From the course: Business Analysis Foundations: Competencies

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Curiosity for business analysts

Curiosity for business analysts

From the course: Business Analysis Foundations: Competencies

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Curiosity for business analysts

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- I have heard many leaders of BAs say that the most important skill a BA can have is curiosity. And then there's the proverb that curiosity killed the cat, meaning that being curious can get you in trouble. Well, as a BA, I doubt curiosity can get you in much trouble unless you let it get in the way of creating shared understanding or let it slow you down too much. In general, curiosity's a good thing. So how do we develop curiosity skills? Some have a natural knack for it and others need to build the skill with practice. Either way, intentional curiosity is needed. First, build a habit of asking questions. Ask questions that are open ended. Inquire about how things work and the history of how it became the way it is. This is about learning to challenge your own assumptions and politely challenging others to acknowledge and look at assumptions as well. Curiosity questions, when asked with the right tone, don't put…

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