There are a lot of different types of readers out there on HN, but I feel like my segment is being under represented... or is it.
I think my reading falls into three categories. Product management related authors and topics, (technical) project management, and CS fundamentals & software development (this is by far my weakest area and needs a lot more effort).
Focusing on software, in my view:
1. BAs are focused on developing internal business applications to be used by the employees of a business. Whereas PMs are focused on developing products to be sold to others (B2B or B2C). BAs were used at organizations where software is a supporter or enabler of the business as opposed to at organizations where the business is software, which would use PMs.
2. The role of a BA is a subset of the role of a PM. So, the PM's focus is a little broader in scope and would include more work with external stakeholders, go to market strategy, revenue, profit and loss, and maybe budgeting.
Beyond that, what exactly is a BA? This is tough to answer because there is no standard definition. BA job descriptions will differ between companies and even within a company, they will differ between departments.
Not sure if that helps.
I was thought that you were priming us for a really good joke.
Come on! What's the punchline?
I visit mostly to keep up with tech news. Occasionally I'll stumble onto threads that give me ideas for solutions at my job. But mostly it's really just to decompress.
The BA side helps me navigate lots of things though. Helps at work when needing to phrase things to non-techies.