Software consultant Tim Lister defined project success as “meeting the set of all requirements and constraints held as expectations by key stakeholders.” There’s a vast body of literature on software requirements. In contrast, little is written about the various kinds of constraints that stakeholders might impose on a software initiative. Identifying, communicating, and working within constraints are essential aspects of successful software development. Let’s begin with a definition:

“A constraint is a restriction that limits the choices available for a product’s specification, design, construction, configuration, or project management.”

A software initiative is subject to three major classes of constraints: product, project, and process.

In this series’ first article, Beyond Tools and Processes: Strategies for Successful Software Development Teams, we introduced the concept of reflective practices. Reflection aims to facilitate learning from experience. The essence of reflection is to actively engage in a process to gain perspective on one’s own actions and experiences. The aim of this process is to analyze those experiences rather than merely living through them. By cultivating curiosity and a willingness to explore our actions and experiences, we unlock the potential for intentional learning, not only as individuals but also as a team or even an organization. This learning stems not from books or experts but directly from our own work and lived experiences, successes, and failures.

Imagine you have just led a successful incident response effort, restoring order after a critical cyberattack. Systems are back online, data is secured, and the team breathes a sigh of relief. But the question lingers-how do you know if your response was truly effective? This is where metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) come in, and business analysts play a vital role in defining them. Metrics and KPIs help organizations assess how well they manage and mitigate cybersecurity incidents. For business analysts, identifying the right KPIs for incident response is essential not only for evaluating current processes but also for driving improvements. Let's explore how BAs can create a powerful set of KPIs to gauge incident response effectiveness and ultimately enhance business resilience.

Let's review some of the key differences between two similar looking certifications in the field of Business Analysis, CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional) and CPRE (Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering) (Foundation) certifications. One of the questions I have received often from my participants as well as BA professionals in my circle. Let's delve into those differences.

For computer and applications, "architecture" is a very common and often ambiguous word. It seems certainly to be referred to complex systems, and appears often to be confused with such as structure or frameworks, planning or blueprint, approach or methodology, and so on. It can be seen that, however, there are certain reasons to using this term.