Articles

In August the BA Manager Forum ran a series of workshops and a webinar for BA practice leaders. The webinar topic was resilience, a quality often talked about but perhaps not always understood. For many BAs, it can be a defining quality though. With the stresses and strains of work not changing any time soon, the timing couldn’t have been better to provide insights on the means of building personal resilience to meet the challenges faced. The webinar provides valuable information on: what is meant by resilience, how to assess your own resilience and understand approaches for building resilience. This handout accompanies the webinar with useful reference materials.

Introduction: Why BA of the Year?

The BA of the Year Award has been organised by AssistKD in collaboration with IIBA UK since 2010. This prestigious award recognises individual achievement in conducting business analysis work to the highest standards. The BAs entered for this award have demonstrated excellence in their work, typically exceeding the expectations of their stakeholders.

Discover ten 'top tips' for candidates taking the written examinations for the Business Systems Development (BSD) Diplomas offered by the Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB).

Business change projects are often driven by the need for organisations to grasp opportunities from technological developments, improve competitiveness or handle threats from the external environment. To be successful, such projects have to make sure they balance four critical areas - process, technology, organisational and people changes. However, in recent years, those working within the business change area have been the subject of change initiatives themselves as organisations recognise the potential benefits offered by business analysts and other change professionals. 

The recession is the chance for business analysts to show what they can do. It is not clear at the moment whether we are suffering from a 'double-dip' recession or are just bumping along the bottom of a 'bathtub' curve of economic activity. What is clear, though, is that organizations in all countries and all sectors of the economy are facing very difficult times indeed. Public services are having to tighten their belts and do more despite cuts in funding; private sector firms face tough competition from emerging economies; and the third sector has to meet increased demands while at the same time suffering from a drop in support.

I was recently asked to review an e-learning product produced by a major organisation. It used video, graphics and animation and cost tens of thousands of pounds to produce. Its designers and promoters were keen to emphasise its use of up-to-date technology. It was relatively entertaining. However, it had little to do with learning. The designers had missed the point completely. The objectives and process of learning had disappeared beneath a host of technologies.