Business Analysis Live!

Is facilitating change easy?  No!  Susan and Scott dig into the topic of change management with the authors of Brainy Glue, Ian Richards and Filip Hendrickx. They emphasize the importance of introducing and managing change effectively within organizations and highlight the role of Business Analysis professionals in facilitating this process.   For effective change management, it’s important to hav...

​This is a discussion about building confidence, imposter syndrome, and self-doubt. Susan and Scott talk with Paula Bell about the multifaceted nature of confidence, highlighting its impact on personal and professional success. Confidence isn't just a surface-level trait but is deeply connected to one's self-awareness and understanding of their value. Imposter syndrome is a common phenomen...

We discuss effective problem solving with Khethelo Malinga, who presented at the Building Business Capabilities (BBC) conference on the topic. We talk though challenges of why problem solving can be difficult and how to overcome them in organizations. We also take live questions from viewers on LinkedIn live. RESOURCES: - Book: Bulletproof Problem Solving – free access to the book and audio book f...

Susan and Scott talk with Laura Paton about strategy analysis. They discuss the role of business analysis professionals in strategy analysis and the skills required for this work. They highlight the need for experience and the ability to work with executives, facilitate meetings efficiently, use various techniques for eliciting and analyzing information, and effective communication. They also ment...

Susan and Scott discuss requirements engineering and business analysis. Our guest is Stan Buehne from the International Requirements Engineering Board (IREB). IREB is a nonprofit organization based in Germany that focuses on promoting and improving the discipline of requirements engineering. Stan discusses the importance of requirements engineering in various industries, such as automotive, aviati...

Our guest, Maria Montgomery, is a business analysis expert from Australia, who has been in the field for over a decade. Maria expresses her passion for coaching and sharing her knowledge through her book on business analysis: The Art of Getting Business Analysis Right Maria shares a graphic representing different career paths in business analysis. She explains that career progressions in business...

Whether transitioning from another profession or starting your first professional job, we discuss how certification can help start your business analysis career.  We answer questions from our live audience about making this change.   The Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA) is a professional certification offered by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA).  This is a globa...

How does curiosity help in your career? Curiosity leads to discovery and it can be fostered or suppressed. Christina (Tina) Lovelock and Adrian Reed join us for a discussion about curiosity and a global initiative they’ve launched called BA School Day. Curiosity allows us to explore and learn. For business analysis professionals, learning and asking effective questions are an important part of the...

In this discussion we talk about hiring business analysts from the hiring manager perspective. It may also be useful for business analyst applicants to understand what hiring managers are looking for. Our guest on this episode of Business Analysis Live is Yulia Kosarenko, who has a YouTube channel called Why Change . We start by discussing the importance of the job description. It’s important to a...

Observation is a valuable source of information and can be used to gain insights that cannot be obtained through conversations. We discuss the technique of observation in business analysis share stories about our experiences. As with any technique, there are benefits and challenges. Observation can reveal inefficiencies and help organizations improve their processes. However, observation can also...

ChatGPT is a new Artificial Intelligence technology and we discuss how this is useful as a research and productivity tool. Susan and Scott chat with Emal Bariali, the Founder of BA Blocks, who has been researching ChatGPT for use by business analysis professionals. Emal has published several ChatGPT videos on his YouTube channel (see link below). As a high-level primer, GPT stands for Generative P...

The purpose of most meetings is to make decisions.  Are your meetings effective?  Have you attended meetings that are a waste of time?  Susan and Scott have run meetings for decades.  Join them as they discuss effective meetings and take questions from the live audience.   Top 5 Essential Elements of Effective Meeting  State the objective of the meeting so people know...

Business Analysis is defined as “the practice of enabling change in an organizational context, by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders” in the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK© Guide v3).  The BABOK guide was developed by a global working group, including our guest, Laura Paton.   We talk with Laura about Business Analysis from different...

Human Resources is key to running a successful organization.  It’s typically a top cost among expenses.  How do business analysis skills apply to Human Resources?  Kris Tierney joins us from the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA), which has partnered with The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) to offer the “Radical HR: Upskilling from Service Provider...

What are the most important skills for business analysis professionals?  We discuss the top 9 skills identified in the IIBA Global State of Business Analysis report.  This is research from business analysis professionals around the world.  Can you guess what the top skill is for your career?  We count down to the #1 skill and take questions from the livestream audience.  ...

“Business analysis professionals only work in IT”, is that a myth?  What about “Business analysts only create requirements documents”?  In this episode of Business Analysis Live we talk about common business analysis myths and answer questions from our live audience.   RESOURCES:  - Business Analysis Job Titles - https://youtu.be/c6Ne1J9IlJE   - Top Business Analysis Myths...

Looking for a business analysis job?  We discuss interview questions that you may encounter and how to approach them.  Preparation is key and our guest, Yulia Kosarenko, shares tips on how to get ready for a business analysis job interview.  She has some great advice.  Yulia Kosarenko is the author of “Business analyst: a profession and a mindset” and also publishes videos on h...

It's the end of the year and time to think about those professional development goals! Certifications are usually high on that list. International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) has 7 business analysis certifications - 3 core and 4 specialized . All the business analysis certification exams offered by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) are proctored online. We get lots...

Even when business analysis professionals don't have a title of leader, they are informal leaders on projects. In this episode, Scott and Susan are joined by Lead Business Analyst, Supervisor and newest #CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional) holder, John Reeves who writes and talks about business analysis leadership. We learn from John the leadership skills most in demand for business an...

SWOT analysis is a powerful tool to explore ideas and look at the big picture.  The four perspectives captured in this model are: - Strengths (internal) - Weaknesses (internal) - Opportunities (external) - Threats (external). In this podcast Scott and Susan create a SWOT analysis together using live audience feedback to show not only how it works but how a business analysis professional would...

What is a Product Owner? There's a lot of myth and rumor about this important role in agile organizations.   In this episode, Scott and Susan welcome Emily Midgely, a Product Owner (and President of the IIBA Cleveland [Ohio] Chapter), to talk about what Product Owners do. They get into the skills needed for this work, how Product Owners work with business analysts and other roles in an o...

In IIBA's most recent Global State of Business Analysis survey, the business analysis community told us that there are 7 soft skills critical to the work of BA professionals. Some say "soft skills," well, we say "essential skills!" These skills not only make your work stand out as a business analyst but also differentiate you in the marketplace.  In this episode Scott and Susan identify...

Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring is one of the knowledge areas identified in the BABOK© Guide. If you've never performed business analysis planning on a project, you might think it's another one of those upfront planning processes from waterfall. In this episode, Scott and Susan, along with guest Hans Eckman, demystify what this essential area is all about. We talk about how and when this...

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and that got us thinking - what's the role of a Business Analysis professional working in cybersecurity? It isn't what you might think. In fact, business analysis is even more critical to organizations' strategy and reputation than just blocking intrusions. In this episode Scott and Susan talk with Bindu Channaveerappa, a cybersecurity business analysis exp...

What's the difference between a Business Analyst, a Business Systems Analyst and an IT Business Analyst? Well, it depends. Hunting for business analysis jobs can be challenging because job titles can be generic or very specific. The differences in the titles can be found in the details of the job posting. But how do you even get that far in searching for business analysis jobs? In this episode, Sc...