Adrian, Vinny, Tony, Guy, Perry, and EVERYBODY on the forum, I have a question for you.

Wht do you consider more important - the technical skills or the socio/politico/cultural skills?  Which area should a junior BA focus their professional development efforts on first?  Which is hardest to get right, and which has the greater influence on project succes.

This, like everything else in life, is not binary. The use of hard or soft skills is provisional and conditional. We use both hard and soft skills at the same time in most circumstances, most of the time. However there are times where one is required over the other. The trick is to know when .... and there in lies the rub my friend - this is not something that we can teach you. Your brain quite literally has to be rewritten (trained, if you will) to function in this way, It takes about 10,000 to master any given skill. The more to work at it the more you brain will adapt.

This is all about ... fuzzy logic. You can't define the problem space is you are not a good communicator and relationship manager; nor can you articulate a solution that can be implemented unless you are a good analyst. Our profession is the perfect blend of art and science. Gone are the days of the management consultant - we are the management consultants now. I like to think of myself as a physiologist of sorts. Rather than working with people to solve their problems I work with businesses. A business is a not just a person in the eyes of the law but in the eyes of society too. Businesses act just like you and me, because they are made up of you and me. Current economic situations prove this point.

As it has already been stated - the answer is a little from column A and a little from column B. HOWEVER if you HAVE to pick one - I would spend time studying the technical aspects off business analysis and trust that you will develop as a communicator as time passes ... once you have a few years under your belt then begin to take courses on management, psychology, philosophy and the like. You will have the context and the learning will be more effective.

Does that help at all?

Perry McLeod, CBAP, PMP | Senior Business Analysis Consultant PJM Limited
Vice President Professional Development and Certification, IIBA Toronto/GTA
Mobile: (416) 562-0169 | Fax: (416) 840-6742 | E-mail: pmcleod@perrymcleod.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/perrymcleod

I'll continue along the lines of Adrian's thinking - it does depend based on external environmental variables that he described, but I would also recommend that you do the opposite of what most analysts tend to do (e.g. focus on developing technical skills if that's their background).   If you come from a more technical persuasion, consciously work on your interpersonal/soft skills.  Go to a Toastmaster's club, read a book on the subject, make yourself do something purposely uncomfortable (read Tim Ferris' 4 Hour Work Week for great examples). 

If you gravitate towards what you know already, you run the risk of never getting around to properly focusing on balancing your skill set, and as a result impede your overall professional development.  I'm not advocating ignoring the ongoing development of your area of relative strength, but it will benefit you much greater in the long run if you put the time up front to improve on your greatest weaknesses.  You will become a much stronger professional as a result and likely improve your employability and self-satisfaction.