Happily Imperfect Work

The Accidental BA

I wrote this piece for the BA Digest, replicating here for posterity.

I wasn’t always a Business Analyst.

I started my working life as a technical administrator; essentially a technical dogsbody for a small I.T. firm, a bit of database work here, a bit of user documentation there, and it was the latter that took me into the world of Technical Communications. It was in Tech Comms I flourished, grew a career, became a manager, spoke at conferences, and eventually slide sideways into what I refer to as my B.A. adjacent years. I wasn’t yet a Business Analyst but I worked with, and managed, a couple of great B.A.s within my team, learned a lot from them, and realised that my career built on writing technical documentation wasn’t all that different, it was just at a different point in the software development process.

Technical writers who create user documentation (think user guides) based on the solution that is being built, are known to be user-focussed and look to provide instructions to get the most value from a process or system whilst understanding the end goal the user has in mind. Sound familiar? Shift that thinking to before the solution is being built and, et voila, hello Business Analysis. As I made the transition in career so too did some of the writing team as well, and we ended up creating a user documentation driven development process; the developers would use the pre-written documentation as part of the requirements to help build the solution, it worked well in tandem with some artefacts from test driven development processes.

That transition took place at one company over many years but eventually redundancy arrived and, after a couple of months of taking stock (essentially a holiday and a lot of trips to the cinema during the day), eventually I needed a job, saw a contract role for a Business Analyst and thought, well why not! The interview was fascinating, lasted about 8 minutes and consisted of me being asked what I thought a B.A. did, to which I respond something about figuring out the As Is is, and what the To Be could be, and was told that was all they needed to ask me… and 10 years later I’m a Business Analyst.

I don’t have any formal qualifications, and if I’m honest I feel a bit long in the tooth for that these days. I have been an Operations Manager, worked with Product Managers, Technical Architects, Software Developers, Testers, Technical Writers, UX Designers, Business Managers, Team Leaders, team members, end users, and people on a production floor. What I’ve learned about being a B.A. I’ve learned by observing how things can be done, what doesn’t work, and critically how to understand who needs to know what.

It also means that I don’t adhere to any specific methodology as I didn’t learn to be a B.A. by following one. Like the best Agile development teams will borrow and adapt from different Agile processes, rather than adhering to the given rules of, say, Extreme Programming, or SCRUM, I think the best B.A. teams do the same, tweaking and adjusting common working processes to best suit their needs. I think being able to flex your approach, and focussing on value add, has been a key mindset that has helped me in my career so far.

This is not news to you, we all adapt how we work to the environment, the processes, and the people, we work with. It’s impossible to make every environment fit within a rigid methodology. To those who determinedly hold to a specific practice and the processes it entails I ask this, do all of the things you do offer value? Are there some parts of your processes that you are doing because it’s just what is done? As B.A.s we challenge this thinking regularly with others, but how often do we look at ourselves and how we work?

My career path is atypical, and I’ve always had a problem following rules, and whilst all of what I know I’ve learned on the job, I think I’ve weaved a good enough path through the myriad of different views and voices telling me how to do my job. I’ve still got a lot to learn no doubt, but I’ve googled, I’ve asked colleagues, I’ve read books (yes that book!), and articles and I think I’m ok at my job. I’m also always happy to learn and improve, something my time as an Operations Manager taught me well; a good retrospective is a powerful thing.

I have a personal motto, I’ve had it for many years now, Keep It Simple (Stupid). That last word isn’t the insult some take it to be either, or at least I don’t take it that way, rather I look at it as an instruction, to keep things simple for people who aren’t as skilled as others, or as I’ve heard it called, be stupid in context. I’m stupid when it comes to welding, but a welder isn’t. It’s an important mindset for a B.A. I think, to keep some humility and remember the “curse of knowledge” (hat tip to Chip and Dan Heath for that phrase).

I have enjoyed my time as a Business Analyst, through a myriad of responsibilities and processes at Virgin Money, to my current role with Golden Charter. I am happy that I can bring both experience and some knowledge but, and I think most importantly, I bring a mindset of challenging how things are done, poking and prodding at processes for improvements, both within our team and for the wider business. I’ve been very lucky to have worked with very gracious and intelligent people along the way too, so whilst I didn’t start my career as a Business Analyst, it feels like I finally landed in the right role for how my brain works.

So I’ll keep learning as I go, I’ll keep challenging practices and processes, and do my very best to keep things as simple as possible. It’s how I work best.

May 13, 2025

Some more about me

Recently I was interviewed for an article, about me, that was posted on our company website. Me. I’ve only been there a year! Apparently they must think I’m very interesting (which I am, to me).

I was, of course, able to provide more dazzling insights into my suave and considered life – if you are really really bored you can read it here – but it struck me how much of me I didn’t mention.

Not one mention of my sparkling wit and sarcastic repartee, not a hint of my support of all people everywhere to be happy (I am still learning but consider myself an ally to all), nothing about my writing and my love of words, and very little about how much of a geek I truly am, yet it was still most definitely an article about me.

Like most personal websites, I have an About Me page that I add/edit now and then, and obviously this entire blog is about me, my life, my opinions, my decisions, my likes and dislikes and everything in between. I have no issue sharing all of this (in case you hadn’t noticed).

It is a little odd to read about oneself in an article like this though, but I take some solace that it does sound like me and overall I think it paints a fairly accurate picture of the version of myself I portray at work. Thankfully, being a bit older, my work self and my home self aren’t all that different these days so it’s nice to be working in a place where I can feel like that, as well as feeling actually valued.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m presuming there will be a few more eyes on this silly little blog so I’d better go give it a dusting!

July 17, 2024

1 year at Allied

It’s been a year since I returned to the world of the salaried, and to working in an office (three days a week) and I’m happy I made the right decision.

It’s been a fun, challenging year, but I think I’ve made the transition well; it’s been an adjustment for sure but I knew that, and part of me enjoys being in an office again – I didn’t realise how much I missed the camaraderie – although I still prefer working at my desk at home, next to a window (that I control), with my own coffee, and music but hey, life is a series of compromises and I’ve worked in much worse locations.

I joined a very small team doing very big things and that has meant, as I expected, that my experience has been useful at times but a cause of inner frustration at others. I can see where we need to get to from a business point of view, but for now I am contenting myself with the knowledge that we are building good things that will add value to the business and in time will build into a comprehensive set of improvements across all areas of … ok enough of the business talk! Basically, a lot of what we are doing is moving parts of the business away from spreadsheets and paper, challenging some of their existing processes as we move to a fully digital system. It’s challenging but rewarding work, especially as even the smallest of changes can have a large impact that is felt immediately.

It’s a world away from working on a big software project for months that the business end up not implementing anyway (coughs CYB).

It’s also been a lot of fun to be part of a company that is still growing, still performing better month on month, and still has plans for massive growth; add to that the family/entreprenurial spirit and things happen and change fast around here! Again from working in places where changes took months, at Allied we are able to pivot at speed and that’s usually a good sign for the future.

Of course there are downsides, with a small team, who is still ‘immature’ in process and not all that mature in industry years either, there are still things we need to improve on, and we find ourselves resource constrained a little too often given the ambitious plans we have, but even that has started to change in the year I’ve been here, with many good discussions helping to get better alignment between internal teams.

All in all it’s been a good first year. It’s a friendly place to work and given the industry we work in, I know we are making palpable changes to our customers lives, it’s something that is always there in the background, there’s always a sense of ‘for the greater good’. I don’t think I’ve worked somewhere so focused on the customer before and it’s a breath of fresh air.

I’ve learned a lot about myself too, I’m a lot more patient than I have been in the past and much better at detailed work. Two things I’ve always kinda derided myself for (list your faults… etc etc) that have seemingly sorted themselves out. Perhaps that’s just all the wisdom I have now, or simply because I’m older (same thing?), or perhaps my time as a contractor where I very quickly took the phrase ‘not my circus, not my monkeys’ to heart has helped me gain some perspective.

At Allied all of it is my circus and my monkeys too and I’m ok with that, if anything I’m revelling in the pressure of working on two high profile projects.

There are a lot of people who work at Allied who have been here for many many years and, so far at least, I see nothing to suggest that’ll be different for me. I’ve had those thoughts before and if I’ve learned nothing over my career it’s that jobs are fluid, but it definitely feels different these days. Again, maybe my age is at play, but is this my final job until I retire?

Anyway, one year in and all good.

Well, except from the fact they won’t give me a MacBook Pro (yet!).

June 28, 2024

Reasons to work

I’ve been made been made redundant three times in my career, so far, and the first two were from my first two jobs. Not a great start, you’d think.

The first time was from a small Scottish company called Crossaig (I built their website back in 1999, christ I’m old…) they were, in hindsight, just trying to survive as a business and my role wasn’t crucial so it made sense that I was let go. Yes I know, it’s the role that is redundant, not the person, blah blah blah.

The second time was about a year and a half later and was prompted by Dr.Solomons being bought by McAfee who promptly made the entire workforce redundant. A couple of months later they started re-hiring but I’d already moved on by then.

My third (Sage Tetra) and fourth (McLaren) jobs I left of my own volition.

And my fifth job at Verint made me redundant due to restructuring and was, at the time, the hardest one to take. I’d spent many years working my way up and buliding a career and it was a bit of a gut punch at the time. I enjoyed the people, the work, and I was in the middle of transitioning to a new role that I was very excited about. Just before I was due to start the new role I took a holiday, went to Glastonbury Festival, and the day I got back in the office I was told my new position (that was supposed to be starting that day) was being made redundant. Ugh.

My sixth job ended outwith my control as well, but not through redundancy. It was my first (and likely only) time as a Contractor. I started on a one year contract which then rolled on every 6 months and, after 7 years of that, they finally pulled the plug. C’est la vie. The fact it happened the day before I went on holiday to France for almost three weeks was just bad timing.

Looking back I think Dr.Solomons, and Verint are the two that hurt the most. But life goes on, as does the need to pay the bills!

I’m on my seventh job now, almost three months in, and currently reflecting why I chose this company over others.

When my contract was cancelled I decided to go back to the ‘security’ of a salaried position and after a couple of weeks of interviews I had four promising leads, no mean feat considering I’d done all the research and initial interviews whilst on holiday in France. One of the roles I kinda knew I’d turn down as it was working for an agency, a way of work I was keen to step away from, and whilst the other two were both interesting (and slightly higher paid) the company I ended up being lucky enough to join held a little more personal investment from the get go.

That company is Allied Vehicles, and their core business is “Allied Mobility™ ~ Europe’s leading manufacturer of wheelchair accessible cars, people carriers and minibuses. We’re also the number one supplier of wheelchair accessible vehicles to the highly successful UK Motability Scheme”.

So why did I chose Allied Vehicles? Well simply because of the massive difference I’ve seen in my Mum since she got Vera.

Ohhh I should point out that Vera is her power assisted wheelchair.

My Mum had a stroke several years ago and, before he passed, my Dad was her main carer. They still managed to get away on cruises, daily outings were common, and they had a wonderful retirement ahead of them. But after Dad suddenly passed my Mum not only lost her husband, but her independence. Dad died during the early lockdown days, so it wasn’t until the world emerged from that, a couple of years later, and we could start taking Mum out for coffees and little trips that I started to realise she just wasn’t getting out much on her own.

Stubbornly she was still walking to the supermarket to buy a paper, but that was the most she could manage, a chore that would take an able bodied person 15 minutes to do, could take my Mum almost an hour.

But it turns out that she had had the same realisation, so when she mentioned she’d been looking into getting a powered wheelchair I was more than happy to help out, did some research and ordered one. It arrived promptly and after a couple of test runs she managed to the local supermarket for a few things and back, all on her own and without the constant fear of failing over (my Mum doesn’t have the use of the right side of her body, she can walk with a stick but it’s always a bit fraught).

Vera arrived not long before I went to France so you can imagine my delight when, upon phoning Mum to see how she was, she happily informed me that she’d gone to the dentist on her own. 40 mins there, 40 mins back in her new wheelchair. AWESOME.

And that’s why I chose Allied Vehicles, because I’ve seen first-hand the difference mobility can make to my Mum’s quality of life.

I’ve never really thought of myself as altruistic, and of course I am getting paid to work, but it’s still refreshing to have these thoughts in my mind as I start work everyday, to have a meaningful reason to turn up and do my best.

When I’m in the office, from where I sit at my desk, I look up I see a large caption stencilled up near the ceiling. It reads WE MOVE PEOPLE AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THEIR LIVES. It’s a core part of what Allied Vehicles do, and one that is a life changing as it is simple.

I’ve worked for a companies that provided indexing software for scientific journals that sold anti-virus software, that provided ERP/Accounting solutions, for a CAD Document Management company, for a Call Centre solution company and, most recently, for a large high street bank, and I can safely say that I have never sat in a meeting room in any of these places and discussed, in detail, WHY we do what we do; Just the other day I heard a story about one of our customers, who had just been moved into critical life care. We were about to provide a vehicle that was taking them on holiday but it didn’t get there in time. These things happen a lot, life inserts itself into our business processes and, invariably it means a customer has declined in their health, or passed away.

It’s sad, but just like my Mum and Vera, it gives real meaning to what we do. It gives me something to focus on when I’m in my 3rd straight meeting of the day, when I’m getting frustrated about something that is ultimately pretty trivial, and it especially helps when we are discussing improvements to our business processes; the customers we serve really do go through life-altering experiences, so the more we can do to help them the better.

Giving the disabled a form of mobility back give them much more than a vehicle. It gives the independence, it gives them a sense of control over that aspect of their life again, and just being able to leave your own house under your own steam, and go for a drive somewhere is something that so many of us take for granted that it’s easy to forget just how liberating it can feel if you’ve felt trapped inside your own home.

Yup, almost three months in and it’s safe to say this is already more than just a job.

September 17, 2023

Hotel Life

Hotels are strange places. Particular the big chains that always give me pause when I am woken from my slumber by an early alarm, those initial few seconds it takes to remember where I am in the world when confronted by yet another bland room with the exact same layout as the other bland rooms I’ve stayed in before.

To be fair, most of the time I only every stay in a hotel for a few nights so as long as it’s clean, has a decent bed and a shower, I don’t need much more. It is but a roof over my head, a base to explore the world from, so my requirements of a hotel room aren’t the most extravagant. As long as it’s good enough it’s good enough for me, as I’m sure someone else once said.

It’s no coincidence that I am writing this very post whilst sitting on a not too uncomfortable chair, in front of an almost usefully sized desk in a Premier Inn which, as expected, is as perfectly innocuous as any other. It’s quite a skill to have the interior design of such places broken down into a perfectly repeatable format that is used so often I’m sure most of you can picture the room I’m in without any more description.

This is not to putdown this, or any other, budget level hotel. They have a valuable place in the world and part of that is down to their insipid offerings. The fact that each Premier Inn room is essentially the same, that every Tune hotel has the same offerings (no I don’t need a window or more than one towel thanks), and all come with such similar colour schemes that there becomes a tranquility and comfort in their familiarity. When you’ve spent a day exploring the world, or been working in a new location, it’s nice to have a calm space that doesn’t challenge or overload your brain. Long live mediocrity.

I guess that’s why, when you do stay at a hotel that has put some thought into the little details or offers decorative touches that stand out, those are the ones that leave an impression. It can be the simplest of things – USB charging points next to both sides of the bed for example – that stand out, and many times it’s a tiny detail that in hindsight makes you wonder why EVERY hotel doesn’t have such a thing.

As mentioned staying at a hotel with USB points, as well as standard plugs, on both sides of the bed, seems like such a trifling matter on its own, but if you include a remote control for the air conditioning, a choice of pillows in the cupboard and not one but three different, large, surfaces to accumulate all the junk we end up with us when we travel, and what could’ve been a basic hotel room quickly goes up in your expectation. Add in some unique design touches, maybe eye catching wallpaper, or a luxurious armchair (to throw your clothes on) and suddenly it all feels so much more luxurious.

The flipside of this though is that such rooms aren’t familiar. The minute I step into the room of a more upmarket hotel, one that has a bigger budget to equip and decorate the room I’m always aware of the money I’ve spent, and try to take in the details, make sure I use all the facilities. I act like I’m staying in a hotel, I’m aware I’m staying in a hotel and I always feel a little out of place. As much as I like my creature comforts, I’m a man of simple tastes for the most part, happy to make do with the basics as long as those basics are good enough.

A posh hotel room is too far from what we have at home, it doesn’t feel familiar, it doesn’t feel safely unchallenging, it reminds me that I am not at home, that I am far from my loved ones.

So you can keep your high thread count linens, and complimentary robes and slippers, give me something bland and familiar.

Wow, I’m not sure I could be any more middle-aged than this.

I am Premier Inn.

July 31, 2023

Everything changes

We human beings are a strange and complicated lot in many ways, none more so than when something alters in our worldview. I know that change is viewed by a lot of people as a bad thing yet it seems that, when it is thrust upon us, we adapt to it far more easily than we have anticipated.

I guess fear of the unknown is likely the biggest factor and the higher your natural anxiety levels are the more that can become the focus and start to dominate our thoughts as the upcoming change looms before us. On the other hand change can be seen as an opportunity, something to embrace and be excited about, even if it can be daunting. Like I said, us humans are a complex bunch.

Having recently started a new job for the first time in – checks notes – over 7 years, and I’ll be working in a new location too. It’s what is now being referred to as a hybrid role, with a minimum of 2 days a week in the office so whilst it’s not every single day, it is the first office I’ve stepped into in over 4 years. Quite a change from working at home, and it took me a couple of days to realise quite why I was SO exhausted after only a few days back in an office environment.

When COVID struck, my previous employer sent us all to work from home for a while and there I stayed, with all the perks it entails for almost four years; dress how you want, listen to music if you want, better coffee, ability to do quick chores or help out with your new born son etc. I was more than happy and I don’t really think my work suffered because of it; interactions with my colleagues were limited to online meetings, chats, and the (very) occasional phone call. It made some things more challenging but not impossible.

Fast forward to today and here I am, back in a large open plan office, with all the associated background noise and people (actual people!) that I need to chat with and interact with all day long. From the first friendly ‘morning’, the random chats about latest news topics, and work related queries as people wander up to my desk (or I to theirs), it’s all a lot more people-ing than I’ve done for a long time. And my goodness it’s tiring!

It’s not a complaint, far from it, but it wasn’t something I’d accounted for when I started this new job, the emotional energy required to just talk to numerous different people for any length of time took more out of me than I’d realised. I know it’ll change as I get to know people better and get used to all this talking and interacting again, but heck it’s way harder than I remember it being in the past. That said, with hybrid roles becoming more and more prevalent I’m not anticipating being in an office 5 days a week ever again.

What’s weird is to think about how I used to behave in an office environment, my work persona isn’t all that different from my day to day attitudes so, for those who know me well, you can imagine that I’m just as chatty and cheeky with my work colleagues as I am with my friends. However the first few days in this new role, even taking into account the amount of information I’m ingesting as I try to get up to speed, felt very different, and very draining.

I’m into my third week now and it’s already getting easier so I guess I’m just out of practice?

It’s a big change at home as well, all of a sudden I’m not there for entire days. I’ve got about 10 mins from when I get Jack up at 7am before I need to leave to get the train (if I’m cycling in I’m already gone by the time he gets up), and then I don’t get home until 6pm which is an hour before he goes to bed. His bedtime routine is the same at least, bath with Mummy, then Daddy puts him down to sleep but we no longer get to spend an hour or so hanging out each morning, I don’t see him at either lunch or dinner on the days I’m in the office.

It’s a change for Becca too, nap time was something I helped with during the day but I can’t if I’m not there. Dinner time is the same and whilst Jack is much more independent these day, he’s an inquisitive and active little boy so you still need to have eyes in the back of our head!

And for me I’ve found some old habits returning; I’m getting lost in the overwhelming amount of information I’m trying to absorb, and with all the emotional energy I’m running through when I’m in the office I’ve not quite got the balance right. But I will. I’m keen to do well in this new job – it’s not a contract so the whole career thing is back to being part of my thinking – but the big learning from the COVID years and then the arrival of my precious boy is to keep a good work/life balance. I’ve struggled with this in the past, but it’s clearer to me now, clearer than ever, that having a happy home is all that really matters.

That means making sure Jack is happy and healthy, making sure Becca is happy and healthy, and making sure I’m happy and healthy (don’t worry the dogs are fine too!). As ever it’s about finding the balance, taking a few moments for myself now and then to make sure I’m not losing myself in ‘work mode’ or ‘Dad mode’, making sure Becca and I have time as a couple (we are super excited for brunch together next week), and of course making sure that the most important person in the house is catered for as best we can manage.

We worry sometimes that we could be better, do better, do more, for Jack but I guess that makes us good parents, we worry about that stuff and do our best to keep his mind stimulated and his body moving. I think it’s going pretty well, the last few weeks he’s started to string words and sounds together, so soon there will be one more voice for me to deal with and I cannot wait.

July 10, 2023