Blog
Discover a new approachCreate a culture of innovation
"Go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is." - Jimmy Carter At BA-Squared, we think stakeholder engagement is the key to creativity,...
Peace at last: agile and waterfall find common ground in techniques
As the battle between waterfall and agile rages on, organizations continue modify their approach to software development. Very few move...
Multitasking kills creativity and collaboration
How many tasks can you handle at one time, successfully? The truth, based on research, ONE. Yep, that's it. Our brains are not meant to do...
Get support from the grumpy old man
How would you “caricaturize” your organization? We’ve all been to a fair or festival and watched caricature artists draw distorted people...
Boost your brainstorming skills, inspire creativity!
Brainstorming is the key to creativity, but why do some people dread brainstorming sessions? Every few months I come across an article...
2013 Innovation Trends
In December, we get bombarded by year-end lists--the best albums, movies, books, TV shows of 2013. We love trends. We want to know what's...
Rework is Good!?
“Rework is good!” What? “But I don’t like mistakes. I take pride in the accuracy and completeness of my requirements.” “Zero defects,...
Roll the Dice: A lesson from Las Vegas
"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!" But in this case, I learned something new that I really want to share--a way to bring Vegas to...
Filling Your Toolbox: Factors that Influence BA Skill Development
Everyone has a career toolbox—a collection of tips, tricks, skills and techniques. The tools accumulate over time: Some tools come with...
Business Analysts Lead from the Center
If I asked you to draw a picture of “leadership” what image would appear? One image you might conjure is an org chart—the typical two...
Get past the parking lot…make the move to strategic facilitation!
Most PMs and BAs know basic facilitation skills. They know how to plan a meeting, move participants through an agenda, document decisions...
Is rework the key to innovation?
Success and failure: are they really two separate paths? Most of us have heard the rumor that failure is being redefined. Failure might...
Can a Business Analyst Learn How to be Curious?
I regularly receive comments from readers about my blogs, but this comment, related to a post about top BA skills, was particularly...
Find the Duct Tape and Keep the Wine Glasses
Boxes, boxes and more boxes! After my recent move, I just might be an expert at parsing, purging and packing. Other than a ridiculous...
Top 10 Business Analysis Skills for 2013
A year ago, I wrote the blog The Top 10 Business Analysis Skills for 2012. In 2013, here are my updates! For the remainder of 2013, I'm...
Be curious. Even mundane tasks will get more interesting.
I recently had a conversation with a friend about curiosity. She said that curiosity was innate, but often required inspiration. She...