Dealing with Resistant Stakeholders
As business analysts improving business processes, it’s not uncommon for us to encounter stakeholders with a deep-rooted suspicion of IT and the belief that no matter what, the solution is not going to work for …
Effective Communication
How to Excel as an Introverted Business Analyst
Do you have an introverted personality as a business analyst and you are wondering how to best leverage your personality to excel at your work? Or perhaps you think because you are introverted, you are …
3 Tips for Effective Virtual Meetings
Many business analysts are finding themselves working from home right now and needing to elicit requirements and conduct virtual meetings. If you’ve been historically used to working in-person, this can be a huge shift. In …
Super Effective Meetings: 5 Quick and Easy Tips
Running an effective meeting is a critical skill for business analysts to master. You’ll facilitate all kinds of meetings with all different levels of stakeholders as a business analyst – discovery meetings, requirements review meetings, …
How to Build Confidence
Confidence is a belief – it is a belief in yourself and your ability to achieve a specific result in your life and your career. In my work helping business analysts, I see a lot …
Trick or Treat
Trick or Treat! It’s Halloween here in the United States and so I decided to have a little fun with this week’s video. We’re looking at 3 “tricks” or issues that can trip us up …
Missed requirements: how to avoid this BA nightmare
Author: Adriana Beal Some time ago, I received a call from an IT manager from a large NY-based company. This manager (let’s call him John) wanted my help in Phase 2 of a project whose …
8 Ways to Be Less Irritating and Minimize Follow-Up Questions After Requirements Meetings
Do you find yourself thinking up questions after a requirements meeting that you wish you would have thought to ask? Are your stakeholders frustrated because you come back again and again with more questions? Would …
8 Ways to Be Less Irritating and Minimize Follow-Up Questions After Requirements Meetings
Help Your Stakeholders Leave Their Rank at the Door: 6 Workshop Levelers
A well facilitated workshop can be an extremely good opportunity to bring stakeholders together, brainstorm and discuss potential ideas and requirements. Great workshops are often creative, high-energy and fun. They should provide stakeholders with equal …
Help Your Stakeholders Leave Their Rank at the Door: 6 Workshop Levelers
How to Get Your Stakeholders to Stop Repeating Themselves
Do you ever feel like your stakeholders keep repeating themselves? Would you like certain aspects of the elicitation process to go a little faster? In this post, we’ll look at why even when we’re listening …
Michael Scott’s Guide to Facilitating a Meeting
You might not think that Michael Scott of NBC’s The Office has much to teach you about facilitating a meeting. But I disagree! If you’ll take a closer look with me, you’ll discover that Michael does just …
How to Avoid 7 Common Workshop Pitfalls
OK – I admit it. One of my favourite parts of the BA role is facilitating workshops. I love being able to coax ideas out of people’s unconscious mind and I love the co-operation, creativity …
How Do I Get Feedback on a Requirements Document Without Sounding Too Demanding?
A reader asks: I am awaiting feedback from a client on a Requirements document. It has been 3 weeks and I haven’t gotten any response. I have already sent an email reminding them. How do I …
How Do I Get Feedback on a Requirements Document Without Sounding Too Demanding?
Good Things Come in Nice Packages (BABOK 4.4)
There is a distinction between the project requirements and the requirements package.Requirements can be organized, sliced and diced, torn apart, allocated, put back together, assigned attributes, etc. Packages are finely wrapped presentations of requirements in …
Why Terminology is Important
We ask the questions that people having been avoiding for years while they were trying to look smart. I read an article today from our respected colleague, Yaaqub Mohamed about the importance of data analysis …
How Do I Get Stakeholders to Come to My Meetings?
Reader Question: I am working at a rapidly growing company as a BA. Sometimes I really find it hard to catch my stakeholders and other interested parts at their places and to make an appointment …
How to Elicit Requirements from Distributed Teams? Virtual Brainstorming!
In my last article on Bridging the Gap, I introduced some key concepts for planning virtual meetings: Consider the focus of the meeting or workshop; Minimize duration & maximize value; Involve everyone – create a collaborative …
How to Elicit Requirements from Distributed Teams? Virtual Brainstorming!
Attending the Right Meetings and Avoiding Unnecessary Ones
Anne, a young business analyst for a financial company in New York, arrived late for the meeting. I had been at the company for two days of a week long engagement and had been attending …
10 Ways to Communicate More Effectively on IT Projects
Great business analysts are great communicators. We communicate in meetings, through elicitation, via email, and through our requirements documentation. Verbal and written communication are key competencies for the successful business analyst. I’ve collected together some …
How to Interrupt Someone in a Meeting
Have you ever been holding your breath waiting not-so-patiently to get a word in edgewise while one participant dominated the discussion? You see one stakeholder after another begin to check out while “that” person drones …
How I Take Meeting Notes and Facilitate the Discussion Without Driving Myself Crazy
In many organizations, the leader of the meeting must fill multiple roles. You probably created the agenda, are guiding the discussion, and also responsible for taking the notes. Over the years I’ve developed some habits …
How I Take Meeting Notes and Facilitate the Discussion Without Driving Myself Crazy
What To Do When a Developer Says “That’s Impossible”
We have all been here. You’ve defined just the right feature or solution to solve a specific business problem. It’s elegant. It’s simple. It’s even got a hint of beauty about it. When you get …
How to Create Quick and Effective Meeting Agenda
One of my pet peeves is attending a “mystery meeting”. You know the type, vague subject line and no agenda. Maybe you get a brief sentence in the invite saying “let’s meet to discuss XYZ”. …
“The Only Stupid Question is the One You Don’t Ask”
You’ve been there. A question sits on the tip of your tongue but you just can’t, no you won’t, ask it. Pushing back questions that surface in your consciousness is equivalent to painting over mildew. …
BAs are Difficult People (And So Is Everyone Else)
It was an eye-opening moment for me. Gordon Ellison stood up and said to a bunch of business analysts “You and I are difficult people to someone.” I had an immediate attack of self-realization when …