Where the heck have I been?

Well, I've taken quite the break there! Where have I been? I'm still at the same firm, just extremely busy. And plus, I just saw "Julie & Julia" and it brought back to my mind this blog. I've also been soaking in a lot of new experiences. In a way, I feel I've graduated. Joining my 'new' group (in late 2008) after my last BA position was like being hazed. It was like going from the minor leagues to the pros. We have to handle IT for all groups like Front Office (traders), risk, product control, operations, financial accting etc. I became a PM in the Architecture arena and I had to manage database migrations, and upgrades of various software components: work that could only be done on weekends and evenings and in a timely, controlled manner with lots of testing beforehand. It was anything unlike I had done before.

What was different?

• As a BA I was responsible for only one part of the project and getting that right. As a PM, I am responsible for everything. Talk about pressure. And especially on projects where the DB better be back up on Sunday night (Monday AM in Asia)
• I had to get people to do things; I am not an official manager. No one reported to me. I had to keep pushing. There was no time to sit still and coast after I got one thing done. There was always something else to look at. PMs can never sit still!
• I find a satisfaction in being a PM that I don't know if I had being a BA. Not to say that one is better than the other. But there is something to be said for utter and complete accountability and responsibility of a project from start to finish. It all lies with you. You make or break the project.

There are tons more differences and not everything can be listed. But my experience as a BA has helped vastly. I can break down a requirements document and find holes in it very quickly and then have the authority as a PM to get them addressed. And I don't mean to imply that I don't trust my BAs but I've seen some pretty bad requirements specifications and usually accompanied by no test case documents. "Trust but verify" is an adage I like.