Posted on 24, February 2012
in Category practitioner experience
As human beings, each of our time on this planet is finite. We know that time is precious, and we want to spend it doing things that make us happy. For many of us, one aspect of happiness is the ability to make a positive difference, to help put other people into a better position than what they were before we came around – in short, to create happiness. A lot of individuals make it their life mission to do such tasks, and they truly do impact people in so many wonderfully different ways. How do BAs make meaningful differences? But [&hellip
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Posted on 23, February 2012
in Category practitioner experience
To technology or not to technology Over the past few years I have come to realise that business stakeholders are growing in their understanding of technology. Does this understanding carry an advantage, a risk, or aspects of both within the project world? In my early years as an analyst, I remember working on a particular project and jotting down business requirements that were delivered from a strategic perspective. It was blatantly clear that these requirements were carefully derived to support an organisation’s strategic mission. I discussed these with the technical stakeholder before committing to the business what could or could [&hellip
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Posted on 14, December 2011
in Category practitioner experience
If I had a dollar for every time I heard a vendor say, “I know the perfect solution, and I just happen to sell it!” I’d be a retired BA. Instead, I’m a practising BA and one of my responsibilities is to help businesses understand that not all vendors are all-seeing and all-knowing. Nik Gebhard recently spoke about vendors who “seem to be inordinately skilled at pulling the wool over business’ eyes”. These vendors have great sales pitches and get companies to invest vast sums of money in technologies that may not be the right fit for their organisation. The vendor throws [&hellip
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Posted on 3, November 2011
in Category practitioner experience
Here’s the scenario: You walk in starry eyed. A fresh start. A new challenge. An opportunity to learn and share knowledge. The introductions fly past and, if you’re lucky, you remember the name of the meeting’s facilitator. Kerryn. Or was it Karin? Ready – set – go! The conversation kicks off. Most of the stakeholders around the room already know each other. More importantly, they know the business. No question, no gain From the onset it’s evident that the project is about replacing the CDS with the QLT. Before long a seemingly uninterested attendee enters the room. It’s Gary from [&hellip
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Posted on 21, July 2011
in Category practitioner experience
Something rings true about the age old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If a process is working, why change it, right? Wrong! As Bob Dylan rightly said: “The times they are a-changin’.” Our world is continually evolving and long-standing methodologies and techniques don’t necessarily provide the benefit that they once did. Similarly, the world of organisational strategy is shifting. This shift calls for innovation which will allow businesses to retain their competitive advantage. Innovation requires support In response to my last post, “The best methodology is freedom“, I have had a number of questions around how a [&hellip
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Posted on 8, June 2011
in Category practitioner experience
Is your BA style to go for glory? Do you seek praise around every bend? Do you want to be seen, heard and acknowledged? Do you vigorously voice your ideas and take all the credit? In today’s cutthroat business world I do not blame you if you do; often when one is at the project buffet it’s eat or be eaten. But I would like to argue that being a BA is about swallowing one’s pride – it’s about propping up your business and technical stakeholders, it’s about just being content with knowing that you helped make it all happen. Do [&hellip
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Posted on 23, May 2011
in Category practitioner experience
During the past few days my curiosity-muscle has been tickled by the dormant value that resides in understanding stakeholder backgrounds early on in a project. Of particular interest is how this relates back to project timeline estimations and planning. “How?” you ask. Allow me to explain… I wouldn’t expect much “umming and ahhing” if I alleged that there was considerable value to be gained in building strong relationships with stakeholders. It seems almost logical that building robust connections brings with it not only commercial benefit, but also project benefit. It instills a sense of teamwork as opposed to the typical [&hellip
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Posted on 27, April 2011
in Category practitioner experience
Picture this if you will: It’s a Monday morning after a long weekend where you took Friday off to get out of the city. You were consequently out of 3G coverage which resulted in no mobile phone reception, and therefore no email access. Back to Monday – you start your email application, and you have 113 unread emails. Do you: panic and hyperventilate, black spots start to appear in your peripheral vision, head straight to the kitchen, coffee will be your only saviour, knuckle down, and start going through the emails in the order you received them, or wish you [&hellip
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Posted on 30, March 2011
in Category practitioner experience
Politics is a tricky business. When I think of a politician I am reminded of a cowboy trying to herd cattle – they know where they want to take everyone, it’s just rather hard to get everyone to go in their chosen direction. Blood, sweat and tears are involved in the dusty world of influencing people, and all too often, business analysts forget their cowboy hats at home. Human nature inherently means that we want to be heard and have our opinions counted. If our thoughts are not listened to, we tend to feign interest regardless of the outcome. Politicians [&hellip
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