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Jarett Hailes

Three Audacious Goals for Business Analysts in 2013

As we start a new year many of us will take the time to reflect on our accomplishments from 2012 and plan our goals for 2013. We can set small or large goals. goals that will be accomplished quickly or could take several years. For 2013, I think Business Analysts should look to go beyond our traditional boundaries and set audacious goals. Merriam-...

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This entry was published on Jan 02, 2013 / Jarett Hailes. Posted in Business Analysis, Soft Skills, Leadership & Management. Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Howard Podeswa

Hey IIBA, What’s Up With That?

Recently, I was asked by the IIBA to present a talk at one of their chapter meetings. I am reprinting here my response to that invitation in the hope that it will begin a conversation with fellow EEPs and BAs about an area of great concern to the profession. Hi xx …. Regarding the IIBA talk, there is another issue that I am considering. It's p...

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This entry was published on Oct 08, 2012 / Howard Podeswa. Posted in IIBA & BABOK. Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Adrian M.

BA ABCs: “C” is for Class Diagram

Continuing the ABC series for Business Analysts, Howard Podeswa created the next installment titled "BA ABCs: “C” is for Class Diagram" as an article rather than a blog post. You can find the article here: BA ABCs: “C” is for Class Diagram Here are the previous two posts: BA ABCs: “A” is for Activity Diagram BA ABCs: “B” is for BPMN

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This entry was published on Mar 01, 2012 / Adrian M.. Posted in Class Diagram, Domain Modeling, Unified Modeling Language (UML). Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Jarett Hailes

Thoughts on the Agile Extension of the BABOK

Today was the last day people could provide feedback to the IIBA’s Agile Extension of the BABOK. The most recent draft of the document was published in November 2011 for review and comment. The purpose of the extension is to provide readers an understanding of how business analysis can be performed within an Agile environment. Various Agile methodo...

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This entry was published on Feb 29, 2012 / Jarett Hailes. Posted in Business Analysis, Agile Methods, IIBA & BABOK. Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Howard Podeswa

10 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Was Starting Out As A BA

I am no longer a Webinar virgin. Thanks to the good folks at the IIBA, this week I had my first Webinar experience as an interviewee as part of the IIBA’s ‘ABC’ (Authors, Books and Conversations) series. The host, Julian Sammy, was brilliant in being able to pick out the questions that would be the most difficult for me to answer. (I hear that’s wh...

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This entry was published on Feb 15, 2011 / Howard Podeswa. Posted in Business Analysis, Soft Skills, Career as a Business Systems Analyst, Getting Started as a Business Systems Analyst. Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Howard Podeswa

What are the Quantitative Benefits of Business Analysis?

At the end of my IIBA Webinar I tossed out a question to listeners: What are the quantitative benefits of business analysis? It’s something I’ve been spending some time on. While there are many touted (and self-obvious) benefits of analysis , hard figures are hard to come by – and it’s hard figures that high-level executives want to see when we ma...

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This entry was published on Nov 27, 2010 / Howard Podeswa. Posted in Leadership & Management, Getting Started as a Business Systems Analyst. Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Jarett Hailes

6 Traits Of A Great Business Analyst (And How To Interview For Them)

Whether or not you have ever been a Business Analyst yourself, if you work with enough Business Analysts over time you learn what sort of characteristics make a BA successful. Regardless of the Business Analyst’s skills, experience, domain knowledge or certifications, there are inherent traits that will more often than not help a person succe...

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This entry was published on Oct 18, 2010 / Jarett Hailes. Posted in Business Analysis, Interviewing & Hiring Business Systems Analysts, Career as a Business Systems Analyst, Getting Started as a Business Systems Analyst, Vertical Domain or Industry. Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Chris Adams

Intermediate Business Analyst Certification Brings Hope for the Junior Business Analyst: CCBA

The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) has recently announced a new intermediate business analyst certification called the Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA). The CCBA is being offered by the IIBA as an intermediate business analyst certification for a more junior business analyst who may not meet the more stri...

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This entry was published on Oct 02, 2010 / Chris Adams. Posted in Business Analysis, Career as a Business Systems Analyst, Getting Started as a Business Systems Analyst, CBAP. Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Howard Podeswa

BA ABCs: “B” is for BPMN

#2 in the series: “B” is for BPMN This blog continues a series on BA tools, based on my book “The Business Analyst’s Handbook”. In each blog, I move through the alphabet, highlighting a BA tool that begins with the letter of the day. Today’s letter is “B” – for Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). BPMN is the name of a standard often used fo...

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This entry was published on Sep 12, 2010 / Howard Podeswa. Posted in Business Process Management (BPM), Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Adrian M.

Business Analysis Conference Europe 2010

The Business Analysis Conference Europe 2010 is building on its highly successful inaugural conference with more workshops and a third track – Business Agility and Business Analysis. It brings together business analysis specialists from across Europe and beyond, providing a platform for promoting the BA profession and opportunities for BAs’ p...

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This entry was published on Aug 08, 2010 / Adrian M.. Posted in Business Analysis, Agile Methods, Career as a Business Systems Analyst, IIBA & BABOK. Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Jarett Hailes

When the Client Isn't the Customer

Usually when a Business Analyst is working on a project the client (which I’ll define as the party or stakeholder who receives the benefit of the Analyst’s services) and the customer (the party who is paying for the Analyst to render the services) are one in the same, at least from an overall organizational perspective (i.e. the client and customer...

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This entry was published on Aug 02, 2010 / Jarett Hailes. Posted in Business Analysis, Soft Skills, Roles and Responsibilities. Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Howard Podeswa

BA ABCs: “A” is for Activity Diagram

This blog begins a series on BA tools, based on my book “The Business Analyst’s Handbook”. In each blog, I’ll be moving through the alphabet, highlighting a BA tool that begins with the letter of the day (not quite Sesame Street, but not PeeWee ‘s Playhouse either). Today’s letter is “A” – for activity diagram. Example: The following activity dia...

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This entry was published on May 17, 2010 / Howard Podeswa. Posted in Unified Modeling Language (UML). Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Jarett Hailes

Spring Cleaning Your Personal Backlog

As spring begins to plant its roots in the Northern Hemisphere, many people will begin an annual spring cleaning of their home. All the clutter that has accumulated over the past 3, 6, 9, or even 12 months since the last cleaning is collected, assessed and then dealt with (either by moving stuff to a better location, actually using the thing,...

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This entry was published on Apr 18, 2010 / Jarett Hailes. Posted in Project Management, Soft Skills. Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Adrian M.

BABOK 2.0 Free Download/Access (V2)

I've seen so many questions being asked by people looking for a free download of the BABOK® 2.0 (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge®). And the clear answer is yes and no. Members of the IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis) can download the BABOK® 2.0 for free from the IIBA's website (login required)...

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This entry was published on Apr 17, 2010 / Adrian M.. Posted in IIBA & BABOK. Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

Jarett Hailes

The Lost Stakeholder Analysis Dimension: Engagement

Stakeholder Analysis is an important and often ongoing activity that Business Analysts perform as part of their duties. Solution delivery team members need to understand who else is involved or impacted by their work effort, how they can interact with these people or groups, and what sort of tradeoffs exist in pleasing one group over another....

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This entry was published on Feb 18, 2010 / Jarett Hailes. Posted in Requirements Management and Communication (BABOK KA), Business Analysis. Bookmark the Permalink or E-mail it to a friend.

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