Business Analysis Live!

In this episode, Scott and Susan have a special guest, Angelo Kalevela. Angelo is user experience design practitioner and business analyst that has a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/AngeloKalevela). He focuses on business analysis professionals who are new to the profession or thinking about becoming a business analyst with short, approachable videos meant to inform and coach. We talk a...

The Project Management body of knowledge says that projects fail due to missed requirements. The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) says requirements are missed because #stakeholders are missed. Missing requirements happen on projects. It's a common issue faced by #businessanalysts. In this episode, Scott and Susan discuss the impacts of missed requirements, how to avoid them and what to...

ECBA is the IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis) Entry Certificate in Business Analysis . This certificate program is a great way to learn the language of #businessanalysis as well as build your skills and confidence in the knowledge areas. Who is this certificate for? What does the certificate exam cover? You have questions and in this episode, Scott and Susan answer them! Listen a...

There's a lot of talk in the #businessanalysis community about certifications. One of the questions we get frequently is whether a certification is needed to get a #businessanalyst job. Certifications are an investment in time and money. Are they worth it? Are they really a fast track to getting a business analysis job? Spoiler alert: our answer may surprise you! In this podcast, Scott and Susan d...

It's the age-old #businessanalysis question: Do I need to do a gap analysis for this project? Any time we make a change, we need to assess the current state, identify the future state, and analyze where there are gaps between those 2 states. In this episode, Scott and Susan define gap analysis, when it is done and why. We get controversial in this episode as we talk about whether every gap is a th...

Have you thought about moving into a business analysis career but are concerned you might not have the right skills? Many business analysis professionals started their careers in a different field altogether. (Hint: you don't need a computer science background to get into business analysis!) In this episode, Scott and Susan talk about switching your career into business analysis and answer your qu...

This special episode of Business Analysis Live! is (virtually) direct from the 2022 Building Business Capability Conference held in Florida. Scott and Susan interview leading business analysis thought leaders and key speakers from the conference to learn more about the hot topics from this year's conference and what it's like to get together live after a 2 year pause in conferences.  Hear tho...

Building a network can help you find new opportunities, develop your skills and see new perspectives but meeting and growing that network can seem challenging if you see yourself as an introvert. You don't have to see your introversion as a negative to networking! You can use your strengths to network in ways that support your goals without feeling overwhelmed. Scott has this episode off so co-hos...

Listening is critical to the work of business analysis professionals but it seems like such a passive activity. Why is listening important? How do you listen actively? What are the benefits of listening to your work? And how can you improve your listening skills? Scott and Susan share their experiences in these areas and answer your questions about how to listen effectively.  Do you have ques...

Many business analysis professionals emphasize learning the tools, techniques and tasks that make up the daily work of business analysis. Despite that, organizations still report that projects are not always delivering the necessary outcomes. So what's missing? The business analysis mindset. What is the business analysis mindset, you ask? In this episode, Scott and Susan talk to The Brazilian BA ,...

Are you new to the business analysis profession? Are you thinking about going into business analysis?  From gaining domain experience, developing business analysis skills or just the benefits of volunteering to help start your career, Scott and Susan give tips for new professionals and share their own experiences starting their careers Do you have questions about this topic? Ask us a question...

In this episode, Scott and Susan dive into the topic of business analysis for off-the-shelf product (or commercial off-the-shelf - COTS) projects. COTS products or services are built, sold and maintained by third-party vendors. These tools might be installed "on prem" (or on premises) or might be hosted in the cloud. These projects require business analysis but the activities involved have a sligh...

The work of business analysis inside agile organizations can be confusing. Does analysis work fit inside the iteration? Or is analysis done in before the iteration? In this episode Scott and Susan talk with guest, Ryland Leyton, Speaker, Trainer, Agile Coach and Senior Business Analyst, about the role & responsibilities of a business analysis professional in an agile environment, the value pro...

How you position yourself in your business analysis career has never been more important. From the skills you need to develop throughout your career to thinking about how to leverage your unique talents and experience to the work you do, there are many ways you can show the world what kind of professional you are. In this episode Scott and Susan talk about building your reputation in business anal...

Change is at the heart of what business analysis professionals do every day. Everything we do is geared towards change and requires some level of management. In this episode, Scott and Susan define what "change management" means and what it might look life for business analysis professionals across their career lifecycle and across the project lifecycle. We'll also share lots of stories about chan...

In this episode Scott and Susan talk about the magical world of requirements traceability. Traceability is an important way to ensure that you are delivering what has been committed to in the project but it's a task that is sometimes missed. We talk about our experiences with tracing requirements and answer listener questions too.  Do you have a question on this topic? Ask us a question at li...

The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) has awarded digital badges to business analysis certifications for many years. In April 2022, IIBA began granting digital badges to IIBA Members to allow them to share their commitment to their profession and to be seen as ambassadors for the practice of business analysis. In this episode, Scott and Susan talk about the new IIBA Member badges...

One of the things that business analysis professionals do is talk with stakeholders who are in leadership roles, such as managers, directors or executives. It can sometimes be intimidating to talk with these important people in organizations. In this episode we talk about the "executive mindset" and tips for how to prepare yourself to communicate with people in leadership roles successfully. ...

In this bonus episode, Scott and Susan talk with Dr. David Marco, President of EW Solutions and global authority in data governance.  We answer more questions from the Achieving More With Data: The Critical Role of Business Analysis in Becoming a Data-Driven Organization webinar and take listener questions about data analytics, the importance of business analysis to data projects and much mor...

Asking good questions is an essential skill for business analysis professionals. In this episode, Scott and Susan give tips and advice on how to improve your skills at asking questions. And, as always, we answer some really good questions from our listeners.  Do you have a question on this topic? Ask us a question at live@iiba.org or leave us a voice message on our podcast homepage.  #as...

Business analysis professionals often use the term "SME." What is it? That's the abbreviation for the phrase "subject matter expert." SMEs are important to the work identifying and solving problems. In this episode Scott and Susan define the term and talk about how subject matter experts are used to help with projects.  Do you have questions about this topic? Ask us a question at live@iiba.or...

Scott and Susan receive a lot of questions from listeners interested in getting into the business analysis profession. In this episode, we cover everything from transferrable skills to business analysis certifications to how you can learn and develop through IIBA Chapters . As always, we answer questions from our listeners.  Do you have a question about becoming a business analysis profession...

At the beginning of the year, employees and managers think about their goals. Putting together a plan to achieve those goals can feel overwhelming but it doesn't have to be. In this episode, Scott and Susan talk about how you can use some of the resources and tools from the International Institute of Business Analysis to guide your professional development and career planning. We'll introduce you...

2021 was a busy year for IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis). In this episode Scott and Susan talk about 2021 news, trends and updates from IIBA and we talk about the things coming up in 2022 for our organization.  Click to learn more about the topics included in this episode: How to become an IIBA Member Find upcoming webinars on business analysis topics Watch our webinar The...

Data never speaks for itself. You have to create truth with data. -Dr. Gary Edwards In this episode of Business Analysis Live! we talk with Dr. Gary Edwards, CEO of Golfdale Consulting, who is a data analyst and data scientist. We talk all about the roles and responsibilities in data analysis and how business analysis professionals work with data scientists and other data-related roles. We cover y...