In most of the projects and organizations I have worked for I have seen a very interesting pattern:
- Developers get developer specific tools such as MS Visual Studio.
- Testers get testing specific tools such as Mercury TestDirector.
- Analysts get MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The more "progressive" organizations might provide their business analysts and systems analysts with Visio.
Wow... cool!
If you think I'm venting, you right? I am venting!
To tell you the truth: I don't get it!
There are so many great tools for requirements management and system modeling yet most organizations have not yet realized that spending a few bucks on tools for their analysts can actually improve productivity and save them money in the long run.
My gut feeling tells me that this problem is closely tied to the view of the business analyst. The business analysis, as a profession, it's just beginning to bud.
I'm hoping that, soon, most organizations will begin to realize the value that business analysts and systems analysts bring to the table. When that happens, the shortage of qualified analysts will be evident and companies will try to find other ways to increase productivity. An adequate tool is one such way!
But I digress...
What triggered these thoughts (again) was that I stumbled upon a UML tool for the Tablet PC called
Tablet UML. While I have not used the product - it's a very intriguing idea. Imagine being in a JAD session or brainstorming meeting and, instead of pen & paper, using a tablet PC to capture the models being discussed.
Technologies and tools such as these are going to become more and more important and valuable as organizations realize the importance of analysts and attempt to find new ways to increase their productivity.