Author: Christina Lovelock

Christina is an experienced BA leader, has built BA teams ranging in size from 5 to 120 Business Analysts and champions entry level BA roles. She is active in the BA professional community, attending and regularly speaking at events. Christina is an examiner for the International Diploma in Business Analysis and is also a director of the UK BA Manager Forum. She has co-authored the 2019 book, Delivering Business Analysis: The BA Service Handbook, which shares insights and findings from research into Business Analysis, practical guidance for BA leaders, and case studies from across the professional community. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-lovelock

Sketchnote Sceptic?

Written by Christina Lovelock on October 16, 2020. Posted in Articles.

Visual thinking skills and the creation of visually engaging outputs are becoming more popular and prevalent. Is this a valuable business skill, or a forgettable fad?

What Are Sketchnotes?

The technique was defined and developed by Mike Rohde, and is closely related to other visual disciplines such as graphic recording, visual meeting facilitation and rich pictures.

Sketchnotes combine words and visual elements, to create a record or convey information. The visual elements might include simple sketches, icons and borders. The textual elements can be words or sentences, and make use of different fonts, styles, size and direction. Sketchnotes can be created digitally and by hand – or a combination of both.

The Case Against

Attention seeking?

Sketchnotes often grab our attention, but information filtered through someone else’s brain may arouse more questions than answers. “It’s interesting to see what someone else has learned, but is it helping me learn anything?” The usefulness of other people’s sketchnotes is very variable.

It’s for creative-types!

The professional sketchnote images we see can make us feel inferior. “I wouldn’t know where to start” and “I can’t draw” seem like valid barriers to trying this technique.

All the stuff

As with most aspects of our lives, there are a lot of options. This can translate to what feels like a lot of decisions to make, and “I don’t have the right pens/software/tablet…” can lead to an outcome of ‘do nothing by default’.

Really Listening

People speak quicker than we can write (or draw). If we are concerned about creating an attractive output, this might mean we miss something.

The Case For

Attention seeking?

There is no obligation to share our sketchnotes. We can all experiment with sketchnoting free from the pressures of other people’s opinions. The time may come when we create something to be proud of, and would genuinely be of use to others, but equally the notes are personal and do not have to make sense to anyone else.

It’s for creative-types!

The fact that professional photographers publish beautiful images does not stop the rest of us of using our phone cameras! Creativity is a skill that can be practiced and improved, not a set aspect of personality. We don’t need permission to try something creative, even if it’s outside our usual approach.

All the stuff

Though it would be tempting to believe the right equipment and software would take significant investment of time and money, the reality is that we have everything needed to try it. A pen, some paper, and something to learn or remember.

Really Listening

With the growing amount of virtual input – TED Talks, webinars, online events, remote meetings, we can easily become distracted or attempt to ‘multi-task’. Sketchnoting provides a mechanism to give our full attention to the situation at hand. Distilling the key messages is easier with sketchnoting than traditional notes!

Source: qaspire.com. Image reproduced with permission.

Sketchnote Skills

Listening and comprehension skills are more important than drawing skills for creating great sketchnotes.

People often use visual imagery when speaking, mention anecdotes and use metaphors. By picking out these visual clues, we can enrich the linear verbal information to create a connected visual record. Learning a very small number of icons can build the confidence to add images to notes.

Conclusion

Sketchnotes provide a lasting record of personal development activities; including books, events and training. Over time this builds to a library of knowledge we will be happy to revisit, to reactivate and refresh the learning.

If we let go of the desire to be perfect, and the narratives we tell ourselves about ‘not being creative’ and ‘no good at art’, we can move away from the ubiquitous pages of text and bullet points. We can create engaging outputs that help us remember more, synthesise information and make connections.

Resources

Mike Rhode, The Sketchnote Handbook (2012)

https://rohdesign.com/sketchnotes-1

http://qaspire.com/sketchnotes/

www.meetup.com/TheVisualJam

https://graphicsmadeeasy.co.uk/

How We Filter Information

Written by Christina Lovelock on August 27, 2020. Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on How We Filter Information

As BAs we pride ourselves on our attention to detail, but what do we attend to and what are we filtering out?

We live in a world of Information Overload. An incomprehensible amount of data is generated every minute of every day, but humans can only process so much, we simply have to filter most of the information we receive. Here are some of the common types of filtering we apply, and how they impact us and those around us.

Delete

A great deal of the information we see, read and hear simple washes over us, making no impression at all.

Example: If asked to summarise an hour long meeting, most people would:

remember some of the points discussed, but not all
mention some of the specific contributions made by others, but not everyone
cover the ‘jist’ of the meeting in about 2 minutes, max.

This is not at matter of recall and brevity, we have genuinely deleted most things that were said! Are we aware of the topics and people we routinely disregard? Sometimes there is a conscious thought of “this doesn’t apply to me” or “I don’t need to worry about that”, but more often than not we are deleting without realising.

If there are specific people who don’t get through this filter, what am I missing? How does that impact on them? How does it affect the relationship?

Distort

Some things get through the first filter, only to be rewritten, reinterpreted or misrepresented by our brains. This is the different between “what you said” and “what I think you meant”.

It’s useful to test our assumptions and interpretations “What I think you are saying is…” or “So what I heard from that was…” to give others the opportunity correct our distortions. Equally, when it’s important our message has been received as intended, we can ask for this information to be replayed. It is intriguing how people will playback what we ‘said’, using none of the same words!

Presenters will often summarise their point, or use a sign-posting phrase such as “so, what am I saying here?” to give the audience another chance to overcome their distortion filter and hear the information again, to test against what made it through the filter.

In our meeting example, the same meeting summarised by two different people may be unrecognisable, yet both are providing what they believe to be accurate information.

Generalise

Humans love patterns. We like to fit information into boxes which already exist in our minds. This can lead to missed opportunities, false assumptions, incorrect conclusions, stereotypes and bias.

We can try to catch ourselves thinking about “what we always do”, “what usually works” and watch out for use of hyperbole such as “always” and “never”, as they are rarely true.

Speaking to one customer or employee to canvas opinion is a dangerous way to make decisions, yet people often feel they have “consulted”, after doing just that. Big decisions need data-driven decision making. Do we have the evidence we need to support a decision? or are we just generalising and trading opinions?

Conclusion

We have to be able to filter information to be able to function on a daily basis. It is important to be aware of our filters, and how they may be impacting how we see ourselves, other people and the world. What am I missing? What am I focusing on at the expense of other things? Are my filters set correctly?

This is the mental equivalent of giving your glasses a clean every once in a while.

The Power Of Scenario Planning

Written by Christina Lovelock on July 30, 2020. Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on The Power Of Scenario Planning

True busines agility is achieved by considering what might happen in the future, and developing an outline response.

No one could have PREDICTED the current global situation, but some organisations were better PREPARED for it.

Whether you are delivering projects, products or services, it’s all about the future.

Increasing profit/market share
Increasing customer loyalty
Improving customer experience
Improving quality
Developing and retaining staff
Diversifying the offering
Decreasing costs
Reducing complexity

Each of these aims can be followed by the phrase “in the future”, as that is where they all reside. Most organisations believe they are thinking about the future, but they are usually just extrapolating the present, and that’s not the same thing at all.

What is Scenario Planning?

Scenario planning is a strategic analysis tool which recognises the future is uncertain and unpredictable, and encourages us to explore how we can prepare for it.

There are three broad steps to scenario planning:

Consider what is the current reality for the organisation and wider world, and how that might be different in future.
Consider what those differences would mean for the organisation.
Act on this new knowledge. (This might be: develop a plan, mitigate a risk, explore an opportunity…).

There are many models that facilitate the process of scenario planning, which is usually run as a series of workshops with relevant stakeholders.

Advantages of Scenario Planning

1. Framework

Scenario planning provides an opportunity and framework for people to contribute their fears and ideas in a legitimised and structured way. It’s proactive, and removes some of the worry of being perceived as ‘doom-monger’.

2. Awareness

It encourages us to think outside of our organisational boundaries, and lift our heads from the day-to-day rhythm and routine of work. It asks: what’s going on in our organisation? our sector? the wider economy? in society? for our customers? for our suppliers? and for our staff?

How might this impact our organisation in the future, and what can we do about it?

3. Calm

Scenario planning allows options to be really evaluated, and decisions to be taken before a situation actually occurs. In the face of a crisis, organisational and individual biases can cloud could good judgement, speed of response can overlook better options and fear and blame can impact relationships. It creates the time for a ‘plan for a plan’. Scenario planning offers no certainties, but gives the opportunity to identify indicators: “If we start to see X happening, then person Y will do Z”.

(Yes, some people supposedly thrive under pressure and enjoy adrenaline fuelled situations, but this is not business agility.)

4. Competitive advantage

If we are considering the future and preparing for it while others are not, this gives us a clear advantage. We will be able to respond rather than react, move more quickly and demonstrate our organisational agility.

Common Traps of Scenario Planning

1. ‘Waste of time’

Because many, perhaps most, of the scenarios won’t actually happen, investing time in thinking about them may seem like a waste of time and effort. This may prevent a full range of scenarios from being effectively developed and discussed.

Most people have enough to worry about in their ‘day job’, and do not want to go exploring for further problems. This is narrow thinking and prevents business agility.

2. ‘Lack of imagination’

Some people cannot imagine a different world, and others can imagine it but are embarrassed to describe it. Many organisations do ‘financial planning’ by using a small number of variables (costs, predicated growth etc.) and model best, worst and most likely scenarios. This is safe thinking, and is unlikely to lead to any major breakthrough in organisation

3. ‘Overwhelmed’

It would be relatively easy for even a small group to come up with dozens of plausible scenarios, and generate hundreds of potential actions in just a few hours. Generating the scenarios, then narrowing them down to a manageable number is part of the processes. The discussion about the potential scenarios is often more valuable than identifying every possible future.

4. ‘File in the draw’

If no action is taken as a result of the scenario planning, then the value of the exercise will not be realised. ‘Action’ could range from agreeing options or decisions that will be made in certain situations to making significant changes in strategy or operations as a result of the information the exercise has revealed.

Conclusion

Organisations which can adapt will survive and thrive. The ability to adapt quickly is about giving people the time and space to consider how to respond to a range of scenarios, most of which will not come to pass. But for the ones that do – we ‘ll be ready. For the scenarios we didn’t see coming, our organisations will be more able to adapt because we recognise that the tomorrow cannot be extrapolated from today.

Reference:

Scenario Planning, Woody Wade, 2012

The A to Z of Business Analysis

Written by Christina Lovelock on June 25, 2020. Posted in Articles.

“What is business analysis?” There is no snappy ‘definition’ of business analysis, but we know it when we see it.

It is hard to answer this question directly, so let’s consider some of the key the elements and areas of concern that constitute business analysis.

A Analysis

Let’s start with the basics. Analysis means to investigate or examine something carefully in a methodical way. So to do analysis you need to pick an area of focus, study it, see where it leads, find the right people, ask good questions, consider all aspects, apply logic and reasoning and use the full range of tools and techniques at your disposal. When we create an over simplification of analysis such as “write user stories” or “draw swim lane diagrams” we loose the essence of the of analysis.

B Business

The ‘business’ part of business analysis means the whole organisation or enterprise. From top to bottom, inside and out. Everything; including the market and context it operates within, its employees, customers, systems, structures, strategy and processes. The not-for-profit and public sector sometimes struggle with the idea of their organisation as a business, but business analysis is equally relevant in every organisation and every sector.

C Communication

‘Good BA with poor communication skills’ is an oxymoron. It is not possible to be a truly effective business analyst without good written and verbal communication skills, which you can tailor to the situation and the audience. Business analysis cannot be conducted in isolation, it requires collaboration. Collaboration is underpinned by good communication

D Diagrams

Visual communication is critical for project success. BAs need to be able to distil an hours’ conversation or a 20 page document down to a number of boxes and lines, to build understanding, alignment and agreement. This often takes bravery, and willing to risk being wrong.

E Empathy

Empathy is a core component of Emotional Intelligence, which all BAs need to strive to develop. Empathy allows us to see different perspectives, mediate between groups and understand the full impact of the changes we seek to introduce in our organisations.

F Facilitation

We provide a set of skills, process and techniques which support and enhance group working. This includes clarifying objectives, encouraging participation, practicing active listening and building commitment and ownership. These skills are not limited to a role within workshops, but an ongoing contribution BAs make to the success of change initiatives.

G Global

The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) [1] has more than 120 chapters all over the world. The profession is truly global, and exists in every industry and sector. Stand tall in the face of confusion and ignorance of our profession, you are part if something big.

H Holistic

We recognise that everything is interconnected and interrelated. We know process improvement will effect people, and system upgrades will impact data. BAs must always keep POPIT ™ [2] in mind!
By practicing an holistic approach to problem solving, we help our organisations address the real problems in the right ways.

I Information

Business analysis is obtaining, interpreting and presenting information. Business Analysts sometimes shy away from business information, and align themselves to process modelling rather than data modelling. Data and process are two sides of the same coin. Processes generate and consume data. Data must have a lifecycle and inform organisational processes such as decision making.

J Just enough and just in time

This has been a tricky transition for BAs. We like detail, rigour, even perfection. The acceptance that sometimes good enough is good enough is hard, and the concept of delivering a minimum viable product has taken some getting used to. We must continually challenge ourselves to avoid gold-plating and recognise the right thing is not always the best thing.

K Knowledge

BAs need to be able to build up knowledge of a new business area, domain or industry very quickly. BAs should be brining business analysis skills and knowledge to the table, but rely on others to be the authority on subject matter expertise.

L Learning

Continue professional development is critical for BAs. We are naturally curious and want to know more about our organisations, our professional discipline and how learning from other disciplines can help us improve the practice of business analysis. (So yes, we ask a lot of questions!).

M Mindset

BAs must cultivate curiosity and have a continual service improvement approach. Business analysis is a broad discipline, with so much to learn – we must encourage a growth mindset for ourselves and our organisations.

N Needs

We go to lengths to separate wants from needs, and problems from solutions. BAs must navigate the political minefield of prioritising business needs; know when to challenge and when to concede, and remain objective and neutral as far as humanly possible!

O Objectives

Finding purpose, asking why, recognising assumptions and understanding what we are trying to achieve. Setting goals and objectives is critical to business and IT enabled change, BAs have a big part to play identifying problems and opportunities and agreeing objectives.

P Process

Process modelling, analysis and management is a key aspect of business analysis, but it is not the sum total of business analysis. Process analysis is a means, not an end. BAs must understand the purpose of process analysis, the value it offers organisations in terms of consistency, improvement, efficiency, training, knowledge management and competitive advantage.

Q Quality

In the time-cost-quality triangle, BAs are typically more concerned with quality, and PMs and other roles are typically more concerned with time and cost. Ensuring quality means ensuring that what is delivered addresses valid business needs and is fit for purpose.

R Requirements

Requirements Engineering is a professional discipline. It covers elicitation, analysis, validation, documentation and management (no ‘gathering’ in sight). Yes, anyone can write requirements, just as anyone can paint a wall. When you want it done right, you call in a professional.

S Stakeholders

Structured and rigorous stakeholder analysis is often overlooked. BAs have techniques to identify and analyse stakeholders and involve the right people in the right way at the right time.

T Technology

Digital Transformation and IT enabled change form a key part of many change initiatives. BAs must have sufficient technology knowledge to understand the landscape, ask the right questions and identify options and issues. BAs must not be intimidated by the technology, just because they are not ‘technical’.

U Users

User Journey | User Story | UAT. BAs must really know the users, and champion user needs and views when they are not in the room. The BA must act as the conscience for the project on all decisions made.

V Value

By collaborating with stakeholders, BAs can co-create value in our organisations [3]. This involves identifying where value might be offered, developing a solution and ensuing the value is actually realised.

W Work Package

We can analyse anything, but without agreed scope, timeframe and deliverables, the outputs we produce are unlikely to meet the expectations of others. Creation of a simple work package enables discussion on the focus and purpose of the business analysis needed.

X eXperience

UX and CX. These specialisms don’t exist in every organisation, so BAs need to be prepared to support projects and products in this space. By ensuring that non-functional requirements are brough into the conversation, we can ensure that expectations are understood and experience is considered.

Y “Yes, and…”

Typical BA responses to any question are often: “It depends…”, “Yes, but…” and “No.”. This has given us a bit of reputation for being negative/blockers. By reframing our natural responses to build on the ideas of others, we can bring forward our concerns in a constructive way.

Z Zoom

(…and Skype, GoTo Meetings, MS Teams and more!). BAs have placed much faith in face-to-face, and now need the confidence to adapt our methods to be virtual-by-default.

Conclusion

Many professions operate without a ‘definition’. What’s the definition of a painter and decorator? Someone who does painting and decorating. Yes its self-referential, but we can all imagine what this involves. Let’s help our customers and stakeholders understand what business analysis involves, by demonstrating the breadth of what we have to offer.

Further Resources:

[1] IIBA Chapters: www.iiba.org/membership/chapters/
[2] POPIT™: www.assistkd.com/knowledge-hub/business-alchemists-blog/reimagining-popit-model
[3] Delivering Business Analysis, Paul and Lovelock, BCS 2019: www.amazon.com/Delivering-Business-Analysis-Service-handbook-ebook/dp/B07XTM9LT9

Forget SMART, Aim 4A Goal!

Written by Christina Lovelock on May 28, 2020. Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on Forget SMART, Aim 4A Goal!

The SMART acronym is considered best practice for objective setting, yet somehow objectives which are ‘made SMART’ become uninspiring and unintelligible.

We are told that individual, team and organisational objectives need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/ Relevant, Timebound). For the most part, goals and objectives should be something we set because we want to achieve them, but when we cryptically re-word, strip back to the specifics, take out the inspiration by dialling down to realistic and attach an (often) arbitrary deadline, they seem to lose their appeal.

How can we create goals we are actually inspired to work towards? By simplifying the processes and asking ourselves good questions.

Aim 4A Goal

4A is Achieve/Avoid/ Action Analysis. By creating an engaging table or diagram we can frame a goal that motivates us, identify what we need to be aware on pursuit of that goal and identify the next steps towards achieving it. Notice that is next steps, not every step. It is impossible to predict the future, but we can usually identify the activities which are a step in the right direction of the goal, even if we cannot yet see every move we will need to make.

Here are some of the questions to help to understand the goal and how to get there.

Achieve

It’s difficult to work out what your goals are, it may need some dedicated time and a few false starts to get to the real goal(s).

what do you want to do?
when do you want to do it by?
why?

It’s ok to aim big, it can be broken down into steps, many of which you might not know yet. It’s also fine to have a very narrow scope, that can be achieved through a very small number of actions. The key is to be sufficiently motivated to do the actions!

Avoid

Most things can be achieved, with enough time and attention, but at what cost? In the pursuit of goals we must consider the things which might distract us, and also the things we are unwilling to compromise on to achieve the goal.

what are the potential pit-falls?
what might get in the way?
what might be the unwanted impacts (on myself and others)?
what do I need to ensure I don’t neglect, in pursuit of this goal?
what risks am I unwilling to take?
what behaviours am I unwilling to engage in?
who might prevent it? (be honest).

Just as important as planning the things we will do, is to identify the things we will have to give up or are unwilling to do.

Action:

Actions need to be tailored to address the goal, and avoid the issues identified. If we don’t highlight the things we want to avoid, we may take the wrong actions.

what can I do right now that moves me closer to my goal?
who can help or advise me?

For every action we take, we can ask “Is this contributing to my goal?” If not, we may still choose to do it, but consciously rather than inadvertently. Add actions to the list as they become apparent, and the next best step to take.

Example Goal

Achieve: Speak at a conference or event in the next 12 months.

Avoid: Excessive travel costs, impact on my project work.

Actions: Identify local events, find out submission process and deadline, develop sessions ideas at weekends.

When these actions are complete, identify the next steps which move towards the goal.

Decision making

Achieve/Avoid/ Action Analysis (4A) is also incredibly useful as a decision making framework. It helps keep everyone on track – “what are we trying to accomplish with the outcome of this decision?”, “what impacts don’t we want”, “what possible actions achieve the outcome and avoid the impacts?”. Often group decision making is difficult because people are not trying to achieve the same thing from the decision. Using 4A give the opportunity to build consensus on what we are working towards, address concerns via the ‘avoid’ list and jointly agree the actions which best hold the ‘achieve’ and ‘avoid’ elements in balance.

Example Decision: “Shall we reduce the training budget to save money?”

Achieve: Cost savings of X in this financial year

Avoid: Impacting staff morale, having people who do not know how to do their job, impacting customer service.

Actions: Investigate online delivery options, prioritise the training needs, defer some of the training, use train-the-trainer approach.

Conclusion

SMART has had its chance, and it wasn’t helping. Set goals that inspire and motivate you, work out what you need to avoid in the pursuit of those goals, then develop a plan to achieve them.

We also need to accept that we may need to change our goals. We may decide we don’t want to achieve what we once thought was important. Don’t work towards something you no longer want, just because you wrote it down or told a few people. In that case, Aim 4A New Goal, work out what that looks like, what you need to avoid, and what next step you can take.