The business Analyst Mentors at BuSI

Why are there mentors at BuSI?

BuSI has been training Business Analyst interns since 2017, which was the very first year the Master Business Analyst program was launched at ICHEC/ECAM.

Lear more about the experience of Being a Business Analysis intern at BuSI

One thing led to another and there were more and more BA trainees and/or junior BAs who had just graduated. It became less and less possible for the cell leader to offer a proper regularly based  follow-up to each person. This is how BuSI realised the added value of promoting Business Analyst Mentors.

In August 2021 BuSI appointed its first two Business Analyst Mentors.

Who are the mentors?

They are people willing to share their knowledge, to guide junior BAs and to help them evolve.

They are also dynamic, good listeners and, above all, very contactable.

What do the mentors do?

Mentors try to stay in touch with the trainees as much as possible. Mentors check in with them regularly so that they can be there if they have  a question or a moment of doubt. Checking in regularly also allow the mentors to share with the trainees the moments of joy when they accomplish something, such as passing their first interview, passing various exams, receiving congratulations from a client after a presentation, etc.

The mentors also organise a bit more than 7 onboarding days which have two objectives. The first is to welcome the trainees properly to the company, starting with a breakfast followed by presentations given by a member of each of BuSI’s departments. The second objective is to have them analyse a small project concocted from start to finish by the mentors.

In this project, the interns must play, not surprisingly, the role of the Business Analysts while the mentors play the role of the client, and their internship supervisor  plays the role of the « big boss ».

The trainees will have to do a complete analysis of the clients’ needs using different tools such as BPMN, UML, interviews, user stories, prototyping, etc. before finishing with a presentation of the final product that they believe fully meets the clients’ needs they have identified.

Finally, the mentors also try, with the help of any analyst who wishes to do so, to energise the analysis cell by organising activities ranging from going for a drink, passing by an escape room, to organising a day hike.