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» Vetting documents for quality – the case for automation

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Vetting documents for quality – the case for automation

In many organizations, Centers of Excellence, PMOs (Program/Project Management Office) and PQA (Process & Quality Assurance) teams use a variety of manual techniques to vet documentation that are time consuming and manual; leaving room for unintentional mistakes, missed steps and delays in catching errors with regards to governance and best pra...

» FEATURED: How the BA Can Take Advantage of Free Online Diagramming Tools

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How the BA Can Take Advantage of Free Online Diagramming Tools

Almost every business analyst uses diagramming software in their arsenal of analysis tools. According to BABOK 2.0, an analyst’s traditional purpose in using diagramming tools is to “support the rapid drawing and documentation of a model, typically by providing a set of templates for a particular notation which are used to develop diagrams based on...

» FEATURED: OMG Seeking Decision Model Notation Standard

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OMG Seeking Decision Model Notation Standard

Adoption of The Decision Model has escalated faster than anticipated. It also caught the attention of the Object Management Group (OMG) which is the subject of this month’s column. This column provides information to Modern Analyst readers regarding the OMG and its interest in decision models.

» FEATURED: Structuring AS-IS and TO-BE Process Improvement Discussions using the Fishbone Diagram

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Structuring AS-IS and TO-BE Process Improvement Discussions using the Fishbone Diagram

In a process improvement project, the analysis team needs to model and examine several aspects of the current (AS-IS) value chain under study. The purpose of the analysis is to create a visual diagram of the value chain along with its associated text and metrics and determine if there are possible areas of improvement (e.g., reductions in cost or t...

» FEATURED: What the Heck Is Enterprise Analysis Part 2

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What the Heck Is Enterprise Analysis Part 2

I believe the Problem Pyramid™ provides the appropriate structure for guiding effective business analysis, both for initiating and carrying out projects, whether for what BABOK® v2 calls projects or for topics that truly fit within Enterprise Analysis.

» Report Requirements: An Overview

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A user of almost any given software system or business application will require precise analytics in order to objectively measure its effectiveness, or the effectiveness of an associated product. These analytics –or reports—therefore, must measure the right criteria at the right time(s) in the right way in order to be useful to the user. For that r...

» How Static Modeling Skills Can Improve Your Performance as a Business Analyst

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How Static Modeling Skills Can Improve Your Performance as a Business Analyst

While most business analyst roles don't explicitly require static modeling expertise, developing a better understanding of static modeling concepts can be a measurable forward step for business analysts seeking to develop new competencies. Such skills can be useful in many aspects of the BA work, from obtaining a better understanding of stakeholder...

» FEATURED: When in Rome: The Role of a Good, Global Business Analyst

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When in Rome: The Role of a Good, Global Business Analyst

Yes, the world is flat, and the reality of today’s global economy is that business analysts (BA) from all corners of the earth – North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific – often work with one another. But they don’t always understand how business efficiency is impacted by the comprehension of their inherent dif...

» FEATURED: What the Heck Is Enterprise Analysis Part 1

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What the Heck Is Enterprise Analysis Part 1

For many business analysts (BAs), the IIBA Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK®) Knowledge Area that is the least familiar is Enterprise Analysis (EA). In some ways, this may be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the BABOK® Version 2 (v2) EA area describes important topics and techniques that BAs should be conversant with: defining business ...

» FEATURED: From Research to Implementation: Activity Diagram – Usage and Benefits

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From Research to Implementation: Activity Diagram – Usage and Benefits

As part of the Unified Modeling Language, Activity diagrams are often utilized for many software projects. However, a few questions about Activity diagrams linger in the minds of many Business Analysts, such as: Who is really using them? What kind of projects are they being used on? Why are people not using them? How are people using...

» FEATURED: Documenting SOA (Service Oriented Architecture)

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Documenting SOA (Service Oriented Architecture)

For projects that may well be delivered by Service Oriented Architecture (possibly using Service Oriented Analysis), I would suggest that you may need to consider different or additional ways of documenting your requirements and specifications. The reason for this is that the way you shape your requirements needs to encompass both the holistic natu...

» Three Types of Design Effort

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In I.T., are we really spending too much time on "maintenance"? Within any systems development organization, there are but three types of work effort: new systems development, maintenance, and modification/improvements. A mature development organization will spend approximately 5% of its time on new development, 10% on maintenance, and 85% of...

» FEATURED: How do BAs operate in your organisation? : A pragmatic guide to the different roles of the Business Analyst

(7564 Views) (8 Comments)

How do BAs operate in your organisation? : A pragmatic guide to the different roles of the Business Analyst

Business Analysis is a term that covers a wide range of different disciplines, which has grown in scope over the past 10-15 years. BAs can become involved in a variety of different activities, depending on the organisation and the particular project that they are working on – these can range from very technical to very business focused activities.&...

» FEATURED: Why Rulebook Management?

(2939 Views) (1 Comments)

Contrary to what you might think, the problem that rulebook management addresses is a relatively simple one. Its solution is relatively simple too. The reason people have a hard time seeing that is because the problem is so big. It’s all around us, everywhere we look – a whole host of trees blinding us to the forest.

» True Systems Analysis?

(4766 Views) (16 Comments)

Regretably, many of today's Systems Analysts are still glorified programmers in sheep's clothing. I recently came across some job postings under the title, "Systems Analyst," and it occurred to me people still do not know what it means. In the postings I saw things like "seeking a Systems Analyst with 4 - 6 years experience... Candi...

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Business Analyst Articles: Business Analysis & Systems Analysis

Join the Premier Community for Business Analysts, Business Process Professionals, Systems Analysts, Data Analysts, and more…

Business Analyst Articles: Business Analysis & Systems Analysis

Join the Premier Community for
Business Analysts, Business Process Professionals,
Systems Analysts, Data Analysts, and more…