BA Word of the Day - Out of the box (OOTB)
Long gone are the days when organizations and teams built software from scratch. Most of the enterprise-grade, large-scale systems I build use off-the-shelf products. SAP Commerce. Salesforce Marketing Cloud. There are so many of them!
Why Out of the Box Matters for BAs
They all come with what we call out-of-the-box (OOTB) functionality. Something that's available day one. It might require a little bit of customization, but no new code development is needed.
And all business stakeholders and delivery managers absolutely love it when you, as a BA, know what the platform provides out of the box. Why they love it? Because if the feature is available out of the box - let's say it's shopping cart functionality, or managing promos, or a wish list - that means there will be no development effort required. Meaning the cost of delivery is going to be much cheaper.
You don't have to be very technical and explain how exactly this works under the hood. But look at things more from the functional standpoint - what is it that the platform can and cannot do.
How to Use Out of the Box in a BA Interview
In a job interview setting, it's a great idea to explain how you worked on a project where certain functionality was not available out of the box, and you had to build a certain customization.
Bringing "out of the box" into any conversation with managers, clients, and stakeholders is always a great idea. It instills confidence, almost subconsciously.
What's one feature on your project that turned out not to be available out of the box - and what did you do about it?
Before you go, my friend, I invite you to join my free BA Promotion Roadmap: From Junior to Lead. There I go through the various steps and stages of business analysis roles - from junior, to mid-level, to senior, to lead and beyond - and what it takes to build a career in business analysis. More specifically I teach how you focus on a 3-step career development cycle - Deliver great results, Tell people about your achievements, Repeat and stay consistent.
Talk soon, Sergey
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