The business analysis digest #32 is here!
Hello there! Welcome to the Business Analysis Digest #32, with the best business analysis (and related topics) articles of the previous weeks, 6.03-19.03, 2023.
Business Analysis Articles
How I overcame one of the biggest concerns of an aspiring BA by Bhavini Sapra
The article discusses how an aspiring business analyst Bhavini Sapra overcame their most significant concern – the need for experience in the field. The author suggests networking, acquiring relevant skills, and gaining practical experience through internships or volunteering to overcome this hurdle. Despite their initial concerns, the author successfully transitioned into a BA role by taking these steps.
A taxonomy for alerts and notifications by Steve Dennis
Alerts and notifications have become ubiquitous in the digital world, but there needs to be a standard taxonomy to classify them. The author provides a comprehensive classification of alerts based on three key attributes: importance, urgency, and persistence. This taxonomy could help us understand which alerts and notifications we should create in each situation.
BA techniques— The requirements traceability matrix by Obi Nwokedi
This article explains the importance of the Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM) for Business Analysts, as it helps to ensure that requirements are delivered as promised. It also highlights the elements of RTM, such as requirements, design, test cases, and defects, and how they help maintain consistency across the project. Furthermore, the article discusses the benefits of RTM in project management, including identifying risks and gaps, monitoring progress, and ensuring effective communication among stakeholders.
Navigating New UI: How to Ease Users into Major Changes by Richard Yang
Introducing a new user interface can be daunting, especially if the changes are significant. However, there are some techniques that we can use to make the transition smoother for users. This article outlines several strategies, such as incremental changes, providing tutorials, and allowing users to switch back to the old UI, to help ease users into significant UI changes.
Why don’t your colleagues approve your mockups? UX office politics explained by Bas Wallet
In this article, the author explains why your colleagues may disapprove of your mockups and how to navigate office politics in these situations. The article highlights typical office politics cases and provides tips on handling them effectively. The author also suggests building relationships with stakeholders and being open to feedback as crucial ways to succeed in a company with different personalities and hierarchies. Additionally, the author advises practicing empathy and understanding how other team members operate to improve collaboration and outcomes.
How to use ChatGPT in product management by Guodong (Troy) Zhao
The article talks about how AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT can be used to improve product management. It explains how ChatGPT can help product managers with tasks like user research, customer support, and generating new product ideas. The author provides a step-by-step guide on using ChatGPT in product management (specifically on prompts usage) and examples of specific use cases. Overall, the article emphasizes how AI technology can complement human skills in product management.
It’s a Product-led World by Cláudia Delgado
In today’s world, the role of the product is more important than ever. In a product-led organization, product thinking permeates every aspect of the company, from marketing and sales to engineering and design. This article outlines the fundamental principles and benefits of a product-led approach and provides examples of companies that have successfully adopted it.
Data Mining by Adaptive US
In this article, Adaptive US (one of the best business analysis education providers) explains the concept of data mining, which is the process of discovering patterns and trends in large data sets. They discuss the importance of data mining in today’s world and how it can be used for various purposes, including business intelligence, marketing, and scientific research. They also share standard data mining techniques such as classification, clustering, association rule mining, and anomaly detection. Finally, they emphasize the need for businesses to use data mining effectively to gain a competitive advantage and improve decision-making.
User interview 101 by Sophie Aguado
This article provides a beginner’s guide to conducting user interviews. It discusses the benefits of user interviews and outlines the steps involved in preparing for and conducting interviews, including setting objectives, creating a discussion guide, and choosing the proper interview format. The article also offers tips for building rapport with interviewees, active listening, and analyzing interview data. Overall, this guide provides a useful starting point for anyone new to user research or looking to improve their interview skills.
How to Set Up Enterprise Architecture for Your Organisation by Shashi Sastry
The article discusses the benefits of setting up an enterprise architecture in organizations, a strategic approach to managing and aligning business objectives and IT systems. The author outlines a step-by-step guide on how to set up EA for an organization. These steps include creating an EA team, assessing the current architecture, defining a target architecture, and creating a roadmap for implementation. The article also emphasizes the importance of communication and stakeholder collaboration throughout the process.
The final four essential requirements practices by Karl Wiegers
A new article by Karl Wiegers is a final piece of a cycle of essays about fundamental practices for business analysts to help improve the quality of their requirements. They include defining the solution’s boundaries, glossary creation, prototype evaluation, and establishing and maintaining requirements baselines. First, two of these practices highlight the importance of clear communication by asking the right questions and establishing clear common terminology. The next one emphasizes the significance of prototypes as an excellent tool for clarifying and crystallizing the true needs of stakeholders. Last, but definitely not least, it specifies the importance of requirement change management and constant requirements baseline maintenance to ensure a common understanding of the delivered result. Overall, this piece is an excellent piece of distilled knowledge, which I highly recommend absorbing.
Top BA Skill — Stakeholder Management: How to Turn Difficult Stakeholders into Allies by Obi Nwokedi
Managing difficult stakeholders is a crucial skill for business analysts. Stakeholders may have different opinions, priorities, or styles, making communication challenging. A good approach is identifying the stakeholders, understanding their interests, and finding common ground. Business analysts can also use active listening, empathy, and communication techniques to manage stakeholder relationships effectively. Finally, building trust and establishing clear communication channels can help avoid conflicts and ensure project success. The article is fantastic; I suggest you keep reading and get more tips!
Upcoming business analysis events
🗓️ 31.03 – 01.04,6 PM UTC+1, Agile Dojo: Kanban Drinks
The Kanban Drinks event is a unique opportunity for anyone interested in understanding the critical concepts of Kanban. Instead of lengthy lectures, participants dive into a fictional world based on realistic scenarios. There they can focus on customer needs and expectations, manage work, and self-organize around it. The event is perfect for Scrum Masters, Project Managers, and Team & Tech Leads who want to increase efficiency and collaboration. The workshop covers the practices of Kanban, WIP limits, pull, valuable metrics, teamwork, and dynamics, with a Kanban process simulation. Participants will experience building a Kanban method based on created processes similar to real-life projects, learn to self-organize and adapt, and most importantly, have fun!
🗓️ 31.03 – 01.04. Capability Drive conference
This is an upcoming virtual conference that brings together business analysts and other professionals to share their knowledge and expertise. The event will feature a diverse lineup of speakers from various industries. They will provide valuable insights into topics such as agile methodologies, data analytics, and stakeholder management. Through keynote presentations, panel discussions, and interactive workshops, participants can learn new skills. Networking with like-minded professionals will be available as well. The conference will take place over two days and promises to be an engaging and informative experience for all attendees. The price for this great event is meager – under $40.
That’s all I wanted to share in this Business Analysis Digest #32, with the best business analysis (and related topics) articles of the previous weeks, 6.03-19.03, 2023. Be sure to subscribe to keep posted with the best business analysis content!
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