Category Archives: building teams

Measuring the Analysis Process

I’ve previously written about measuring requirements and business analysts. I am concluding the series with my current thoughts on measuring the analysis process. This quote is a truism is because it’s how we work. Measurements help us identify areas we should focus on or improve. Measurements let us know when we succeeded, or not. I love the …

January 2, 2013 – 8:00 am | By Jeffrey | Posted in building teams, business analysis | Tagged , | Comments (2)

Is Agile Just for Developers?

Are you a scrum master, coordinating with another team? You might be told, “Why isn’t that done? It should be ready by now.”  Are you a business analyst, talking about a change that doesn’t impact today’s stories? You might be told, “Don’t mention it during the stand-up meeting.”  Are you QA, trying to determine if this is …

May 23, 2012 – 5:52 pm | By Jeffrey | Posted in building teams, business analysis | Tagged , , | Comments (10)

Why I Work @ ThoughtWorks – my version

Aaron Erickson is a co-worker I’ve not yet met. As the New Year turned over he wrote a great post, Why I Work At ThoughtWorks (and why you should too…). I do not disagree with anything Aaron wrote, but I want to add some amplification based on some very personal opinions. Pretty much every company …

March 9, 2012 – 8:55 am | By Jeffrey | Posted in building teams, ThoughtWorks | Comments (4)

IIBA Chapters Should Care About BA Managers

The primary mission for most IIBA chapters is serving the local members. We serve our members with chapter meetings, training on tools and techniques, and networking events. Many chapters offer help preparing for CBAP certification, online discussion forums (Nice example here [IIBA Dallas]), information about local BA jobs, and more. But what are we offering Business Analysis Managers? In …

January 30, 2012 – 4:21 pm | By Jeffrey | Posted in building teams, business analysis | Comments (2)

BA Managers Should Care About IIBA Chapters

I have met BA Managers who attend IIBA meetings, but it’s never been very many or very consistent. Most of them were active BAs and really enjoyed the profession. A few come announcing a job opening and often leave following their pitch. This is a serious mistake, one of the biggest mistakes you can make …

January 22, 2012 – 11:55 pm | By Jeffrey | Posted in building teams, business analysis | Comments (2)

The Hidden Problem of BA Managers

As a profession, business analysis has come a huge distance in the last decade. Most Business Analysts now understand how to elicit good requirements, want a defined project scope, can write a good requirement, understand and use either User Stories or Use Cases, know how to negotiate agreement between business and technical partners, and so …

January 16, 2012 – 10:34 pm | By Jeffrey | Posted in building teams, business analysis | Comments (1)

Community Building

I work hard at participating, being a good Community Member, but I am not a natural Community Builder. There are folks out there who reach out and organize better, who remember names with greater facility, who build stronger connections than me. For all my shortcomings, I have found myself in a position where I can …

December 28, 2011 – 5:21 pm | By Jeffrey | Posted in building teams | Comments (4)