BA Rocks!

Recently I have been asked to present at a number of conferences so here are my speaker engagements for the next three months.

1. First up is BA World Symposium Melbourne 21-22 July in Melbourne.

My topic is “Struggling to define Business Analysis and the Role of a BA“. In this presentation I will explore:

• The Role of a BA vs. the Discipline of Business Analysis – which are very different.
• Suggest that we need to come together as a community of practice to define the discipline and the role of a BA.
• Opportunity to more precisely define the discipline and then we can work on developing a competency framework to define the role.

I will also be joining the panel to discuss “The role of the BA in an Agile environment?”. In this session the panel will discuss the benefits and challenges of transitioning your Requirements approach from more traditional methodologies to an Agile environment. The Panel will focus on what’s different, what’s the same, and how to apply the Agile principles to Requirements; as well as understanding what to do differently for the Requirements approach in an Agile environment to work effectively.

2. BA World Symposium Series 24-25 July 2008 Sydney

My topic will be “The Changing role of a BA- from requirements elicitation to Change Manager and Trusted Advisor”. In this session I hope to discuss how the role of BA can not be easily defined as we utilise a number of frameworks and methodologies that are similar in other disciplines such as project Management and Information Architecture. I will discuss how analysis skills are valued throughout the life of a project and therefore our role should not end once requirements have been delivered as our business savvy skills makes us an important part of the change process and a trusted advisor to the business area.

This will be the essentially same talk in both cities since there’s no one I can think of who will go to both these events (except maybe me and Matt who is also presenting)

3. ABAA User Group Meeting Aug 2008 (date TBC)

I will be presenting to the group on Business Analsyis Lifecycle and BA Frameworks. Capitialising on the body of knowledge out there from various organistions and individuals in order to develop our frameworks through our community of practice.

4. Attracting, Retaining and Advancing Women In IT Conference 4 Sept 2008

I will be discussing how to “Capitalise on Female Strengths in an IT environment”. The key areas explored include:

• Identifying areas where women excel and capitalise in these
• How to use corporate relationships for networking
• Gaining an edge through customer liaison and interaction
• Communication and people skills
• Understanding the importance of knowing the business

So a busy couple of months ahead. Hope to see some of you at these events