The Evolving Landscape: Business Analysis, Product Ownership, and the Path Ahead

Career advice
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The following is a collection of thoughts that’ve managed to put down that seem to be orbiting around a central theme - I apologise if they seem a bit disconnected - but now that you’ve been properly warned…

The world of technology and business is constantly shifting, and with it, the roles that drive innovation and delivery. For those of us in business analysis (BA), it’s an exciting, sometimes dizzying, time. We’re seeing an evolution in how our core skills are applied, particularly in relation to product ownership and the broader product ownership landscape.

The Shifting Sands of the Business Analyst Role
Two decades ago, starting out as a Business Analyst, the role felt incredibly attractive precisely because it was less rigidly defined. It was more about performing duties as directed, encompassing a wonderfully diverse range of responsibilities and activities spread across the entire project lifecycle. You might find yourself doing a bit of everything – from detailed analysis to some project coordination or even basic testing. Today, however, while undeniably more structured and focused around established standards and refined processes, that shift might not appeal to the same crowd who were drawn to the variety and broader scope that characterized the role when I began my career.

The Rise of Product Ownership and Product Ownership Analysis
With the surge of agile frameworks, the “Product Owner” role has become central. This role often focuses on defining the vision for a product, prioritizing features, and maximizing its value. They are the voice of the customer and the business, guiding the development team.
“Product Ownership Analysis” (POA) is emerging as a critical discipline within this space. It’s where deep analytical skills are applied to truly understand the product’s market, user needs, and strategic fit, often using techniques familiar to BAs to ensure the product delivers intended value. This is where the lines start to blur – and beautifully so.

Product Owner: A Natural Progression or a Distinct Path?
A common question that arises is: Is “Product Owner” a natural career path for a Business Analyst? While distinct, the roles share significant common ground. Product Owners often possess a broader strategic scope, encompassing market analysis, competitive positioning, and the full product lifecycle.
However, the core competencies of a seasoned Business Analyst—strategic advisory, stakeholder engagement, understanding business goals, and translating needs into solutions—are incredibly valuable in a product ownership context. Many BAs, myself included, have spent years in strategic advisory roles, contributing to systemic improvements and aligning business needs with technology solutions, which are foundational skills for product ownership.

So is it Collaboration or Combination? Thoughts?
I’ve been contemplating whether the crucial conclusion is that these roles are not mutually exclusive and are, in fact, often better when working together.

  • BAs strengthen Product Ownership: A strong BA can provide the deep dive into requirements, process, and system intricacies that empowers a Product Owner to make more informed decisions and articulate clearer needs to development teams. We can “unpack” the detailed implications of a product feature, ensuring feasibility and alignment.
  • Product Owners provide context for BAs: A clear product vision from a Product Owner gives the BA the necessary strategic context to perform their detailed analysis, ensuring their work contributes directly to overarching product goals.
  • Shared Goal: Ultimately, both roles are focused on delivering value. Whether it’s through ensuring SME-friendly procurement pathways or leading infrastructure delivery, the objective is the same: effective solutions that meet real needs.
    In essence, my current view is that Product Owners fundamentally need BA-type resources to help them define what to build and to provide the detailed analysis required to truly develop their product strategy. This leads me to wonder: can/should/will the Business Analyst role remain the same both inside a traditional project environment and outside, in the continuous delivery world of “Product”-land?
    But I’m genuinely interested in hearing your thoughts. What’s your view on the current state of business analysis? What is your view on how product ownership may fit or align with that?Do you see the career path for a Business Analyst not including the Product Owner role? I’d love to hear your opinions (I know at least one of you has one…:wink:) and experiences on this evolving landscape in the comments below!
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This a really resonates, especially the idea of roles “orbiting” around each other rather than existing in silos. I’ve been sitting with a lot of these same questions, especially working in a space where the lines between BA and Product Owner don’t really exist in practice.

In my current role, I’m effectively acting as the Product Owner for a few internal tools and systems, but I’m also the BA, tester, UX designer, occasional dev, and general fixer-upper. I work solo within corporate services rather than in a dedicated tech team, so I often have to wear all the hats just to move things forward. It’s been a great learning ground, but it also highlights just how much overlap and stretch there is between roles in the real world, especially when you’re outside a traditional delivery model.

This year I’ve set my sights on growing more intentionally in business intelligence, change management, and product ownership all areas that tie into my current mahi but offer a more structured way to deepen that blend of strategic and delivery thinking.

Like you, I don’t see Product Owner as a default next step for every BA, but I do think the two roles are deeply complementary.

At the end of the day, I think that’s the nature of internal consulting and business analysis work, you expand and contract to meet the needs of the business and fill the space that exists. And that adaptability is part of what makes it so rewarding.

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My spicy opinion is wtf is product ownership if not business analysis within the context of a product?

@RhiB 's comment is great – and demonstrates the applicability of core business analysis skills across a ton of stuff!! Including product!

I honestly don’t think they should have ever been different and I find the fact that the market sees the skills as distinct super sad! And a cause of a decent chunk of my frustration with how we’ve been positioned by our industry bodies is purely down to this: we missed the rise of product!!

But at this point, the ship has well and truly sailed and the world sees them as different roles.

So, if we consider them different roles, then when it really comes down to it I just think they’re working at different levels of abstraction. The skillsets required to make good value-based-decisions are broadly the same (what’s the problem, what are the constraints, what are the risks, and thus, what are the options …) regardless of whether you’re in the weeds of the detail, or dealing with a massive programme of work.

I do think that product thinking is increasingly needed for all BA work (barring some specialisations in process or whatever).

Also, one minor point – you said:

Product Owners fundamentally need BA-type resources

Is it this? Or is it that Product Owners need business analysis skills? :wink:

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Thanks @Hannah, I was hoping for a reply from you and expecting a good read… what we got was, well something even more!

I was hoping that someone would point out what you have hit hard on! Having worked in roles of Project Manager, Release Manager, Technical Analyst, and Business Analyst in both projects and BAU (in a former life, in a land far far away…) and having experienced the Agile/Product world, I’m sometimes confused as to how responsibilities and activities have been re-organised. Projects still have project managers and business analysts, and the Product/BAU world has product owners/managers and… well “product analysts”?

Thank you @Hannah for your spicy opinion, and having the guts to express it. I agree with it… not sure what it means for the future… maybe that’s part of the evolution? Thoughts?

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I think organisational maturity really helps to simplify all of this! I work with a lot of lower-maturity orgs and they have never even contemplated the role of a Product [insert adjective here] - so it all falls to the BA by default :wink:. Far simpler!!

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LOL to @vaughan.luckman’s comment (because there is some truth to it!)

Not entirely caused by this thread – but I have a hypothesis about shifting skills and so have been digging into SFIA as a skills framework and it’s really interesting to unpack all the analysis related skills and the different levels!

I suspect we’re moving towards more of a skill based economy – rather than a roles based economy. So being able to articulate what skills you bring to the party – and to what level – I think is increasingly important!

Hence the major SFIA dig :green_heart:

I think there are clear skills that are on the rise, and others that are on the wane. If you have several hours and a nerdy mindset – it’s a fun dig!

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I’m my current role if it doesn’t fit clearly with anyone else it lands with me. I use my BA skillset to tackle all sorts of problems and opportunities.

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I’m immediately intrigued and see myself going down a SIFA rabbit hole.

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Omg please join me! It was actually @Jasmin that reignited my interest in skills frameworks, and in particular: SFIA.

Super keen to share thinking and learning here!