Tendences biznesa analītiķu pasaulē’ 2014

Vita Karnīte, CBAP, PMP

Exigen Services Latvija

http://sistemanalize.wordpress.com/

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Which is BA’s favorite answer?

• It’s out of scope• Let’s have a meeting about that• To be detailed later• It depends• This will be done automatically

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IT DEPENDS.

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Business Analysis Conference Europe ‘2014

416 attendees, 50+ speakers, 25+ countries 370+ BA Principal,Lead,Senior,Team lead, Manager

3 System analysts (Latvia, Canada, UK)Bysiness analyst mentor, Managing Analyst, BA Resource Lead, IT Business analysis expert, Business Analyst Designer, Staff Business analyst, Mobile applications BA…

Šausmīgi daudz patiesību. Nojukt var, ja nav savējās" (I.Ziedonis)

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Before BA conference I asked myself

1. Is business analysis rebrending itself towards system analysis or are they different? Where’s the thin red line?

2. Is pretending to be agile really agile?

3. What are default values in business analysis nowadays?

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So I’m back and now I know • Soft skills über alles• Communication. Invest vs waste in it• Must know techniques to survive (under pressure

etc)

• Know and do time management• Set a goal – every week a bit more skilled• Understand your values • CARE ABOUT YOURSELF

You cannot choose the emotions you feel. But you can choose for how long to feel them.

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What could I start with?

• Ask questions! Great BA’s ask – WHY?• Make noise-free environment (audial,

visual, kinesthetic…)Coffee hot, pencils sharp, chairs straight…

• People write tougher than speak. Call!• Learn formal modelling language == one

more language for BA

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Thriving in a world of changeProfessor Eddie Obeng

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• When you were a child you saw a similar puzzle. In THAT problem the line were same length. And you learnt the ‘correct answer’

• Correct answer don’t line forever. Be aware• World has changed

Do NOTHING of NO use!

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Defaults for the BA added value• Always provide context, not single data• Live in user’s shoes, not process shoes• Measure before and after

You Can’t Improve What you Don’t Measure• Provide services, not bodies

- How do you know there are 0 breaches? - I hope I know the processes and we did

our best. Show people you DO care and do your best!

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Information is beautifulDavid McCandless, journalist

Protect yourself and others from lies

Single date is not truth. Provide context!

$ 100 000 000 cut!!??

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Be creative! You have so many dimensions:

PlacementColourSizeTextHierarchyFontShapeMotion

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Enhance your BA through UX! Yuri Vedenin, Uxpresso

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Yuri – uhh, BA’s, please,…live in user’s shoes…start building more human centered

products…care more about your users,

preparing mockups and scenarios

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Trend #1 BA and SA are overlapping

Need to develop interchangeable skill sets• They’ll perform the same function• SA – develop better soft skills (listening req)• BA – better techical competencies (business-IT)

BABOK v3 : “They define requirements to a level of technical detail that will be used as part of solution design and input into technical design.”

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Increasingly blurred. While distinct roles, many of the same skills and competencies are required 18 (36)

It's Not What You Say, It's What's Heard

Suzanne Robertson, researcher, founder, writer

• Everything is communication. Life long challenge

• BA job – move ideas from one thick skull to another: users, developers, manegement…

• Always invest time to align expectations, share mental model

• Avoid empty announcements, keep positive thread:

Flight delayed!Flight delayed because of bad weather. We

don’t know for how long but we will be back in 15 minutes to announce news

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#2 Being “Agile” is a competency, not a methodology

• Agile manager’s goal is to enable the team to solve its own problems

• focuses on the talents and skills of individual

• our reaction to setbacks, conflict, criticism, …

• for BA - right requirements at right time

• no «pick solution» thinking -> «buy-in»

• conversations are key

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#3 BA and PM will continue to overlap• The role of the BA and PM will continue to

overlap in small to medium-size organizations.…to gather requirements and put them into

production.

• Liriska atkāpe – PMI ir startējis savu sertifikāciju

- PMI PBA – BA atbalsta projekta vadītāju, uzsvars ir uz BA lomu tieši projekta izstrādes laikā un sedz hibrīdgadījumus, kad BA un PM saplūst,

- IIBA jeb CBAP – BA atbalsta organizāciju, projekts ir tikai daļiņa no biznesa analīzes, skatās stratēģiskāk, plašāk, un piemērotāks klasiskiem BA

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#4 BAs on the action early and often

• As organizations and systems become more complex and more highly integrated, the need to get the requirements right the first time becomes more important

• Member of the project team, not an extension

• BA are interested in high educated stakeholders and society

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What can we do TODAY?• Don’t wait changes from top. Change

yourself and you’ll have followers• Change your environment. Make it nice,

encouraging• Never let environment to eat up you or

suppress your talent• Organize events• Share problems, solve problems• Provide feedback• Smile, be positive and noticeable

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#5 Requirements management gets sophisticated

• Huge req. documentation is dying

• Centralised web based portals

• Traceability

• Requirement management tools + documented code + documentation spread over requirements: f.e. JIRA attached user stories, mockups

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Trend #6 - to emerge as a profession

Business analysis continues to emerge as a profession with a career path in larger organizations

To recognize and reward

Defined tracks — junior, senior BA, enterprise analyst, enterprise architect, etc.

NB! BA tasks may hide beyond name…

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A Business Analyst Journey to a Lead Business Analyst

Isha Jain, UK IT Business Analyst of the Year ’2013

• A privilege to see perfect presentation and BA

• You are my stakeholders right now and I want to be sure that you step out of this room after achieving your objectives

• People’s perception is built from how you position yourself

• Positioned as a lead• Be ready to take opportunity. Isha did!

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BA asks! And Isha Jain did.• What is the scope? Is it replacing system for 200

people across the department or is it more?

• What will business tell me as their requirements?- System Problems?- Things they do in spreadsheets? (~100)

• Will that give real Value to the programme?

• Can I be sure that the requirements will be the real business needs?

• Can I be confident that these requirements will eliminate all inefficiencies in the department and deliver real business benefits?

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Business Analyst RoleI want a BA to

Find real requirements that give real value Document Requirements Write Business case Write an Investment proposal Create business process models Be bridge between business and ITHelp developers to clarify requirements

got authority -> started believe -> are following

Old world: 7 portfolios, separate BasNew: BA’s as a single entity (a pool)

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Isha as a BA Senior management:• Established framework – tools for req.management,

templates, different workshop styles (200 people)

• Created BA service catalogue to avoid people body shopping – provide services, not bodies!

• Recommends the best approach

• Leading IS and senior leaders through change

• Identifying best practices in the industry

• Provide services not just to project but to wider business

• Bringing visibility to BA Practice, mentoring BAs

• Maintains performance hubs – measure, improve

• Building Skills framework/Training catalogue 31 (36)

Isha’s niceties

• Think. Ask. Repeat as necessary • Remember and answer questions.

All questions. Always.• Proud and happy doing my job• Take time out to celebrate Success

and Achievements

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Trend #7 - continuos learning• Trends in mobile computing, big data…

• Security, clouds…

• Modelling languages

• New BA techniques – constantly developing BABOK v3 – 46 (vs v2 – 34)

- Personas - hot topic!- Collaborative games

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Playful BAGeorgiana Mannion

• «You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than you can from a lifetime of conversation»

• Get rid of teached answers

• The opposite of play isn’t work, it’s depression

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So…

1. Is business analysis rebrending itself towards system analysis?- no. It just absorbs the pleasant piece of IT

1. Is pretending to be agile really agile?- seems yes… but not as dogma – great!

1. What are default values in business analysis nowadays?- communication, soft-skilled BAs, req.m. tools

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To sum up… BA and SA - overlapping Being “Agile” is a competency BA and PM will continue to overlap BAs in on the action early and often Requirements management gets

sophisticated BA continues to emerge as a profession Continuos learning

Thank you!

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