Use case modelling is the most powerful requirements modelling technique to model solution requirements if applied correctly. I have come across many BA teams (including my own) that made lot of common mistakes in use case modelling. By avoiding the top 10 mistakes identified in this paper, BA teams can not only save lot of efforts in use...

I am pleased to share the analysis of a Qualitative Survey to understand the backgrounds of Business Analysts (BAs) and the roles they have held prior to becoming BAs. This survey was conducted as an informal poll on LinkedIn. The numbers of participants are over 250 and hence are statistically significant to infer. Infere...

  What is MVP? Minimum Viable Product, is a technique in product development to develop a product with features enough to demonstrate the concept to the early adopters, i.e. a product with just the core features, nothing more. The term was coined by Frank Robinson and popularized by Steven Blank and Eric Ries The product concept is share...

Internships can provide some great learning opportunities. I was lucky enough to learn one of the best lessons on the first day of the very first internship of mine. My mentor at the time asked that, for the first 4 weeks, I invest time in every aspect of his business to learn how everything functions. I thought he was insane yet it was one of the ...

As part of preparation to sit the IIBA CBAP exam, I wanted a one page summary of the overall BABOK flow. The first step of creating a summary matrix showing a derived master list of documents (e.g. Inputs + Outputs) versus the process that creates or uses it was interesting, but not entirely helpful. By using the matrix to create an indicative ...

 “Bring me solutions, not problems”. How often have we heard those words uttered by management? In the main it’s a sensible ask however, for a Business Analyst, quite the opposite is true. Our job is to define business problems when often we are presented with solutions. “We need a new reporting tool because the MI we receive isn’t always cor...

I arrived at the coffee shop for a discussion with my financial planner. Well, I intended to still evaluate him, so he was technically not yet “my” financial planner.  He was “a” financial planner. After the initial pleasantries, he began with a monologue on financial prudence and various product categories that I ...

“So, what do you do?”  It’s quite probably the question I most dread being asked. It’s a fairly benign question but as a Business Analyst I feel compelled to assess and understand what I am really being asked before attempting to provide an appropriately pitched response to my inquisitor. I find myself scrambling for the right words whilst my ...

 I keep seeing in BA skill descriptions or in specific articles that ‘negotiation skills’ are a necessity for Business Analysts. I just don’t see it myself. Negotiation is a difficult activity for many people, and I see this trend as an attempt to offload negotiation to other people… like Business Analysts. Why do I feel this way? As an activ...

“Who is the project manger?” “Who is the developer?” “What is a business analyst?” I received a business card at an Agile event one time, and I wish I could find the card or remember the gentleman’s name to give proper credit, but he listed his title as Agile Evangelist. If the role of business analyst is new to your company, and sometimes even if ...