Business Analysis

General Business Analysis Blog Topic for BAs who want to Better themselves and advance their career

Business Analysis Training with Benjamen Walsh

Why Choose the Better Business Analysis Institute for Your Business Analysis Training

Business Analysis, Business Analysis Training / ,

In the dynamic world of business, the role of a Business Analyst (BA) is pivotal. They bridge the gap between IT and business needs, ensuring that projects align with strategic goals. To excel in this role, comprehensive Business Analysis Training is essential. Among the myriad of options available, the Better Business Analysis Institute (BBA Institute) stands out as the premier choice. Here’s why: When compared to other training providers, the BBA Institute’s comprehensive curriculum, experienced instructors, flexible learning options, and post-training support make it a standout choice. Whether you’re an aspiring BA or a seasoned professional looking to upskill, the BBA Institute offers a training solution that’s tailored to your needs. In conclusion, the Better Business Analysis Institute is a leading provider of Business Analysis Training. Their commitment to quality education, practical learning, and ongoing support ensures that their students are well-equipped to excel in their roles as Business Analysts. Choose the BBA Institute for your Business Analysis Training and take the first step towards a successful BA career. Get your CBBA – Level 1 today for only $550 USD ($899 NZD) or Complete the Free Introduction to Business Analysis Course today #BATraining #BusinessAnalysisTraining

Why Choose the Better Business Analysis Institute for Your Business Analysis Training Read More »

AI Customer Journey Diagram

AI Whiteboard for Business Analysts

AI (Artificial Intelligence), Business Analysis / , ,

Kia ora Everyone, Happy Thursday! Today we are going to talk about another exciting AI diagramming tool that is more like a MURAL, Miro style whiteboarding tool. Some of the feature like process flow still be a bit of work (alpha stage) but some of the other areas will take hours off your tasks. Jeda.ai is amazing and states that it is a “Generative Ai Online Whiteboard for Interstellar Visual Collaboration” which makes me think the name is play on the word “Jedi” and this thing can do some serious AI magic. You can sign up for free here https://go.jeda.ai/register and: “Experience Jeda.ai Online Whiteboard with generative AI for exceptional template analysis, diagram creation, and more. Claim 10,000 free Ai Karma tokens daily and access exclusive features to elevate your projects. Embrace the future of content creation with Jeda.ai!” So what does it do? We have been looking into the use case every Business Analysis could use this tool for. The list is long and includes: Here is one of the examples we tried: We used the Ai Recipes to generate a go-to-market-strategy with the following inputs The output was the following diagram (with some label movement need): Not only is the content pretty damn cool (and i don’t need to format anything), I can now a share and work on this whiteboard with my team. I think this is one to have a serious play with and please flick me any insights you find out.

AI Whiteboard for Business Analysts Read More »

Artificial intelligence (AI) i

AI Diagramming Tool For Business Analysts

Business Analysis / ,

Today I found a pretty good AI diagraming tool which might save you time as a #businessanalyst or architect. The tool is called diagramgpt and provide by Eraser.io (linked to tool below) The prompt i used was “The process flow of a person buying a t-shirt from a local clothes store” – Entity Relationship Diagram Try it out here: https://www.eraser.io/diagramgpt Brought to you by the folks at Eraser

AI Diagramming Tool For Business Analysts Read More »

Apply for a Business Analysis Job

Applying for Business Analyst Jobs – What a candidate and hiring manager needs to know

Business Analysis / ,

Are you looking to become a successful business analyst? Look no further! In this podcast episode, Benjamen Walsh from The Better Business Analysis Institute shares valuable insights on what to look for when hiring a business analyst and how to succeed in the job search process. Benjamen emphasises the importance of gaining experience and completing certified courses to move up to an intermediate level. Candidates should also tailor their CV and cover letter to the specific job and company they are applying for, and showcase their personality and connection with the company in their application. For hiring managers, Benjamen suggests having a structured interview process, including technical and culture fit interviews, and creating a job description specific to the level and job being hired for. So, if you’re looking to become a successful business analyst, take these tips to heart and start your journey today!

Applying for Business Analyst Jobs – What a candidate and hiring manager needs to know Read More »

Recession

How Business Analysts Can Help Companies Survive a Recession

Business Analysis, Business Analysis Training / , ,

How Business Analysts Can Help Companies Survive a Recession The current financial climate has seen a recession not only in New Zealand but also overseas, leading to companies looking for ways to cut costs, restructure, and even merge to survive. Business analysts can play a crucial role in helping companies during this period by focusing on continuous improvement and business transformation. Continuous improvement involves applying process-level improvements to reduce waste in the organization. Business analysts can help by focusing on reducing waste at the process level, making processes more efficient, and providing clarity to senior leaders about the impact of cost-cutting measures. On the other hand, business transformation involves a top-down approach where a company reflects on its business model and unique value proposition (UVP). Business analysts can assist by reviewing the company’s UVP and identifying areas where fundamental changes can be made. During a recession, companies tend to focus on their UVP, which is what customers come to them for. This may result in turning off services that are not core to the business or not what makes them unique to their target customers. It’s important for businesses to be conservative with their spending and to look for ways to cut costs. However, this can be a difficult time for many people, and it’s important to remember that there are ways to help. Business analysts can use their skills and knowledge to advise friends and family who may be affected by the recession, helping them to identify new career opportunities and navigate the job market. By focusing on continuous improvement and business transformation, business analysts can help companies and individuals survive and thrive during a recession.

How Business Analysts Can Help Companies Survive a Recession Read More »

Free BA Templates

Free Business Analysis Templates

Business Analysis / ,

The following is collection of great Business Analysis Template which are all free: Template Title Template Link Agile Retrospective https://miro.com/templates/agile-retrospective/ Atlassian 5 Whys Analysis https://miro.com/miroverse/atlassian-5-whys-analysis/ Business Model Canvas https://miro.com/templates/business-model-canvas/ Continuous Product Discovery Template https://huryn.notion.site/Continuous-Product-Discovery-Template-c197d4f0e51f46a28b5da907288c415e Customer Discovery https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hn_E1UFYruM1sXATsSwIydIJ4EsxMvxlnyoypOVRb_M/edit#heading=h.6ww0l7nn95nc Customer Journey Map https://miro.com/templates/customer-journey-map/ Design Sprint https://www.thesprintbook.com/ Design Thinking Process https://miro.com/miroverse/design-thinking-process/ Empathy Map https://miro.com/templates/empathy-map/ Feature Prioritization Matrix https://miro.com/templates/feature-prioritization-matrix/ Hypothesis Prioritization Canvas https://jeffgothelf.com/blog/the-hypothesis-prioritization-canvas/ Impact Mapping https://miro.com/miroverse/impact-mapping/ Impact-Effort Matrix https://miro.com/templates/impact-effort-matrix/ Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) https://jobstobedone.org/ Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) for Product Managers https://miro.com/miroverse/search/?term=Jobs+To+Be+Done+%28JTBD%29+for+Product+Managers Kano Model https://miro.com/templates/kano-model/ KPI Dashboard https://miro.com/templates/kpi-dashboard/ Lean Analytics https://leananalyticsbook.com/ Lean Canvas https://leanstack.com/lean-canvas/ Lean Startup Canvas https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VcFFbJPms8sGhUgYomfPpBCSa3qoDLJwCmLZ2QtdOJk/edit Lean UX Canvas https://jeffgothelf.com/blog/the-lean-ux-canvas/ Mind Map https://miro.com/templates/mind-map/ Minimum Viable Product https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hgz250jgK4TXIDoPQFoomRNW5cWtV8Q2/edit?usp=share_link&ouid=111307342557889008106&rtpof=true&sd=true Official Remote 5-Day Design Sprint https://miro.com/templates/official-remote-5-day-design-sprint/ Persona Empathy Map https://miro.com/templates/persona-empathy-map/ Persona Template https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jOoTu44L22LG-_DfnTNdscBg2EJ_dSZgTujc5utK4yc/edit#heading=h.b81xwnfqvmsc Problem Statement Template https://miro.com/templates/problem-statement-template/ Product Backlog Template https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lPQPptVXvLwM8q5XiD5Weq9HcrZDVUUe8szB8e_sb5Q/edit#gid=0 Product Design Specification Template https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SLHeB Product Launch Checklist https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10AhFdRBq7iaDYrfQZ90y9WqjYZJ3BY54/edit?usp=share_link&ouid=111307342557889008106&rtpof=true&sd=true Product Management Canvas https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xEaB_vaSge16Bx5t4-t88rH5jBCuISLX/view?usp=share_link Product Requirements Document https://drive.google.com/file/d/11vW2u8QYqqeb9lOocdLWYQfYMtW8ykBp/view?usp=share_link Product Requirements Document (PRD) Template https://docs.google.com/document/d/16iXM6T45R5cxPR_OT3hA8iumqNV9fhjNLphsfSCWo1A/edit Product Roadmap https://miro.com/templates/product-roadmap/ Product Strategy & Roadmap https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j4EFRYfAs3RidCk_CE-QQMquBkpy3P69yh19lANpkmM/edit# Project Charter https://miro.com/templates/project-charter/ Scrum Framework https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-scrum Sprint Retrospective https://miro.com/templates/sprint-retrospective/ Storyboard Template https://miro.com/templates/storyboard-template/ SWOT Analysis https://miro.com/templates/swot-analysis/ User Persona https://miro.com/templates/user-persona/ User Story Map https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TKZ1wW39_WxVTLtGUeQHwxzs22XobkQSri9Zr4b5zcg/edit User Story Map https://miro.com/miroverse/user-story-mapping/ Value Proposition Canvas https://miro.com/templates/value-proposition-canvas/ The links above are all resources and template that every Business Analysis should have in their toolbox.

Free Business Analysis Templates Read More »

Project Management Software

Project Management Software (for Business Analysts)

Business Analysis, Delivery & Requirements Management / , , ,

When you read the title of this blog post you might be tempted to ask the question – Isn’t Project management software for Project Managers? Well, the short answer is yes, but as Business Analysts are a large part of managing the scope of work through the delivery journey (which is primarily focused on delivering requirements) we should have the skills to understand stand up and run the delivery-focused project management software. Business Analysts may use project management software such as Jira, Trello, Asana, MS Project, and Excel to manage project tasks, track progress, and collaborate with team members. Again, yes this should be owned by the Project Manager or sometimes the Scrum master but in many situations you will find that Business Analyst is creating, updating or managing the content within these tools. I would like to spend some time talking about 3 of these tools that focus on the Delivery & Requirement Managements sides of things: As a Business Analyst, your Requirements Traceability Matrix should be managed within one of these 3 tools (or more than) or something very similar. Excel Excel is a great tool for any business professional to learn however as a Business Analyst you should have advanced Excel knowledge. Creating a Requirement Traceability Matrix in Excel is a simple task however there is no UX or system joins, dependencies or constraints between the Objectives, Epics and User Stories. Jira Jira is a popular project management tool that can be used to manage requirements for software development projects Azure DevOps Azure DevOps is a cloud-based project management tool that can be used to manage requirements for software development projects. There a number of specialist requirements management tools, such as IBM Rational DOORS or Jama Connect however in our opinion the above 3 tools are your best option.

Project Management Software (for Business Analysts) Read More »

Programmes

Building a Framework for Living – Building Programmes from Strategy

Business Analysis, Business Analysis Training, Enterprise Analysis, Strategic Analysis / , , , , ,

We have defined our strategic objectives and now we need to look at how we are going to get after them. A lot of big businesses have a project management office that manages the programme of work for the year and have project managers, business analysis and solution architects that collectively work on a project to complete a piece of work. As far as a project owner and/or sponsor is concerned this is a great model and they can define their requirement and get a solution implemented through the solution delivery lifecycle. What is sometimes forgotten when you work on projects is that generally your project is part of a greater programme and what is more commonly missed is that those programmes exist to help achieve a strategic objective. With the structure of corporate being quite hierarchical with multiple department heads wanting to get their project funded the programme of work can get messy very quickly. Linking the Strategy objectives to each programme and then project can help prioritise what is important and what will give the business the biggest bang for buck! In order to keep programme planning simple I am going to take our example from chapter 4 – Just Law and I am going to work down from the Strategic objectives. Be well aware that most companies’ programmes of work are already in flight from the year before and strategic objectives are hardly even linked or used to prioritise one programme against another – this is changing however! In the case of  Just Law we have our 3 strategic objectives which we examined in more detail. To meet SO1 John firstly needs to work out  how he plans to get more clients in the door. For S02 John’s needs a change project to reduce steps in his current sales and purchase management process and finally for S03 johns needs to have a small recruitment project to find and hire the right lawyer. As I have been involved in many projects I would go ahead and state that John will have a programme consisting of at least 3 projects: 1. Investigate the options for increasing client number and implement, Implement a streamline sales and purchase process and recruit a lawyer. Seeing as John wants to increase revenue this year through client number he will use a reserve fund to hire a business analyst who has recruitment skills to help him get after this change programme.

Building a Framework for Living – Building Programmes from Strategy Read More »

Scroll to Top