All Entries in the "Business Analysis" Category
The Business Analyst Balancing Act
BA’s must balance the risk of missing requirements against that of paralyzing the project until “everything” is known.
Classic Business Analysis Articles
I was sorting through some of my bookmarks and articles I’ve accumulated over time via the Web, and found that there are a few articles that I seem to refer back to time and again.
Business Analysis Can Kill a Project (In a Good Way)
Scrapping an ill-fated project before it gets started can be as valuable as seeing a project through to successful implementation.
Passing Thoughts on Business Analysis II
A few more passing thoughts on business analysis.
Four Key Knowledge Areas for Business Analysts
Four key knowledge/capability domains that are especially important to the business analyst.
The IIBA: Timely or Premature?
I picked up an interesting article by Joe Gollner this morning in my Google Alerts that seemed to call into question the need or at least the timing of the creation of the IIBA and its accompanying body of knowledge, the BABOK.
I thought I’d send the link on over to Kevin Brennan to get his [...]
Thinking of Becoming a BA? Q&A with Laura Brandau
Laura and I chat about her new book on what it takes to become a business analyst.
Escalation and Infinite Regression
Fancy words for pretty common ways simple projects can quickly morph into gargantuan ones.
Patterns and the Evolving Business Analyst
Let’s focus on what I consider the capstone to development and “evolution” as an analyst; the ability to learn, recognize and apply patterns.
Are “Project Teams” Really Teams?
My personal study of what makes successful teams, to which I’ve recently alluded, is ongoing. Most recently I came across the article “Project teams are not teams”, which seems to provide a pretty direct answer to the question I posit in the title of this post.
Passing Thoughts on Business Analysis & Requirements
Here are just a few impressions I’ve jotted down over the past few weeks that may never evolve into full blog posts, but that I wanted to share just the same. Please feel free to chime in with your support or challenges to my list, or with your own observances.
So, what do you do, exactly?
Business analysts? How many times have you been asked what you do for a living and had to pause to think for a minute about exactly how to describe it?
I’m with Einstein
What are some things we could improve by simplifying? How can we think differently and what can we do differently to get the desired results instead of the same old results?
What Good is the “As-is”?
Adrian Marchis at Modern Analyst posted a helpful article on process mapping describing, among other things, diagramming the “as-is” process as part of the overall process mapping exercise.
A very interesting and active discussion has followed concerning whether modeling the “as-is” process is valuable, or a waste of time and effort.
Did I Really Write That?
As I was scanning through some of my old documents, I found that I wasn’t that thrilled with a lot of my older work. Ever had that happen to you?
Notes from the BABOK 2.0 Launch Webcast
Kevin and Julian did a nice job with the presentation today and answered a lot of questions. I am glad I attended. Maybe it’s my inner geek coming to the surface, but I was really pretty excited by some of the ideas IIBA is working on and about the new and improved body of knowledge.
Here are a few notes I jotted down while listening that I thought my readers might find interesting.
Analysis Model Meme
Craig Brown, who runs the fabulous project management/business analysis blog Better Projects made a call for participation to various bloggers in that niche to list the first and last analysis models we’ve used at work. Being the good sport that I am, here’s my reply.
Economic Stimulus, Meet Project Manager
PM Perspective: Gregory Balestrero, CEO of the PMI, emphasizes making sure that the initiatives included in the stimulus package are rolled out as quickly and effectively as possible.
Economic Stimulus, Meet Business Analyst
Before you tune out, don’t worry, while “politically motivated” this is NOT going to be a post on politics, but on process and procedure – business analysis, if you will.
What do I know about “Maximizing IT Value?”
Catch my recent Requirements.net podcast interview.
A Few Quick Links – 12/18/08
New idea for requirements collaboration, lots of project management terms, more evidence on the link between poor requirements and project failure, and, for Heaven’s sake, we don’t “gather” requirements!
Business Analysis in an Uncertain Economy
Never mind the latest industry report.
The Echo, The Lie and The UML Guy
“Early on, the goal is not to be right, but rather to be wrong in interesting, illuminative ways. Oh, it’s nice to feel like a genius when you do get it right the first time; but that’s rare. Much more common is that you think that you got it right, because your customer nods and doesn’t say much, when what’s really happening is that he’s too busy and just wants this meeting to be over. So being “right” in your early Echoes can lead to a false sense of security; and trying too hard to be right right away is misplaced effort and worry. Be as correct as you can manage, but recognize the limitations of your current knowledge.”
The Business Analysis “Artist” and the Requirement Tools of the Trade
Understanding the limitations of requirements management tools, and the importance of analysis skills.
Vision Statement Form and Function
Form and function of the product vision statement.
The “Requirements Workbench” Concept
The idea of a “requirements workbench” is one that the guys over at Requirements.net have been consistently socializing over the past few months, and one that I have been following with interest.
Requirements.net has recently posted a Business Analyst Workbench Whitepaper and a Workbench Buyer’s Guide. To give the general gist of the workbench without stealing Req.net’s thunder, the workbench concept includes requirements management capabilities, but then goes beyond that to support the analyst through elicitation, elaboration and communication and validation activities.