1.  Tell me about yourself.

It seems like an easy interview question. Its open ended. I can talk about whatever I want from the birth canal forward. Right?
Wrong. What the hiring manager really wants is a quick, two- to three-minute snapshot of who you are and why you are the best candidate for this position.

So as you answer this question, talk about what you’ve done to prepare yourself to be the very best candidate for the position. Use an example or two to back it up. Then ask if they would like more details. If they do, keep giving them example after example of your background and experience. Always point back to an example when you have the opportunity.

Tell me about yourself does not mean tell me everything. Just tell me what makes you the best.

2. Why should I hire you?

The easy answer is that you are the best person for the job. And dont be afraid to say so. But then back it up with what specifically differentiates you.
For example: You should hire me because Im the best person for the job. I realize that there are likely other candidates who also have the ability to do this job. Yet I bring an additional quality that makes me the best person for the job–my passion for excellence. I am passionately committed to producing truly world class results. For example . . .

Are you the best person for the job? Show it by your passionate examples.
3. What is your long-range objective?

Make my job easy for me. Make me want to hire you.
The key is to focus on your achievable objectives and what you are doing to reach those objectives.

For example: Within five years, I would like to become the very best accountant your company has on staff. I want to work toward becoming the expert that others rely upon. And in doing so, I feel Ill be fully prepared to take on any greater responsibilities which might be presented in the long term. For example, here is what Im presently doing to prepare myself . . .

Then go on to show by your examples what you are doing to reach your goals and objectives.

4. How has your education prepared you for your career?

This is a broad question and you need to focus on the behavioral examples in your educational background which specifically align to the required competencies for the career.

An example: My education has focused on not only the learning the fundamentals, but also on the practical application of the information learned within those classes. For example, I played a lead role in a class project where we gathered and analyzed best practice data from this industry. Let me tell you more about the results . . .

Focus on behavioral examples supporting the key competencies for the career. Then ask if they would like to hear more examples.
5. Are you a team player?
Almost everyone says yes to this question. But it is not just a yes/no question. You need to provide behavioral examples to back up your answer.

A sample answer: Yes, Im very much a team player. In fact, Ive had opportunities in my work, school and athletics to develop my skills as a team player. For example, on a recent project . . .

Emphasize teamwork behavioral examples and focus on your openness to diversity of backgrounds. Talk about the strength of the team above the individual. And note that this question may be used as a lead in to questions around how you handle conflict within a team, so be prepared.
6. Have you ever had a conflict with a boss or professor? How was it resolved?

Note that if you say no, most interviewers will keep drilling deeper to find a conflict. The key is how you behaviorally reacted to conflict and what you did to resolve it.

For example: Yes, I have had conflicts in the past. Never major ones, but there have been disagreements that needed to be resolved. I’ve found that when conflict occurs, it helps to fully understand the other persons perspective, so I take time to listen to their point of view, then I seek to work out a collaborative solution. For example . . .

Focus your answer on the behavioral process for resolving the conflict and working collaboratively.
7. What is your greatest weakness?

Most career books tell you to select a strength and present it as a weakness. Such as: I work too much. I just work and work and work. Wrong. First of all, using a strength and presenting it as a weakness is deceiving. Second, it misses the point of the question.

You should select a weakness that you have been actively working to overcome. For example: I have had trouble in the past with planning and prioritization. However, I’m now taking steps to correct this. I just started using a pocket planner . . . then show them your planner and how you are using it.

Talk about a true weakness and show what you are doing to overcome it.
8. If I were to ask your professors to describe you, what would they say?

This is a threat of reference check question. Do not wait for the interview to know the answer. Ask any prior bosses or professors in advance. And if they are willing to provide a positive reference, ask them for a letter of recommendation.

Then you can answer the question like this:

I believe she would say I’m a very energetic person, that I am result oriented and one of the best people she has ever worked with. Actually, I know she would say that, because those are her very words. May I show you her letter of recommendation?

So be prepared in advance with your letters of recommendation.
9. What qualities do you feel a successful manager should have?

Focus on two words: leadership and vision.

Here is a sample of how to respond: The key quality in a successful manager should be leadership–the ability to be the visionary for the people who are working under them. The person who can set the course and direction for subordinates. The highest calling of a true leader is inspiring others to reach the highest of their abilities. I’d like to tell you about a person whom I consider to be a true leader . . .

Then give an example of someone who has touched your life and how their impact has helped in your personal development.
10. If you had to live your life over again, what one thing would you change?

Focus on a key turning point in your life or missed opportunity. Yet also tie it forward to what you are doing to still seek to make that change.

For example: Although I am overall very happy with where I am at in my life, the one aspect I likely would have changed would be focusing earlier on my chosen career. I had a great internship this past year and look forward to more experience in the field. I simply wish I would have focused here earlier. For example, I learned on my recent internship… …then provide examples.

Stay focused on positive direction in your life and back it up with examples.

Gap Analysis

Most often gap analysis is used to compare two different states of something; the current state and the future state.

Gap analysis can be conducted on:

• A system  features that exist in the system now versus the features that need to exist in the future
• A system interface  data that a system provides to an interface now versus data that will need to be provided in the future
• A business process  activities and steps of a current business process versus the activities and steps that will be supported by the business process in the future
• Business goals and  metrics  how well a business meets certain goals and metrics now versus the targeted goals and metrics at some point in the future.

Content Credit : ModernAnalyst.com

Image Credit : artdavisgroup.com

• -1. Market Penetration (Existing Products/Existing Markets)
• -2. Market Development (Existing Products/New Market)
• -3. Product Development (New Products/Existing Market)
• -4. Diversification (New Products/New Market)

What strategies might a business analyst consider when planning for a company's growth?

Market Penetration
The strategy is to focus on getting more out of the current markets serviced by an organization while offering the same products. New products and new markets can mean additional unknowns which, in turn, increase risk and chances of failure.  For this reason, a company may choose to select a growth strategy of market penetration.  The goal of market penetration is to increase the percentage of market share that the organization possesses through pricing, marketing, loyalty programs, incentives, advertising, etc.

Market Development
Is used to describe the growth strategy of an organization which chooses to venture into new markets or new customer segments with their existing products.Their existing products are likely proven which provides a degree of stability, but moving into new markets increases risk.This may still be viewed by some organizations as a fairly conservative strategy and is often adopted by companies as they feel their current markets getting squeezed tighter and tighter by competition.  Entrance into new markets often requires skilled marketing professionals to ensure a company receives the attention it is looking for.

Product Development
Describes the growth strategy of creating new products for existing markets.  An organization may have the benefit of understanding the intricacies of their market but this can create a false sense of security.   Not all new products carry the same risk.  However, for certain types of product, especially those in fast moving technology markets, projecting the outcome of a new product launch can be very difficult.   To overcome some of this risk organizations should be prepared to continuously adapt their products after launch to ensure marketplace success.

Diversification
Is the term given to the strategy of delivering new products to entirely new markets.  The growth strategy accepts the risks of two unknowns; the product and the market.  Diversification is high-risk but, as with many things, high risk often can mean high reward.  Organizations with a track record of innovation will have the greatest success with this strategy.  With diversification as a growth strategy, everything will be new and the company will need to be prepared to quickly eliminate any risks that manifest themselves.

The four growth strategies described here are based on a simple 2 x 2 matrix called Ansoff’s Matrix which considers markets and products along its two axis.

Ansoff’s Matrix

Content Source : ModernAnalyst.com

Certified Business Analysis Professional CBAP

Initially launched in North America, the CBAP was a written exam typically run in parallel with the Business Analysis World Symposium. Today it is possible to take this exam electronically, although still in a controlled environment.

As of March 9, 2010, there were 873 individuals who had been designated Certified Business Analysis Professionals.

Eligibility :

Before applying for the CBAP a Business Analyst must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Experience
Given the number of topics covered by the BABOK, the exam is only open to experienced Business Analysts, which IIBA deems to be those with at least five years professional experience in a BA role.

Education and Training
Candidates must have achieved a minimum of a high-school qualification, and have had a least twenty-one hours of professional development in areas related to Business Analysis in the last four years.

References
Two people must give you adequate references that you are a suitable candidate for the CBAP. These can be your manager, a work colleague, a client, or someone you know who already has the CBAP.

When a Business Analyst has gathered sufficient evidence to demonstrate that they are an appropriate candidate for the CBAP, they can then submit this evidence with an application form and fee. As of September 2008, the application fee was $125 USD, and the exam fees were $325 USD (for IIBA members) or $450 USD (for non-members).

Keeping Certified
Assuming candidates are successful in gaining the CBAP designation, they have an obligation to abide by the associated Code of Ethics (i.e. comport themselves in a professional manner), and every three years to be recertified (by proving sufficient ongoing professional development).

Content Source : wikipedia.org

Image Source : ModernAnalyst.com

Business Analysts Life cycle

A BA does not always work in IT-related projects, as BA skills are often required in marketing and financial roles as well.

The International Institute of Business Analysis provides a certification program for business analysts (Certified Business Analyst Professional or CBAP), as well as providing a body of knowledge for the field (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge or BABOK).

A few consulting companies provide BA training courses and there are some consulting books on the market (UML, workshop facilitation, consultancy, communication skills). Some helpful text books are:

• 1. Customer-Centered Products by Ivy F. Hooks and Kristin A. Farry (Amazon, USA, 2001).
  
• 2. UML for the IT Business Analyst: A Practical Guide to Object-Oriented Requirements Gathering by Howard Podeswa
• 3. Writing Effective Use Cases by Alistair Cockburn
• 4. Discovering Real Business Requirements for Software Project Success by Robin F. Goldsmith.
• 5. Business Modeling with UML by Eriksson & Penker
• 6. Software Requirements, 2nd Edition by Karl E. Wiegers (Microsoft Press, 2003)

Read more information inside..

BA’s work in different industries such as finance, banking, insurance, telecoms, utilities, software services, and so on. Due to working on projects at a fairly high level of abstraction, BA’s can switch between industries. The business domain subject areas BAs may work in include workflow, billing, mediation, provisioning and customer relationship management. The telecom industry has mapped these functional areas in their Telecommunications Operational Map (eTOM) model.

Finally, Business Analysts do not have a predefined and fixed role, as they can take a shape in operations (technology architect or project management) scaling, sales planning, strategy devising or even in developmental process. Hence, they get a different name for the played role. Even the International Institute of Business Analysis and its associates have had several editions of the roles and responsibilities of a person undertaking the BA role.

Content credit : wikipedia.org

Keep Reading…

Fig 1.1 ( Click on the image to enlarge )

Fig 1.1 shows the initial stage of table creation where we create the categories/field name  and the datatype. For datatype we select values from the drop down box and save the table ( CTRL+S).

So by this time we have created the frame of the table and defined the fields and the datatype .

After this we need to enter the values into the table and for that we double click on the table ( at the left side ) and start entering the values as shown below:

Fig 1.2 ( Click on the image to enlarge )

This type of display allows you to refer to a piece of information by its category. This is the basis of a table. A table is a two-dimensional list of items so that the items are arranged by categories. A complete or incomplete series of items that represent each category is called a record. Therefore, a table can be represented as follows:

In database development, a category is represented as a column. Sometimes it is also called a field. A record is represented as a row.In database development, a category is represented as a column. Sometimes it is also called a field. A record is represented as a row.

Here are some quick information on handling tables:

Opening a Table

The most regular operations you will perform on a table require that you open it first. To open a table, first locate it in the Navigation Pane then:

* — You can double-click the table
* — You can right-click the table and click Open

Any of these actions causes the table to display in Datasheet View in the central area of the screen. In the same way, you can open as many tables as necessary.

Closing a Table

After using a table, you can close it. Before closing a table, first select its tab. Then, to close a table:

* — You can click the close button Close on the right side of the tabs
* — You can press Ctrl + Shift + F4

Selecting a Table

In order to use a table, some operations require that you (or rather the user) first select(s) it:

* — To select a table in the Navigation Pane, simply click it
* — If you had opened many tables and they are displaying in the main area of the screen, to select one, click its tab or its title bar
* — If you have many tables displaying in the main area of the screen, you can press Ctrl + F6 continuously to switch from one table to the next until the desired one displays

Renaming a Table

We saw that, when or after creating a table, you must save it to make it part of your database. When saving it for the first time, you must give it a name. If the name of a table is not appropriate, you can change it. To rename a table, in the Navigation Pane, you can right-click the name of the table and click Rename.

We create database to store information in it.The information is stored in form of Tables.In databases either be MS Access or it be MySQL , we always keep/ maintain data in a form of tables consisting of rows and columns.We name a Table and the columns as per our requirement and enter the data or the value in the rows.

Creating a Blank Database :

1. — Start Microsoft Access
2. – To start a new database, in the main section and under New Blank Database, click Blank Database
3. – In the right section, set the File Name as per your requirement eg  Studentdb.accdb . Note – We use the .accdb extension here.
4. – Click Create to create the new database file

We can also use the samples available as they have the field names preset.

1. – Click on start button and click on RUN. Type msaccess and click ok. After this the following screen ( shown below)  will appear.
2. — Here I clicked on Blank Database. After that on the right side you name the database with .accdb extension.
3. – You can even choose the file from the folder too. After that click on create button.
4. – You will see the following screen shot.
5. – So this screen represents the tables in  the ms access database. In next post I will explain how to create table.