Politics and the business analyst There is a tendency among IT professionals, and perhaps all professionals to view politics as evil. Politics are neither good nor bad; they just are. I am amused at IT people who will declare a decision that goes in their favor to be based on rationality and good sense rendered by a top notch manager or executive, while one that goes against what they espouse is clearly politically motivated. All organizational decisions are politically motivated. Just as with sports umpires or referees, every decision will be supported by half the people playing and decried by the other half.
One of the reasons IT people tend to be so anti-political is that their world is made up of clear-cut and unemotional outcomes. When you are wrong the computer tells you so. Everything ultimately is in bits - it's either yes or no, with no gray area in between. To us in IT everything can be reduced to simple reason. Anything else is politics.
"Playing politics" can be positive or negative. It can be positive when you as a BA from the IT side publish the information about the new system one department wants that is clearly of great benefit to the organization. You talk to other departments to determine whether the new system will negatively impact them, and alter the specifications accordingly. You present the benefits of the system to management, especially decision makers. You apply positive influence with those who are in decision-making positions. You overcome opposition with communication and information. Why would there be opposition to a new system that would positively benefit the whole organization? Because people are not informed of the benefits and listen to rumors or speculation. Because no facts have been presented to support the contention that the new system is beneficial. Because the money to be allocated to the new system is money that cannot be allocated to someone else's pet project.
We nerds might look on the BA who is making presentations in favor of the new system, going to lunch with executives to "push" the idea, and networking with mid-managers to apprise them of the impacts of the new system as "playing politics". We nerds figure that the benefits of the system should speak for themselves to any rational human being, so such activities are not necessary and therefore, by our definition, political. It is not. These activities are only "political" when you believe that everyone on the planet agrees with you intrinsically and therefore doesn't need an explanation of what you feel is right to do.
Katyani anbd Dawn are exactly right. There is no advantage to ignoring politics unless you simply want an excuse, especially when the layoffs come. However, there is good reason for all business analysts to understand and use politics. One definition of politics is "Politicks is the science of good sense, applied to public affairs, as those are forever changing, what is wisdom today whould be folly, and perhaps, ruin tomorrow. "
It is the business analyst who provides the information upon which organizatoinal decisions are made. When the business analyst withholds information or slants the information to favor a specific end or outcome rather than presenting the information in an objective manner, then the BA is indeed "playing politics" in the worst definition which is "to engage in political intrigue, take advantage of a political situation, or issue...to deal with people in an opportunistic, manipulative, or devious way."
Consider this: when the BA fails to gather all the information about a particular issue, say the request for a new system or feature on an old system, and presents only the information that supports the issue, is the BA playing politics or simply not doing his or her job?  ¶ 6:24 AM