything about the IT industry, what would it be?
I would like to see IT being available at affordable prices. Still the benefits of IT are luxuries and not basics in most parts of the world. I come from a country where IT really hasn’t been embraced into the day to day lives of people even though there’s a strong IT industry servicing the international market. Government services don’t use IT effectively, the main reason being the cost, which is un-affordable. So, I would like to see that changed.
