Digital Launchpad – Tackling the digital projects skills gap - Part 3

AlMorris

Transformation Lead, This is Milk

In this final installation of Digital Launchpad - Tackling the digital skills gap, we have a look at this new job role of a Customer Analyst. If you have no idea what we are talking about then please do read blog posts 1 & 2. Or hey, just go rogue and see what happens. You can always go back after.

Digital Launchpad - Tackling the digital skills gap - Part 1
Digital Launchpad - Tackling the digital skills gap - Part 2

All caught up, excellent, now in the words of Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka, "Off we go"

​Digital Launchpad – Tackling the digital projects skills gap - Part 3​

Imagine yourself at a busy business event/networking/conference/meeting/shop to buy your groceries when you meet somebody who asks you what you do.

Natural you say: "Hi I'm (Fill the Blank) and I'm a Customer Analyst!" 

Which will no doubt be met with the response of: "aw excellent, sorry what is that exactly?" 

Just what do you say? Well you could go with: "A Customer Analyst is that rare specimen of gold, that runs digital projects with an unparalleled level of skill and understanding" or you could go with something along the lines of how we described it in blog part 2. 

"A CustomerAnalyst has the full understanding and skills needed to cradle a digital project from it's initial conception all the way through to project delivery. It encompasses the vital skills of a business analyst, user ​researcher, strategist, service designer and project/product manager" 

It's a job role to be proud of, one of accomplishment and understanding, not to mention a job that serves as much today as it does tomorrow. Ever evolving, ever learning and ever developing to maintain and improve the running of digital projects.  ​

Tools of the trade

The tools that every CA will have at their disposal, will be built on a foundation of experience and confidence. This is not an entry level position for somebody with no experience in the corporate landscape at all. What we are doing, is adding specific key skills to an existing exemplary candidate that will create a hybrid role that currently does not exist, but is sorely needed.
 
Skills and topics awaiting these candidates will include the following: 

• Research methods
• Strategic  analysis
• Research methods 
• Proposition building and entrpreneuirship skills
• Objectives and project goal settings
• Scope and terms of reference
• Customer centricity
• Design thinking
• Project methodology and life cycle - Agile, Google sprints, waterfalls and variations
• Analysis tools - Process maps, requirements, user journeys, user stories 
• Facilitation and soft skills 
• Project management tools 
• Data 
• Technologies of today  (and tomorrow)

Who is an ideal candidate?

The role of a Customer Analyst plays a pivotal part in either the success or failure of digital projects. They have full control and understanding of each and every segment of the project with an overarching focus on the understanding of clients needs/expectations and how to deliver an exceptional service to them. This is no entry level role, it will come with it's pressures and equally with it's rewards. 

To fully understand and be able to activate their newly learned skills, there must first be a basic level of understanding of a corporate digital landscape. We are looking to boost the skills of our candidates, creating exceptional talent that exceeds that of those already working in the industry.  

Digital Launchpad is perfect for those looking to:

• Upskill in their professional careers 
• Make a change of career to digital projects 
• Return to work after an extended period of absence 
• Return to work after maternity/paternity leave 

Or even tell us why you'd be the perfect candidate. Not every journey a simple one, you may just have the perfect storm of skills curated of your career that with our training makes you perfect for the role.  

Next Steps

Digital Launchpad is in a period of fact finding in order to create a course of study that exactly fits with the needs of the industry. As mentioned earlier, we have a round table at the end of the month with industry leaders, the findings of which will help design the content of the course as well as allowing us to inform the broader industry of our next steps. 
You can help us by taking a few minutes to complete one of our surveys if applicable: 

• For people who hire for projects 
• For people in high growth tech 
• For people who work on projects  

If you are ready to launch your career in Digital Projects or if you need the service of a Customer Analyst then click on the button below: 

Find out more about Training by This is Milk

(Blog first published 19/01/2018)