Career Forums

Hi Bruce,

Ultimately, your title won't make much of difference outside of your organization.  They will simple ask, "what did you do?".

I'm curious, when you say BA Practice Model, are you referring to something synonymous with descriptions like business analysis center of excellence, business analysis governance. That is, are you creating a practice for the purpose of promoting best practices throughout your organization? (It might help to know how large you organization is).  If this is your aim, I would go with Business Analysis Practice Lead. 

Business Analysis Team Lead sounds like someone who is actively practicing busines analysis as their primary funtion.  They may also be establishing best practices, but this is more of a side function.  If your primary function will be to establish the BA best practices and processes for others, go with BA Practice Lead.

Hi Bruce,

This is something under discussion at my company as well. Personally, I'm far more partial to the "Practice Lead" model. The "Team Lead" model suggests more of a people management focus with direct reports and the like. While "Practice Lead" suggests some responsibility for defining and developing the Business Analyst role within your organization.

My concept of "Practice Lead" comes from my prior background in consulting. We had Practice Leads who were responsible for role development and best practices, while Staff, Engagement, and Project managers combined in various ways to account for direct reports in the org chart sense. The Practice Leads were far more savvy and engaged when it came to their field of expertise, while the other roles tended to take their inhabitants away from their field of practice.

I suppose it depends how you envision your new role as to which seems most appropriate.

Diana Williams