Monday - 26 September 2011 • Pre-Conference Workshops
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09:30
- 17:30 - Full Day Workshop
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Full-Day Workshop Outline This full day workshop will discover how the framework Creative Problem Solving (CPS) provides for thinking, problem solving and managing change provide the ideal foundations for applying Business Analysis. We will use the four components of CPS- one management (Planning Your Approach) and three process (Understanding the Challenge, Generating Ideas and Preparing for Action) to collectively address the challenge "Wouldn’t it be nice if Business Analysis was more valued." Planning your approach not only helps you prepare to apply CPS but helps you manage and choose your business analysis processes. We will use a systemic and holistic approach understanding the people involved in the task, the desired outcome and results, the context (including the organisational culture) and the appropriate method for the task. Understanding the challenge
Generating Ideas
Preparing for action
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09:30
- 13:00 - Morning Workshop
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Morning Workshop Outline Business Analysis is often referred to as the cornerstone of any major change. However with less than 30 percent of change projects achieving a bottom line improvement, are we as BA’s being as effective as we could be? In this workshop Lambert and Mel explore case studies from their own experience as BA’s in UK Government, in search of evidence towards how BA is helping their organisation to change and the challenges still faced. The debate is then opened up to the audience in the style of a World Cafe, using multi-group discussions to identify the top 5 ways in which Business Analysis contributes to a successful change project. Make yourself heard by joining us to explore this fascinating topic using the latest techniques in facilitated group debate. Key takeaways:
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09:30
- 13:00 - Morning Workshop
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Morning Workshop Outline Writing effective requirements as a goal can be taken too far, often leading to documents that contain thousands (!) of requirements but little value. Thats because written requirements usually lack consistent granularity, dont cross-validate, and provide no context. Model-based techniques can address these shortcomings, but modelling has fallen into disfavor because so many models are little more than pictures of the physical design. This workshop introduces business-friendly modelling techniques that have been proven on both custom development and packaged software projects. They are repeatable by analysts, relevant to business subject matter experts, useful to developers, and are surprisingly popular with Agile teams because they support “just enough” modeling to get into the ballpark and then let iterative development take over. After a quick review of bad advice in the world of business analysis, the consequences of applying it, and why it just doesn’t work, we’ll study four integrated modelling techniques, each addressing one fundamental aspect of the problem space:
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09:30
- 13:00 - Morning Workshop
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Morning Workshop Outline The most important decisions in any project are the earliest ones. This half-day workshop shows you how to start a requirements project so that your subsequent discovery work is relevant, effective and traceable. The Project Blastoff is a short burst of activity early in the project that quickly sets an accurate scope, exposes preconceptions and misconceptions, identifies inconsistencies and guides the stakeholders to a common understanding. The blastoff output provides the basis for prioritising and deciding which parts of the problem to work on first, and those that can wait. The blastoff is the foundation for discovering detailed requirements. The format of the workshop will be a mixture of discussion and practical exercises. The workshop will cover:
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09:30
- 13:00 - Morning Workshop
Morning Workshop Outline Raffaella and Andrew introduce to the toolkit of a business analyst the concept of ‘design thinking’ and demonstrate how it can add value to the process, outputs and outcomes we deliver for our clients. Participants will be taken on a journey of the design thinking mindset, process and practical tools and techniques. Important ingredients such as people, working environment and the sense of ‘making’ are also explored. By journey’s end, you will have a taste for how the experience provided to clients can be transformed from being purely ‘business analysis’ into becoming ‘business design’. |
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14:00
- 17:30 - Afternoon Workshop
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Afternoon Workshop Outline Over the last couple of years, bestsellers such as Roam's 'The Back of the Napkin' and Osterwalder/Pigneur's 'Business Model Generation' have highlighted how visual thinking can help business analysts to understand complex business problems and situations. Visual thinking enables creativity, allowing us literally to see possibilities by making ideas visible. This workshop will cover:
This practical workshop draws on the presenter's successful Graphics Made Easy workshops, enjoyed by business analysts and others from the UK to New Zealand. |
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14:00
- 17:30 - Afternoon Workshop
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Afternoon Workshop Outline Data modelling can be a powerful tool, but its utility in practice has been limited because it is often seen as a technical discipline, indistinguishable from database design, and is treated as an irrelevant or after-the-fact exercise. In fact, data modelling can be a powerful tool for understanding the most fundamental aspects of a business area, terrifically useful to both business analysts and subject matter experts. The key is to recognize that a data model is a description of a business, not a description of a database. Another key is to avoid calling it “data modelling.” (Come to the workshop to find out why!) Drawing on over 30 years of successful data modelling experience, this presentation will provide an introduction to the essentials of a business-oriented approach to data modelling, and proven techniques for using it as a foundation for business analysis and requirements definition. Topics include:
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14:00
- 17:30 - Afternoon Workshop
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Afternoon Workshop Outline There is an empty chair on agile teams. The missing occupant is the innovative business analyst, the one who ensures that the software being developed is a better match for both current and future needs. The product owner on the team is nominally responsible for providing the business view on requirements and user stories. However, we know that such a close involvement with the development team makes it difficult for the project owner to step back and take a dispassionate view of the business and the opportunities for innovation. The result is that the development team pays little attention to deriving innovative solutions, and thereby ultimately disappoints the user community when the software is delivered. In this tutorial, we demonstrate how an innovative business analyst writes user stories and requirements that are both more innovative and a better reflection of true needs. Delegates will learn how to:
All 3 speakers have had extensive experience conducting innovation workshops for their clients. These workshops have resulted in significant improvements to the client’s business. All speakers have written papers on the subject, and two are currently jointly writing a book on the subject. James Robertson is a regular IRM UK seminar instructor. The speakers have given tutorials on similar subjects. Including appearances at Requirements Engineering conferences in Kyoto, Paris, Barcelona. James teaches a seminar on innovation in Australia, New Zealand the UK. |
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14:00
- 17:30 - Afternoon Workshop
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Afternoon Workshop Outline Business Analysts add value to change through bringing people together and building an understanding of their goals and objectives. How often have you reviewed a workshop and discovered widely differing views on what was discussed? We all have our own perception of the world and everyone experiences this in their own way. Through using Neuro linguistic programming (NLP), differences can be recognised which makes communication easier. In addition by adapting to the different ways people process information we build better rapport and reduce frustration. In this interactive workshop Corrine Thomas, Business Analysis Capability Manager at Skandia and certified NLP trainer will give you an overview of NLP and share with you techniques for applying it to business analysis. Themes covered will include:
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