I work for a rather large insurance company. We aren't the largest, but we are big enough to have our own SDLC (System Development Lifecycle) that comes packed with paper work, protocol and bureaucracy. Do not misunderstand me - these processes ensure the projects that are active are delivering on time and within budget. My last two efforts 20,000+...

There are many tools and techniques available to the business analyst for a variety of tasks.  One of my favorite one is the short table-style template for documenting a "Problem/Opportunity Statement" as follows: The problem of <specify in one sentence the problem or opportunity bei...

E R Diagram View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: er diagram)

Thirteen is all you need, at least in this point in time. I may add to them as time goes by, but I would also like to hear from readers if they have any suggestions or thoughts or their very own principles for IT Projects success. Pleae offer them and maybe we can get them into the second edition of the book...which you all remember is available at...

The BA Handbook is a wiki designed for Business Analysts.  It's aim is to create a knowledge base that analysts can use to share their knowledge and learn about new and useful things. So far the content is limited.  It needs more information and more people to contrinute to it. Maybe you can help.  If so, click on the link below an...

The 5th edition of the Carnival of Business Analysts has been published at Better Projects. This edition is focused on Requirements Analysis.   This is a series of blog posts that collect other blog posts on topics themed around the BABOK knowledge areas. Edition 5 is on Requirements Analysis.   Previous editions include Loo...

I've come to understand the necessity for stakeholder involvement throughout the Requirements Gathering process. But what if it's another BA who is the stakeholder company's point of contact whom you'll be gathering requirements from instead of the stake holder themselves? Is there an advantage? How do we leverage the strength of our Requirements&#...

Do Business Analysts belong on Agile Projects?  Some say yes, but isn't a better model for Agile developers to learn BA skills? Don’t be fooled. Agile projects threaten the role of business analysts on IT projects. An important thing to consider for Agile projects is that users need to be senior enough to be able to look beyond local ag...