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Agile Oxymorons

In my previous entry, I argued that the business case needs to be central to the BA’s view of the world, with requirements management being the most demanding in terms of level of effort.

In June I attended and presented at all three BA World Symposium events (Seattle, Denver, and Minneapolis), and I took away a couple of anecdotes that I’d like to share:

  1. Polling my presentation audiences revealed that maybe 10-15% attendees had downloaded the BABOK v2 Draft.
  2. I listened to a discussion about “Agile Analysis based on Web 2.0” – suggesting to me that BAs sometimes work too directly in the solution space rather than the problem/need space….

What does it mean?  Shouldn’t the BABOK have a more prominent role in the lives of those who are calling themselves BAs?  Don’t we, as a community, need to be more diligent about the importance of distinguishing problem space language from solution space language?  Have you downloaded and read BABOK v2?  Are you practicing “agile business analysis”, and if so, to what extent do your agile BA practices depend on specific technologies?

Inquiring minds want to know!  Please take a minute to share your thoughts/comments.  Thank you!