Author: JB
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Why I’ve been quiet for a while (and what’s next)
I started the Practical Analyst blog in 2007. Back then, “data-driven decision making” was still a novel phrase. Business analysts were fighting for a…
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Specification: Where Clarity Becomes Commitment
Think of specs as the GPS for delivery—useless if incorrect or unclear, essential when right. Specification is the process of representing business or customer…
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From Traceability to Trust: Why Requirements Management Matters
Requirements don’t manage themselves! Management refers to the ongoing coordination, traceability, and adaptation of requirements throughout the solution lifecycle. It’s how we maintain continuity…
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Validation: Checkpoint, not Chokepoint
Validation is where we ask, “Did we get it right?” – before we build it wrong. Validation is the practice of confirming that documented…
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Analysis: Where Input Becomes Insight
Analysis isn’t about taking what you heard and writing it down. It’s about figuring out what was really meant, what’s missing, and what matters…
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What does it take to go from fuzzy concept to well-defined solution?
There’s a rhythm to effective solution definition, and it goes something like this: Elicitation. Analysis. Specification. Validation. Management. (EASVM, for short.) It isn’t the…
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Tweets of the Week – 20180713
This thread/narrative on agile planning and story points was entertaining, and thought provoking. This thread is just he beginning. Be sure to read it…
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On the Essence of Business Analysis
I recently had the opportunity to talk shop with Dave Saboe, who runs the Mastering Business Analysis website and accompanying podcast. The topic of…
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The Real Value of Visuals in Solution Delivery – A Reprise
The process of collaborative creation; of drawing and deliberating and rationalizing potential paths together until we reach an agreed upon “best way forward” provides…
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Hippocrates on Clarity of Language
Apparently, even back in Hippocrates’ day (approximately 450 BC), business professionals had a tendency to confuse their stakeholders with acronyms, jargon, and odd colloquialisms,…
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The Book, The Movie, and the Business Document
Communication using only words – whether verbal or written – leaves much to the imagination. Which is part of the appeal when it comes…
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Interview with Ryland Leyton, author of “The Agile Business Analyst”
Ryland Leyton recently released his book, The Agile Business Analyst: Moving from Waterfall to Agile. Over the years, Ryland has provided training and mentoring…
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John Dewey on Starting with a Problem to be Solved
By starting with the problem, following up with objectives that articulate the definition of success, and then ensuring that requirements and subsequent solution artifacts…
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Four Critical Components of a Meeting Invitation
While debates rage as to the effectiveness of meetings in general, and books have been written on meeting organization and management, I’ve found that…
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Benjamin L. Kovitz on Requirements
“Without requirements, there is no way to validate a program design; that is, no way to logically connect the program to the customer’s desires.” …