International Institute of Business Analysis releases New Zealand Study

Summary

The aim of the 2009 IIBA survey into business analysis was to get a representative view of the state of business analysis in New Zealand. In part, this was driven by the desire to provide context for the process of establishing the strategy and objectives of the refreshed chapter board, and in part to look at the prevalence in New Zealand of emerging international trends and to identify any key influencing factors for establishing good practice in business analysis.

This survey sets a baseline for future annual surveys, tracking developments in the practice of business analysis in New Zealand.

Key Findings
There were a number of key findings: 

• While the role of business analysts appears to be understood within businesses, the practice of business analysis is still being developed in a significant proportion of the country, with a notable number of business analysts working in the business without clearly defined standards.
• Strategic enterprise analysis (see appendices for definition) is recognised and practised in organisations with more a mature practise and better qualified staff.
• There are strong indicators that gaining professional qualifications and adopting standard processes leads to:
  • improved understanding of and respect for business analysts;
  • engagement with more senior stakeholders;
  • involvement with strategic enterprise analysis; and
  • a higher degree of autonomy.
• Business analysts with common support or grouped into a central function also tend to:
  follow more mature standards and processes;
  be more highly qualified; and
  work more with senior stakeholders on strategic enterprise analysis.