The Role of BAs in User Interface Design
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As far as the customer is concerned, the interface is the product - Jef Raskin.
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20 Nuggets for Conducting Stakeholder Interviews
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The quote by William Shatner certainly underscores the importance of the interview as a fact-finding technique. While interviews provide analysts the opportunity to learn about stakeholders’ needs, stakeholders in the process of being interviewed, also start to unravel the intricacies of what they want – their elusive requirements.
Read MoreTypical Challenges of UAT Sessions
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While User Acceptance Tests (UATs) sound extremely straightforward in theory, reality is a different ball game - they come with many challenges. This article explores 5 challenges of UAT and proffers recommendations on how they can be tackled.
Read MoreThe Role of Business Analysts in UAT Sessions
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User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is a phase in the software development life cycle where the intended users of a system participate in validating that the solution meets their needs. There are varying perspectives to the definition of UAT. While some see the UAT as a “test of requirements”, others argue that the same deficiencies missed in the framing of requirements will be missed during testing if this philosophy is adopted.
Read MoreEmotional Intelligence & The Business Analyst
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Emotional Intelligence is about identifying and understanding other people's emotions with the objective of channelling these emotions towards a positive outcome. A person with a high emotional intelligence is able to decipher his emotions as well as that of others to help him form healthy working relationships.
Read MoreThe Art of Intelligent Disobedience
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The case of a guide dog leading its blind master is a popular analogy here – A dog with intelligent disobedience will disobey an instruction that puts his master in danger, even if the instruction is from the master.
Read MoreThe 80-20 Rule: The Law of the Vital Few & The Trivial Many
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What if it’s only 20% of the requirements that will actually deliver the most (80%) business value? What if it’s only 20% of the business problems that cause the most issues within the organization? Focusing on key issues and tasks instead of attempting to tackle everything at once can help you achieve huge benefits in the short term.
Read More7 Reasons Why BPM Projects Fail
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Processes should continue to be monitored, measured, updated and improved long after they've been automated. Business Process Management is not a one-off initiative but a mindset that should be nurtured within the organization. Knowing what can go wrong on your BPM journey will help you manage any accompanying risks and opportunities.
Read MoreProject Feasibility: What Should You Assess?
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Imagine a captain that's trying to decide on the best course to sail to get to his destination, the feasibility study can be likened to a map that displays the routes (options), landmarks (milestones), signs (risks/rewards) which help the business decide on which course to follow.
Read More10 Process Components You Should Define
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Defining (and documenting) a process is one of the first steps to understanding how it works. Process improvement starts first with understanding how the process works, so whether you’re interviewing process participants or observing a process, here are 10 process components that will help you arrive at a high-level description of the process.
Read More10 Tips for Effective Requirements Management
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Requirements are usually not cast in stone. Stakeholders gather insights and more knowledge of their true needs with time. This means that they can change their minds about requirements, no matter how late in the game. Requirements should therefore be managed proactively in anticipation of change.
Read MoreRisk Analysis: Why Bother?
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A risk is an event or condition that may or may not happen. If we fail to manage or identify risks before they happen – they can become serious problems. To avoid constant firefighting on your project, risk analysis should be approached proactively.
Read More6 Warning Signs Your Processes Are Not So Cool
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This article discusses 6 warning signs your processes may be in need of attention. Look out for these signs and work towards eliminating them.
Read More8 Requirements Elicitation Tips You Should Know
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Business analysts often have to deal with the volatile nature of requirements, scope creep and the difficulties inherent in ensuring that stakeholder groups have a common understanding of requirements. Requirements elicitation at its core is difficult to accomplish, due to the nature of requirements. This post is a compilation of 8 tips you can apply to improve the outcome of your requirements elicitation effort. Guest Post By Melisa Marzett.
Read MoreImplementing BPMS: Selecting the First Process
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BPMS projects are often under immense pressure to deliver quick business value and benefits. One of the key questions organizations implementing BPMS often ask is, “Which process do we implement first?”. The answer to this question is extremely important since the first process can set the pace for the entire BPM Project.
Read MoreLean Principles & Business Process Improvement
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Peter F. Drucker once stated:
There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.
If you understand lean principles and are able to examine the business from the customer’s perspective, you start to understand what adds value, what doesn’t add value and can discuss along these lines with stakeholders on how improvements can be made.
Read More20 Tips for a Winning Business Case
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Business cases are developed to confirm the feasibility and viability of proposed projects before they are launched. Here's a list of 20 tips to keep in mind on the journey to convincing stakeholders that your recommendation is the way to go.
Read More3 Quick Tips for Requirements Sign-off
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When sign-offs are sought without political undertones and with the right intentions, there are certainly benefits to be had. The sign-off process should be approached as an opportunity for discovery that allows stakeholders to ask questions and get clarification on their areas of concern. A huge benefit of obtaining sign-off on requirements is that it indicates stakeholders are aware of, and are committed to seeing the solution live and in action.
Read More7 Practical Ways To Persuade Stakeholders
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Personally I am very fond of strawberries and cream, but I have found that for some strange reason, fish prefer worms. So when I went fishing, I didn’t think about what I wanted. I thought about what the fish wanted. I didn't bait the hook with strawberries and cream. Rather, I dangled a worm or grasshopper in front of the fish and said: "Wouldn't you like to have that?" Why not use the same approach when fishing for people? ― Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends & Influence People. Guest Post By Nicola Joseph.
Read MoreEffective Requirements Review Sessions: Before, During & After
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Requirements Review Sessions or Structured Walkthroughs are designed to communicate, check and confirm requirements with stakeholders. During these sessions, participants are expected to ask and respond to questions, proffer suggestions and provide comments on the solution that is about to be implemented. To maximize the limited time you have with stakeholders, follow these key steps to ensure you get it right the first time.
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