Can a Business Analyst Become a Project Manager?

With inflation, a hybrid working model, supply chain issues, and massive layoffs hitting the market, Project management is one area that has the capability to lead this ship of change, hence the demand for project managers.

With the increasing complexity and scope of projects, especially in the digital age, having a skilled project manager is essential to ensure that projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.

Not everyone can foray into the field of project management. However, business analysts, often known as the critical bridge between the business and the development team, have some bonus points here. As they work with the two sides of the organization, they might want to take on more leadership roles as a part of career advancement, and project management can definitely be one of them.

In short, yes, a business analyst can choose to become a project manager, and this article will help you navigate the path easily.

Similarities Between a Business Analyst and a Project Manager

Although both business analysts and project managers manage projects, a business analyst is usually more concerned about the business strategy while the project manager mostly has an eye on planning and outcomes. This doesn’t mean there is no common ground for both these job roles. You will be surprised by how useful your prior business analyst experience is.

To help you breathe a sigh of relief, we’ll compare the critical skills required for business analysts and project managers. You can check for yourself if there’s any overlap or not.

Critical Skills of Business Analysts

• Examine the structure of the business and the tools required for successful project completion

• Provide a step-by-step action plan for problem resolution

• Plan successful recommendations with resource-effective strategies

• Persuade stakeholders on the benefits of the newly built strategy

• Understand client requirements and the differences from one field to another.

Essential Skills of Project Managers

• Evaluate resources and define the scope

• Assess risks and troubleshoot issues

• Create a step-by-step working strategy

• Communicate with stakeholders and track the progress

• Learn the differences between projects and fields

• Build effective strategies to guide the project

• Research primary goals and key challenges

As you can see, though the two job roles differ in expertise, they overlap in many key areas, especially in strategic planning and communication with stakeholders.

Difference Between a Project Manager and a Business Analyst

According to Payscale, a business analyst's average annual compensation ranges from Rs.6,00,000 to Rs.7,00,000. Meanwhile, the average salary package of a project manager can go as high as Rs. 15,00,000. Although they carry some similarities, there must be some viable peculiarities that make the project manager role more coveted.

Once you level up your skills based on these differences, your goal of becoming a project manager becomes much easy.

Scope

A Business Analyst is majorly responsible for identifying and analyzing business requirements, while a project manager deals with managing the overall project, right from planning, and execution, to closing.

Skillset

Most business analysts typically have a background in business, finance, or economics and are skilled at analyzing business needs. On the other hand, project managers hold their expertise in project management and are skilled at organizing and leading project teams.

Deliverables

Business analysts are responsible for creating the documentation part of a project too. For instance, they create business requirements documents, process flow diagrams, and user stories that are usually client-facing. Meanwhile, project managers don’t have much say in documentation except for creating project plans, timelines, and budgets.

Stakeholder Management

Business analysts are often responsible for gathering requirements from stakeholders and communicating them to the development team. However, project managers are responsible for managing relationships with stakeholders, including the project sponsor and team members.

Example − A business analyst at a retail company might be responsible for analyzing sales data to identify opportunities for improving the company's e-commerce platform. A project manager at the same retail company might be responsible for leading the cross-functional team that is implementing the improvements to the e-commerce platform.

Different Roles in DifferentStages

Business Analysts are typically involved in the early stages of a project, such as requirements gathering and analysis, while Project Managers are involved throughout the entire project life cycle, from planning to execution and closing.

Different Reporting Lines

Business Analysts typically report to a manager or director within the business unit they are supporting, while Project Managers typically report to a senior manager or executive within the project management team.

How Can a Business Analyst Develop Project Management Skills?

Despite the differences in the work scope, a business analyst will look up to a career in project management, considering the lucrative career growth and attractive salaries. If you’ve decided to get into a project management role, consider building up these skills.

Time Management

The role of a business analyst is quite flexible, but a project manager needs to be more specific and have a grasp of time. A project manager needs to get a grip on the actual timeframes of the entire project lifecycle to make real progress from one stage to another.

Developing this time management skill usually comes through experience, but you can widen your knowledge by studying the case studies of your current project.

Effective Communication

Managing a project requires collaboration and commitment. To improve team communication, project managers can collect feedback from individual team members and measure their communication effectiveness. If you notice discrepancies in their work, you can test various communication channels like Teams or Slack, whichever works best for your organization.

Decision Making

As a business analyst, your decision-making skills impact the evaluation of the business. But, as a project manager, your decisions impact resources, priorities, approvals, and planning. So, you need to understand the logic of decision-making.

You can start by seeking guidance from expert project managers and ask them to give you feedback during your initial steps. You must also learn to take ownership of the outcomes that result from your decision-making.

3-step Action Plan to Make an Easy Shift from Business Analyst to Project Manager

Now that you’re aware of the skills needed to master to get into project management, we thought of helping you to make your transition much more accessible. Here’s an easy-to-follow action plan business analysts can implement immediately to become project managers.

Get PMP Certified

According to Talent Economy, by 2027, there will be a need for 87.7 million project managers across the globe. While this number shows ample opportunity in front of you, it also indicates the tough competition you’re about to face to become a project manager.

The right kind of education in the form of certifications can help you stand out from the competition. Look into certification programs from renowned institutions for the best advantage. As a business analyst, as you’re already familiar with many concepts, pursuing these certifications won’t be a tough job.

Let your current manager know your interest

Now that you have ample experience as a BA and hold and valid PMP certification, project yourself as a legit candidate by having a conversation with your employer.

The key to this step is to remember that you don’t get what you don’t ask for. Anticipate the questions you’ll be asked by your manager and, if necessary, speak to other project managers about what they were asked during the interaction.

Look for a BA role that includes more PM functions

This is the easiest way to transition from a BA to PM. If it has become impossible at your organization to switch to a project manager after all the trials, don’t be disappointed. Try looking for BA roles in other companies that include the role of a project manager.