Blog
Discover a new approachYour Backlog Might Be Broken If…(Part 2)
One of the most overlooked factors of project success or failure is the health the project’s backlog. How does your project team...
Turn and Face the Strange Changes!
I've been on the road this fall, sharing my "Face the Strange" message with conference attendees across the United States. Inspired by...
Your Backlog Might Be Broken If….(Part 1)
How does your team build and manage their backlog? Is your current process working well or does your backlog need a reboot? One of the...
The BA Role is Changing! Are you Keeping Up?
Requirements practices are changing--RAPIDLY! The dramatic changes in the business and technology space push us to be continuous learners....
Diving Into Unofficial Roles and Responsibilities of the Business Analyst
WHY ARE WE THE PSYCHOLOGISTS AND THE BABYSITTERS? Often on airplanes I get asked, “So, what do you do?” I am sure if you travel you get...
3 Tips to Modernize Your Requirements!
Interested in modernizing your requirements practices? Whether your team is waterfall, agile or somewhere in between, these three tips...
The Business Analyst’s Accountability in Scope Creep and Changing Requirements
In my classes and consulting work I get the same complaints when I ask teams about the biggest roadblocks in requirements work: “My...
Analyst or Therapist? BAs Need to Stir Up the Animals!
Do you ever feel more like a psychoanalyst than a business analyst? It can be tough to get into the minds of our stakeholders to get the...
Don’t Skip the Analysis When Moving to Shorter Iterations!
In most organizations, the days of multi-year, single release, all-or-nothing waterfall projects have come to an end. Instead, teams...
Lean Requirements Practices = More Value, Less Waste
With increased focus on customer value and intense pressure to get products to market faster, leaders are always looking for ways to trim...
User Stories: You Don’t Have to be Agile to Use Them!
In past articles, I’ve spent lots of time asking you to find common ground between waterfall and agile. Not to discount either...
What’s a Business Model Canvas?
Did you know BABOK v3 includes 15 new techniques for business analysis? I have been introducing the new techniques at various conferences...
Why Are We Still Talking About the Role of the BA and PM on Agile Projects?
It seems like we have been talking about this for 10+ years! We probably will continue the discussion for another 10! Titles cause...
Can You Develop Standards That Embrace Both Agile and Traditional Approaches?
In recent years, we’ve seen even the most conservative, tightly-structured organizations begin to experiment with agile and hybrid...
Struggling project? Maybe it’s your user stories!
Are you on a sinking ship? If your agile project is struggling to stay above water, it's possible you have holes in your user stories! Do...
Good Meetings Create Shared Understanding, Not BRDs!
Deliverables and artifacts were a focal point of BA work during the early part of my career. If I look back, it seemed the primary purpose...