I am regularly surprised by the number of people that want to pivot their career toward business analysis and don’t realize that they already are analysts. In this video, I identify the single factor that distinguishes you today, from the business analyst you want to become, and the three(3) tips that will help unlock that BA inside of you so that [...]
A few weeks ago, I met a young lady in Dublin who has having some challenges with an analytics write up. About the same time, I received a request from a student in Ottawa who wasn’t sure how to conduct an elicitation. This student asked for a video of me conducting an interview… The more I thought about it, I realized [...]
On June 10, 2020, Projerra started broadcasting on YouTube (ok – so I’m a little late with the announcement, but better late than never). Projerra is dedicated to sharing practical perspectives in IT project management and business analysis. After 25+yrs in this domain, and helping thousands of students redirect their career, I wanted a new avenue by which to connect with [...]
Like many of you, I have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. My contract was terminated at the end of June, due to government money being reallocated to support the emergency relief benefits; but rather than sit idle for the past 2 months and bemoan the lemons that have come my way, I have used this opportunity to make lemonade. [...]
This is post five of five that shares learning and insight gained during a recent consulting experience. Today’s lesson straddles the line between requirements management (generally considered the responsibility of a business analyst or solution architect) and solution delivery (generally consider the responsibility of a project or program manager). I have straddled these practices throughout my career. It was 2002 or [...]
This is post four of five that shares learning and insight gained during a recent consulting experience. If you read post two of this set, you will recall I mentioned that I like to use tables to clarify scope. I also like using tables because they visually present all the options and combinations that are possible and ensure that stakeholders consider [...]
“BA as Translator” This is post three of five that shares learning and insight gained during a recent consulting experience. There are generally two types of requirements 1) Functional: describes WHAT the system/process does – the processes, workflows, validations, and calculations – the system either will or will not perform. 2) Non-Functional: describes HOW the system does what it does – [...]
This is post two of five that shares learning and insight gained during a recent consulting experience. If you read post one of this set, you will recall that I started work with a team that was struggling to understand a small set of requirements. They said they wanted a set of use cases to help them understand the requirements so [...]
This is post one of five that shares learning and insight gained during a recent consulting experience. I started work with a new team that was struggling to understand a small set of requirements. They said they wanted a set of use cases to help them understand the requirements so that they could survey the COTS on the market and identify [...]
Recently, I started work with a new team where I was the most experienced Business Analyst in a team of six. I coached and guided the new BAs so that they could feel more comfortable in their role and duties. When I find myself in a coaching role, I notice that I learn as much (or more) from the experience as [...]
