businessanalystmentor.com

Just in time BA coaching – testers wanted!

Alex Papworth — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:04:07 +0000

Training for BAs is a million miles better than it was in 2000 when I started as a freelance BA. However, I believe it is often a poor solution for today’s time starved business analyst who needs on the spot, relevant and actionable coaching.

Some BA’s that I’ve been talking to about training and Certification over the last few months have also told me that it’s expensive, inconvenient and inflexible. Traditional training takes you away from your workspace, often for days at a time, to learn some new skills that take a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Don’t get me wrong, there are some excellent training courses and trainers out there. But the business model limits what can be done with training and also keeps the prices high.

That ‘vanilla’ case study just doesn’t tackle the specific challenges you face in your organisation. Maybe it ignores problems that are typical in your industry. It’s not a problem with the case study but an inevitable problem with a training course that has to work for the huge variety of BA’s, organisations and different business domains out there.

You will have the opportunity to speak to your trainer during the course but maybe not in the depth you require. Also, as you proceed through the course, you may wish more depth in a particular area. There’s no point asking for that as the curriculum is already fixed!

When you get back to the office, you are likely to have questions when you try to apply what you have learnt. Some trainers are generous with their time and let you call them after the course. However, you know that you can’t stretch their generosity too far. You may want to spend an hour going through the specific circumstances on your project but that may well be too big an ask!

And the solution is…

As you will know, I’m always looking for ways for the BA community to help itself and this seems like a great opportunity. I know that the knowledge and experience held by the BA community collectively is immense and covers every conceivable business domain, type of project and type of BA role!

So, amongst my other projects, I’m investing my time and attention to pilot a service that taps into this resource.

Would you be interested in learning from a fellow BA who has mastered the skills? Perhaps you want to learn from someone who has experience in your particular business domain. And would you like to tailor how you learn so that you can do it in one or two hour bite sized pieces. Would you like to avoid the cost and time of travel to training sessions? If so, using the phone and the web is much more convenient.

It would be more like having a training course where you design your own curriculum and get immediate feedback. You won’t get a polished, fine tuned course developed over years. But you will get coaching from a BA who can speak from experience and adapt advice to suit your specific needs. He or she can also give you either a high level overview or detailed instruction. You will be able to request guidance on the job rather than the vanilla case study. And as many follow up sessions as you need…

So who would be doing the coaching?

Well, if you have experience and expertise, that could well be you!

Would you enjoy the challenge of coaching another BA in a skill where you have some experience and expertise?

Coaching is a key leadership skill which will make you more valuable to your organisation. You could also use your coaching experience and testimonials to help your career progression or win you that next contract.

Another benefit of this approach would be a significant reduction in your training costs. Or even just make it possible if the cost currently makes it impossible.

So how would that work? If you give your time and experience for free, you could then find someone who has experience and expertise in skills you are looking to acquire.
And you wouldn’t need to be a recognized expert – any BA will be able to offer to coach another BA as long as they are honest and open about their level of experience and expertise.

This would work as a ‘skill and time exchange’ to minimise the cost to you.

What next?

At this stage, this is just an idea -you’ve probably gathered that and have a list of questions for me.

That’s why I need some enthusiastic and patient testers so that you can help me design and test the service that works for you.

Do you like the sound of this idea? Would you like to be involved and can spare a few hours each month?

You will be testing the service and being interviewed to provide feedback. You will also be introduced to other BA’s either to share your knowledge or learn about skills that are at the top of your list.

Sign up here to be one of the original testers to create this service.

There will be no financial cost to be involved. I also need to keep the initial group small so please apply immediately if you are really keen to be included.

Whether you want to be coached, coach others or a mixture of the two (to save you $$’s), I’d like to hear from you.

You would stand to gain some new BA skills. BUT, this is a new service that I’m testing so you’d have to be patient and expect some frustration as I’m developing the service.

If that worries you, I don’t recommend you get involved.

If you think this is a great idea and you’d like say you’ve been part of designing this service then sign up here.

If you don’t want to be involved in testing the service but would like to hear about it when it is ready to be used then provide your details here.

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First BA Café – What is BA competence and how do you gain credibility?

Alex Papworth — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:51:35 +0000

Joan Davis, Pete Cohen and I ran the first BA Café on the 27^th April. As this was a pilot, it was a free event to understand your needs, test the technology and the process itself.

Joan and Pete did the lion’s share of the work with Pete at the helm of MaestroConference (supports audio conference with multiple breakout rooms) during the cafe with Joan designing, planning and running the event.

Preparation took place over several weeks. Considerable effort goes into designing these events to ensure they generate the results. Much of this is about designing the questions that are challenging, positive and inspiring.

Whilst there is a great deal of design and thinking that goes into the event, the Café itself is free flowing and driven by the participants. The theory behind this approach is that ‘the knowledge is in the room’. In other words, individual insights and experience are very powerful when shared and discussed within the group. It is intimate and informal with small conversational groups of 4 people. But it also gathers the insights of the entire group together.

Have a look at this video to understand the principles of the World Café. This was recorded by Anna Ulanova who is our graphic recorder – this is another important element where the group’s insights are represented in a graphical form.

We also benefited from support from Strenner Szilárd as a second graphic recorder.

You can see the result of our BA Café below (supplied by Anna).

And here are Szilard’s contributions:

We would like to run BA Cafés in the future but we can only do this by understanding what you would find most valuable.

If you would like to be kept informed or have any special requests, please provide some details here.

Would like to run your own BA Café in your organisation or your local IIBA Chapter? Would you like to discuss some ideas about the BA Cafe? If so, provide your details here

Everyone involved in this pilot gave their time for free and I would like to thank them all for their commitment and efforts.

If you’re interested in graphic recording, feel free to contact Strenner Szilárd or Anna Ulanova.

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My thoughts on the UK Certification Event

Alex Papworth — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:30:27 +0000

The UK BA Certification event ran on the 28th March. It didn’t run entirely without a hitch but it went pretty well. Joe Dasilva was hosting and was involved in a car accident on the way home. Fortunately, it wasn’t serious and he did manage to dial in.

All the recordings are available here.

For those who are not from the UK and not interested in the ISEB, there’s still plenty of useful tips on the CCBA and CBAP.
Suzanne Bertschi, the IIBA Certification product manager, talks about the certifications and the process.
Nick de Voil advises on how to tackle the CBAP taken from interviewing several different CBAP’s.
If you’re working in the UK and still wondering which Certification is right for you and, just as importantly, how to get it on a cost effective basis on your (time) terms, the Certification Consultation Service is designed to help you.

Find out more about the Certification Consultation Service here.

Many people have also signed up to the Certification Community Site.
This is an independent, one stop shop for BA’s considering Certification. It will have a guide to the Certifications, FAQ’s, forums as well as a recording of the webinar. It will be fully set up over the next couple of weeks.

This is also your opportunity to start or find a study group and ask any of your burning questions. Why not see if there are any like-minded souls who want to swap notes on training providers or other key questions?
Alternatively, you could just register and receive email updates if you want to keep in up to date.

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BA’s and employer’s view on Certifications

Alex Papworth — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 07:30:08 +0000

Here are some thoughts on Certifications from BA’s who have made the Certification journey:

Adrian Reed compares the CCBA/CBAP with the ISEB BA Diploma

Brett Arthur shares Part 1 of his CBAP journey – there are two more posts to complete the story!

And here are the results of our questionnaire answered by individuals responsible for recruiting BA’s:

Here are some of the conclusions from interviewing some of these individuals.

Unsurprisingly, there isn’t a unified point of view on Certifications.

They aren’t sufficient to get you a job – demonstrating experience and knowledge is always going to be higher on the priority list along with fit with the organisation and team.

However…

Some companies do think that senior BA’s should demonstrate they take their career seriously through having acquired a certification or qualification.

There is no strong opinion on which certification or qualification is best although the ISEB BA Diploma is, inevitably, given its age better known and understood.

If you are a BA working in the UK and want to hear more advice on Certifications and have your own questions answered by the experts, sign up to the IIBA UK webinar here.

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How do you know when you are doing enterprise analysis?

Joan Davis — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:16:58 +0000

Enterprise Analysis puts the Business Analyst in a strategic role, a frame of reference that we BA’s are uniquely qualified for but rarely engaged in. We aren’t usually assigned to interpret business strategies at an organizational level, but when it does happen our work gives context to the plan for requirements gathering and solution definition. Imagine how rewarding it could be to help optimize the alignment of Business and IT.

Stepping Up to Enterprise Analysis

My own opportunity came as a former employer was dissolving. Ironically the leaders saw the need to analyze the remaining critical functions and assess the gaps in technology required to fulfill the new mission: to process legal claims against the organization and distribute the remaining assets. For four exhilarating years I contributed at this level, taking on projects that included functional forecasts, systems consolidation and streamlining, disaster recovery and business resumption planning. I’d like to share my experiences in Enterprise Analysis with all of you in the hope that, when the opportunity strikes, you’ll have some ideas on where to start and how to approach the web of organizational complexity.

Expanding Organizational Context

IIBA’s BA Body of Knowledge describes Enterprise Analysis as a pre-project activity whose outputs “provide context to requirements analysis and to solution identification for a given initiative or for long-term planning.” When engaged in Enterprise Analysis you may find yourself doing any number of familiar activities, simply expanded to consider the organization as a whole:

Documenting the Business Architecture. Modeling the components that make up the organization, in terms of people resources and roles, information flow and transformation, application infrastructure and interdependencies, technology platforms, and security practices and constraints.
Defining Project Scope. Elaborating what’s needed to move a new business opportunity forward, in terms of people, process, and technology.
Conducting Feasibility Studies. Researching the cross-functional impact of solution sets to find the optimal answer for enterprise objectives.
Performing a Risk Assessment. Evaluate risks, probability, and impact to the organization and its goals.
Preparing the Business Case. Reporting on the benefits and costs associated with a strategic solution proposal.
Planning the Change Management Approach. Defining the manner in which business change will be introduced, measured, and continuously improved upon organization-wide.

And so you see that you’ve done Enterprise Analysis all along, only within the narrower perspective of an individual project. In upcoming posts I’ll explore each of these 6 topics in greater depth.

Your New Role in the Enterprise

It may seem a stretch to cross over into the broader sphere of providing analysis and benchmarking to the strategic planners of your organization, but with guidance you can meet the challenge. I’d be happy to consult with you on your specific needs, whether it’s tackling those executive conversations, improving management of stakeholder concerns, or organizing the seemingly massive span of organizational information. Today’s Business Analysts need to be able to apply their skills equally in projects that assess and improve the business domain, process components, or supporting systems. I look forward to helping you to weave the enterprise view. Click here to learn more.

Have you already started down the path toward Enterprise Analysis? It would be great to hear your stories. Please share your insights with a comment below.

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Confessions of new(ish) BA

Oliver Harper — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:59:55 +0000

At work I recently made a confession. Despite having a couple of years BA experience and a number of projects under my belt, I had never received formal training to do my job. I didn’t actually know for certain how I should be doing my job. Looking at the people around me made me feel guilty. Dave in finance; two years of studying and still another year before he’s qualified. Ruth, just joined the sales team and immediately sent on a round of training courses to sharpen her negotiation skills. Me? Two years in, three projects delivered and not a whiff of training. I was making it up as I went along.

Time to get some qualifications. My immediate need was for some coaching on the basics; so far I felt like someone who had learnt to drive on a quiet road, fine for small simple journeys but I’d be ill-equipped for anything more challenging. Despite looking to start with the basics, I wanted this initial study to count towards something bigger if possible.

I soon discovered that there were a couple of decisions to make. CBAP or ISEB? And whether to self-study or go on a training course?

CBAP vs ISEB

CBAP (aka the Certified Business Analysis Professional) is a qualification administered by the IIBA and describes its recipients as “…the elite, senior members of the BA community”. Well, maybe one day, but for my immediate needs I was looking for something a little more basic. A closer look at the eligibility requirements provided confirmation: a minimum of 7,500 hours of BA work experience. That’s about five years, and three more than I have. There is always the CCBA, a kind of ‘CBAP-lite’, that requires a mere 3,750 hours of experience. This would have appealed had CCBA been a pre-requisite for CBAP; however as a stand-alone qualification that doesn’t count towards something bigger, I felt it wasn’t right for me.

So to ISEB, or the ISEB Diploma in Business Analysis to give it its full name. The diploma is administered by the BCS; to gain the qualification a candidate must pass a minimum of four written, modular exams plus an oral exam. The modular approach immediately appealed, as it allowed the possibility to gain a basic qualification that contributes to something bigger. Another big plus with modular qualifications are that they require less of an up-front commitment before becoming certified.

A final consideration in the CBAP vs ISEB debate is how the respective qualifications are viewed by employers. Personally, I would never choose a qualification just because it was the one employers wanted; for me it’s more important to want to learn something. However, it is a factor worth understanding and I was fortunate enough to attend an IIBA event on the topic of recruitment just before making my decision. Asking around, the consensus was that there was no ‘must-have’ qualification, though the ISEB Diploma did seem to edge it. An interesting suggestion is that ISEB is more widely-recognised in the UK, with CBAP being a more US-centric qualification.

Self-study or training course

Having decided that the ISEB Diploma was the one for me the next question was how to go about studying for it. With the BCS book and some excellent learning resources I had found online I felt I had the means to self-study. Sample papers can be found on the BCS website and I have no doubt that most people, with the requisite commitment and discipline, can comfortably pass the exams without the need for tutoring. So in true BA style I did a quick bit of analysis: the only positives to self-study I could think of were cost and flexibility. So it seemed that the only reason for doing self-study was if I didn’t have a flexible, generous employer willing to pay for the course and allow me the time off work. Luckily I do, so the decision was made.

Now to find a training course. There is an overwhelming variety of training providers out there, and the process for sorting the good from the bad is not immediately obvious. When choosing a course I kept to the simple principle of looking for something that I actually wanted to study. I wanted to learn, not simply pass an exam, so any providers who seemed to provide an ‘exam-passing’ service were discounted. Conversely, courses that included material not directly linked to an exam syllabus caught my attention. Class size was another important factor; anything above 10 would be a no-go. Finally, it’s worth finding out who will be running the course; an experienced tutor is a must. I wanted to learn from someone who had been there and done it.

Summary

Clearly the decision of what and how to study depends on personal circumstances. Indeed, over the next 12 months I’m expecting to shift to self-study as my employer’s training budgets tighten. However, for now I’m content with putting my new-found knowledge to the test on my latest project before continuing on the path to certification.

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Would you like to hear about the latest valuable BA content from across the web?

Alex Papworth — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:58:45 +0000

Oliver Harper, one of the members of the Business Analyst Mentor community, has volunteered to manage a twitter feed to spread the word on valuable BA content across the web.
This would cover approaches to business analysis, guidance on techniques, case studies and anything that would help you with your professional development.
There’s lots of valuable content produced in many blogs and communities so we want to highlight all the best stuff, regardless of where it appears.
(of course, that would include content from Business Analyst Mentor too!)
It’s going to be hard work for Oliver so I want to know whether you would value this before he starts investing his time.

Please let me and Oliver know if you would value this by answering this quick poll below:

Take Our Poll

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Tom Karasmanis

monicathomas — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:45:43 +0000

Canadian BA Mentor.

Tom is the Product Owner for the IIBA’s “Being a BA – Technical Excellence” and “Vendor Showcase” webinar series. Previously he was the IIBA’s Chief Architect. An experienced business architect and enterprise analyst, he has a track record of many years building and managing Business Analysis practices. He is one of the authors of the IIBA’s competency model (versions 1 and 3), and has a varied background in several industry sectors including financial services, healthcare and publishing.

Originally a software engineer, Tom first got into business analysis because he was the only one of his peers who actually enjoyed doing requirements analysis! As the profession matured and grew in recognition, he realised that he had found his ideal career. He retains an interest in technical architecture and enjoys the process of defining solutions to requirements.

Tom has taught business analysis at the college level, as well as being an experienced conference speaker and workshop facilitator.

Tom is a keen amateur photographer and lives in the Toronto area with his wife and young daughter

Read Tom’s Articles

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Malcolm Eva

monicathomas — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:38:49 +0000

UK BA Mentor.

Malcolm has worked in the fields of systems analysis and business analysis since 1985, having finally seen that programming is all very well, but it’s not like the real thing. He has worked in large public sector organsiations including Ministry of Defence and BT, and also helped private sector organizations such as Bank of Ireland, Intel and O2.

Much of his work has been training in BA related-themes such as requirements engineering, process modelling and soft systems-based approaches to analysis, but he has been concerned also to keep getting his hands dirty with real life projects so as not to find himself in an ivory tower of theory growing further away from the world where people do the work. He also enjoys working with metaphors.

Malcolm has delivered papers on aspects of information systems at conferences in Cork, Prague, Bayonne, and also published papers in IS journals in UK and US. He is the author of SSADM: A User’s Guide, published by McGraw-Hill, co-author of Introducing Systems Development with Steve Skidmore, published by Palgrave, and contributor of 2 chapters to Business Analysis, Ed Debbie Paul and Don Yeates, published by BCS. He was a part of the team who initially designed and developed the very successful Business Analysis Diploma programme, run under the aegis of ISEB, a branch of BCS.

When not in BA mode, Malcolm enjoys playing saxophone in 3 local concert bands near his home in Stroud, Gloucestershire, and has recently begun learning to compose and arrange music. He also enjoys walking the Cotswold hills nearby.

Read Malcolm’s Articles

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What will Business Analyst Mentor deliver in 2012?

Alex Papworth — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:00:18 +0000

In 2012, I’m going to provide the community with a platform where you can really share your expertise and develop your skills. You could be doing one or both of these things, depending on the area and your experience.

For example, if you have pursued certification you will be able to share your ‘journey’ and top tips to help others benefit from what you learned.
Conversely, if you’re pursuing certification, you’ll be able to access resources that will help you.

There could be an assessment service to decide what certification is the correct one for you and how best to pursue that certification to suit your needs.

You could meet like-minded people so you can pair up with a buddy or join a group of individuals all pursuing the same certification.

This community platform won’t be purely for certification, it will allow me, the mentors and you to share expertise and provide a place to discuss a wide variety of skills and techniques that really matter to you as business analysts.

I will start with certification but plan to identify a handful of subject areas that are of most importance to you. For each of these, I’ll provide some community tools to allow you to share expertise and learn both individually and as a group, depending on your preference.

You can expect online discussion forums and a growing list of relevant resources. You can also expect live events where some of the experts can provide some guidance and answer your questions on a particular topic.

I want to use this platform to engage directly with you and understand both what topics are of interest to you but also answer the questions that really bother you and, perhaps, don’t get answered elsewhere. Hey, if you’ve got a network of experts with a lot of experience then that should be possible, shouldn’t it?

I will always aim to provide some valuable free community tools and resources but you will also be able to access individually tailored support and the best resources and expertise as a paid service.

I’m thinking about a rebrand too. Business Analyst Mentor feels a little too narrow for the mission:

to leverage the knowledge and experience of the whole community to accelerate the professional development of all business analysts

It’s not an immediate priority and will probably be tackled later in the year. Put your thinking hats on, I’d appreciate some suggestions from you!

So, to return to the lessons I learnt from 2011:

Individual enthusiasm and drive is critical for success
I will be looking out for individuals who are passionate and driven to get access to my network and play an important role in growing the community. If you have particular expertise, that’s a bonus but it is not necessary.

Build good relationships, based on mutual trust and respect
I want us to work together and so I will work hard on building honest, open and mutually beneficial relationships with very motivated individuals.

Allow people to play to their strengths and follow their passions.
I want to uncover and help you play to your strengths as participant of this community. You may be surprised by the skills and resources you possess that are not necessarily related to business analysis but help grow the community.

The growth of Business Analyst Mentor will be accelerated by allowing enthusiastic members of the community to participate.
If you have any specific ideas or just want to play a active part in the community, just let me know. I’m happy to discuss anything!

Listen to your customers!
I want you to continue telling me what your challenges are. The new platform and new ideas will all provide you with an opportunity to influence where we focus our attention. Don’t wait, contact me today with your challenges. Send me an email (alex@bamentor.com) or share your thoughts as a comment below.

I’m looking forward to 2012, it’s going to be an exciting year. I would love for you to join us to make this community work for your benefit and everyone else too.

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