Tag: Project Management

Five Crossword Tricks to Help Pass Certification Exams

Written by Richard Larson on June 4, 2020. Posted in Articles.

I love to complete crossword puzzles. More than a pastime, they are more like an addiction for me.

At any one time I have 3-4 different puzzles in progress, of varying levels. I am no expert, but I have learned a few techniques that surprisingly matches advice I have given over the years to help candidates pass their certification exams.

You see, it helps to approach your exam like a puzzle. Why is that? The “puzzle” creators, the certification exam writers, devise tricky and challenging questions like a crossword editor does. They are difficult because the exam writers want to test your knowledge of business analysis, project management, agile, security or whatever your certification interest. I think it will be helpful to treat your exam like a puzzle to help get in the right mind frame.

To that end, I have developed a few tricks over the years to help me solve crossword puzzles. Here are five of my best tricks and an explanation of how they apply to cert exams.

1. Skip over hard answers – work the easy ones first.

No matter how easy or difficult a puzzle I work on, there are always some clues and sections that are easier than others. Use those to help answer harder ones and to build confidence. Leave answers blank you are unsure of and only lightly pencil in those you are partly sure of.

CERTIFICATION APPLICATION: Skip hard questions and leave them blank the first or second time through your exam. Exam creators like to devilishly put hard questions near the beginning to test your meddle. It is easy to spend 10 or more minutes on early difficult questions, which leaves you that much less time for the remainder. Skip them! From my own and others’ experience, difficult questions are easier the 2nd or 3rd time through.

2. Rely on patterns to figure out answers you are unsure of.

When I am uncertain of a crossword answer, I find it helpful to look at surrounding words and letters for clues. In English, certain letter combinations are more common and others will not occur at all. For example, if a word ends in “K,” odds are the preceding letter is an A, E, C, L, N, R, or S.

CERTIFICATION: APPLICATION: Look for distracters (e.g., oxymorons like “assumption constraint”) to spot incorrect answers. Look for answers that have 3 commonalities between them and one that does not (odds are good that is the correct answer, but not always.) Wording from one question can help you with others (this happened on every certification exam I took).

3. Make sure you understand the correct meaning of a question.

Clever crossword editors use clues that could have several meanings depending on how you interpret them. For instance, a simple clue of “Free” on a puzzle I just finished could mean the verb “to free” or the noun “to be free”. It could be free of cost, free of constraint, or carefree, such as “free and easy.”

CERTIFICATION APPLICATION: Just like clever crossword editors, clever exam writers try similar tricks to make you think and not just recall. For instance, suppose you encountered a question that makes common sense but contradicts your body of knowledge. Once example I remember from my PMP preparation had to do with paying bribes to get a project approved in a foreign country where that was common practice. That option would not be the correct answer because it violates the PM Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide®).

4. Use multiple iterations to complete your answers.

I have heard of expert puzzlers who complete the Sunday New York Times in one sitting (in ink no less). Most people cannot do this and on difficult puzzles I need several attempts to complete it and I always use a pencil!

CERTIFICATION APPLICATION: Unless you are an expert test taker, expect to do two or three iterations of reading through and answering questions on your exam. If you follow rule #1, you should leave blank every hard answer on your first read-through. You should also flag any questions you are partly sure of as mentioned in rule #2. From observations in teaching numerous certification classes I know the importance of this. After practice exams in class, many students reported they changed an answer or two only to discover their first one was correct. Do not let this to happen to you on your exam! Leave answers blank until you are sure of them.

5. Use your best guess if you must.

Sometimes I will write down a crossword answer even if I am not sure of it. I do this more often near the end of a puzzle to help me with adjacent answers. Confession: I have been known to fill in words to complete a puzzle just so I can finish it and move on.

CERTIFICATION APPLICATION: If your time is nearly up and you have unanswered questions, by all means use your best guess. There is no penalty for guessing, only for not answering a question. Try to pace yourself so you have time to make an educated guess. If you are seriously close to the end, put down any answer. In other words, like a crossword, go with those “lightly penciled in” answers. One of my students early on told me an urban myth that answer “b” occurs most often in exams. I am not sure if that is true but putting answer “b” on say five blank answers probably ensures you get one or two of them correct.

I have worked with certification preparation and exam strategies for many years, including training countless candidates. One common denominator among virtually all my students has been exam anxiety. We all face it and there is more than one approach to combatting it.

Treating an exam like a puzzle is one approach to reducing exam anxiety by providing strategies for navigating difficult questions on your exam. Using crossword tricks like the ones outlined above can help reduce your exam anxiety and improve your score. Let me know what you think and share your own tricks that have worked.

My Business Analyst Can Beat Up Your Business Analyst

Written by Brad Egeland on November 14, 2019. Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on My Business Analyst Can Beat Up Your Business Analyst

There’s actually some truth to that statement. I was project lead for a project in Chicago a few years ago and there was pizza, burgers and beer involved and then it happened.

A simple discussion turned into a heated argument which turned into an actual throw down and my delivery team business analyst actually KO’d the customer business analyst in a not so memorable moment. I blamed myself for letting it get out of hand and figured we’d be pulled off the engagement. Thankfully the customer side team admitted it was actually their fault, replaced their business analyst and we moved on to a successful project from there and basically never spoke of it again. Lessons learned, project saved. Yeah!

I don’t recommend going this route on the project and that’s why I’ve tried to keep the alcohol aspect out of any offsite engagements with project customers, but sometimes it can’t be helped… though it’s very unlikely you’ll ever actually end up with a fist fight on your hands. If you have, please share your incident… I’m sure everyone would love to hear about it.

What is it your project manager, your project team, your project customer, and your senior management really wants from the business analyst? What key qualities are you looking for? A good right hook? Probably not. For me it comes down to these top 5 things…

Creates accurate estimates

Since I’m basically looking at the technical project management landscape because that’s where 90% of my project management experience has been, I’m talking here about a business analyst who can either put together a good tech estimate on his own or have enough detailed or high level technical expertise and experience to understand if the team is giving a good estimate. It also comes in handy when the business analyst and the project manager are working closely together on planning and estimating project tasks in the early versions of the project schedule. Fine tuning the schedule before the real work gets under way and having solid work estimates help drive the budget forecast and the resource management plan for the rest of the project with small weekly adjustments, of course.

Can create good, detailed requirements

The business analyst who can comprehend customer business processes quickly and turn them into a functional design with the team and creates detailed requirements from that functional design is invaluable to the organization. It’s like a great football quarterback who can look at the defense and read the defense. He can see what they are planning for and respond accordingly. And win. Winning is good. I always say that detailed, complex, well documented requirements are the lifeblood of the project and getting started on design and development from great requirements is a major stepping stone to success. And those same requirements will be a major component of a successful user acceptance testing (UAT) session later in the project as you’re getting very close to a signed off deliverable project to the customer and end user community.

Can manage project teams effectively

Resource management, communication, conflict resolution, mentoring – these are all good qualities for a business analyst to possess in order to successfully lead teams on productive and winning projects. But it’s more than that. It’s high integrity, honesty, follow up and follow through, confidence, and the ability to make decisions and delegate tasks and not waiver, but still be open to team feedback and communication. Yes, you are leading the team, but not micromanaging them or oppressively managing the team. It’s a cohesive, collaborative process and a back and forth input, absorption and follow through process. The business analyst needs to be able to listen as well and as much as they speak – it will go miles toward successful leadership of the project team.

Exudes confidence

The effective and efficient business analyst also must exude confidence. That’s actually very important for any leader in order to be respected and followed. The business analyst often must make tough decisions without much data or info to back them up and if they are lacking confidence the team and the customer will sense that and be concerned about the business analyst’s ability to lead a successful Project. You don’t want to go there. Be confident, standby your actions, your decisions and task delegations even if there is pushback. But at the same time, recognize and admit your mistakes.

Cares about the customer

Customer passion, understanding and empathy are all good qualities of the effective and successful business analyst. Feeling accountable to the customer and living by my personal motto of “you’re only as successful as your last customer thinks you are…” will help the business analyst stay focused on one of the key ingredients of project success – customer satisfaction. Customers need and want a high level of communication and many touch points and frequent updates on most projects to stay confident in the delivery team and feel good about the project. And that’s ok – it’s their money you’re working with so they have that right.

Summary / call for input

The bottom line on the business analyst who will best serve the project, the team, the customer and the project manager is one who is experienced, has the right tech knowledge coming in, is confident and ready to make decisions and lead a team. He’s been around the block – knows when to act and when to get more info, knows how to lead a customer, knows how to maintain the productivity of a skilled team, and knows how to facilitate good and effective communication. Everyone has to start somewhere so all new business analysts are novices at some point, but most that I’ve worked with were either project managers or tech leads before becoming business analysts, so they were already a step ahead of everyone else.

Readers – what’s your take on this? If you’re a business analyst, where did you come from – and why be a business analyst? What drove you into the position… need, desire?

A Primer on Working with Executives:Swim with the Sharks Without Getting Eaten Alive (Part 2)

Written by Richard Larson on November 7, 2019. Posted in Articles.

In part 1 of this series, I introduced 3 keys that can help to work more effectively with executives.

Key #1 was to understand executive communication styles and how to respond appropriately to each to put executives at ease and earn respect.

Key #2 in this executive primer is that executives can be influenced to make better decisions. I don’t mean they can be fooled, manipulated, or tricked. What I mean by influence is “the ability to proactively shift the thinking, actions, and even emotional states of other people” (Neitlich[1]).

To that definition I would add project professionals (Business Analysts, Project Managers, and others) are influential by recommending solutions of value that lead to solving organization problems. Recommending valuable solutions is integral to the very definition and promise of our work. Our most effective and most valuable way to work with executives is to influence them to make the right decisions. We’ll return to decisions in part 3.

Again, I’m not ashamed to admit that starting my career I was scared silly of executives. It took me years to realize they are just people playing their role. They can be brusque, certainly, but you can use that kind of trait to learn how to frame your communication to them (as described in key #1 of this series).

What also helped my effectiveness was recognizing that as a project professional I only had two forms of “power” to influence executives. Executives have position and reward power to influence decisions and direction. We need to reply on personal power and “expert” power to be influential, both of which are covered indirectly in this part of the series.

The Influencing Formula

A few years ago, my wife and co-author Elizabeth Larson and I wrote a book called The Influencing Formula[2]. It provides a practical framework to avoid being “eaten alive” and for being influential when working with executives.

The 3 main elements of influence we found in our experience are:

Trust + Preparation * Courage

Following are short descriptions of each “variable” in the formula.

Establish Trust

The Influencing Formula has dozens of ways to help build trust. I condensed those down to a dozen in Figure 1. We each do some of these items automatically, and others are areas we could improve on. For example, I am honest and act with integrity without thinking about it. However, communicating bad news is something I need to work on as is acknowledging mistakes. (The latter goes along with my “blue” nature I mentioned in key #1.)

Hopefully you can use this checklist to good effect since all the points will help you build trust with executives. One way to use this list is to do a self-assessment and find 2-3 main areas to work on.

Figure 1: A dozen ways to build trust with executives

Preparation

Of the 3 variables in the Influencing Formula, Preparation is the most visible part of working with executives and is the basis of “expert” power. Because of that, we need to do our homework and be thorough when we interact with them. In school we heard about the “3 R’s”. Here are 3 different ones plus a bonus “R.”

The first R is Research – discover what you can about your audience, their communication preferences like in key #1, and the business issue at hand. Prepare thoughtful, strategic questions. Be thorough with your analysis and be ready to provide data to back up your findings.
Root Cause– always focus on solving business problems, and not systems, technology, or on symptoms. Then be relentless in getting to the root cause and not be satisfied with putting band-aids on symptoms. I can’t stress this one enough, although it can get tricky because it can be political.
Recommend – perhaps the most important part of being a strong BA or PM are the recommendations we provide. For instance, the core definition of business analysis in the BABOK® Guide[3] is:

“… the practice of enabling change in an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders.”

The bonus “R” is Respect – executives are always busy and we don’t want to waste their time. Start and stop all sessions on time. Note their communication “color” style and respect it. For example, with a “Red” style, get right down to business. With a “Green” type, give them time to think about a proposal. Acknowledging and acting on communication preferences is a form of respect.

Showing Courage

Have you ever worked directly with your CEO, CIO, or senior executives in your organization or given presentations to them? How did you feel? If you were nervous at first it would be understandable.

A common fear of working with executives comes from focusing on ourselves and a fear of failure, which I mentioned in Part 1 of this series. It can sometimes be paralyzing. And, blaming others for not listening to us or adopting our recommendations is also not courageous or productive.

On the other hand, have you ever made recommendations that countered what the executive or executive team initially wanted? I am sure that took courage and some “personal power.” For example, let’s say executives wanted to solve a problem by replacing an existing system with a new software package. After you analyzed the situation and did some root cause analysis you feel that better documentation and training would solve the problem more effectively and be much cheaper.

What do you do? If we have done our prep work and focus on what’s best for the organization, it can be an important boost to the courage needed to propose an alternative solution. It also helps reduce personal risk, especially if the favored solution was one proposed by the executive you are working with. I’m not saying there is value in being labeled a contrarian and going against the grain. But executives will notice if we are open and transparent and show that we always keep the best interest of the organization in mind.

To recap, project professionals are influential by recommending solutions of value that lead to solving organization problems. Making valuable and viable recommendations is integral to the very heart of what we do. Part 3 of this series covers the 3^rd key to working with executives which are things to know that affect executive decision making.

[1] Andrew Neitlich, “How to Master Influence Skills,” Sitepoint.com

Connecting the Dots: The Evolution of the Business Analyst

Written by Wael Altali on October 29, 2019. Posted in Articles.

Last year, I witnessed a product manager trying to figure out how to best market a new product feature.

They were working with a Business Analyst (BA) to make meaning of the multitude of consumer data they gathered. They also worked with an analyst to elicit much broader marketing requirements.

At the same time, a public relations firm was hired to help rebrand the organization. The firm was also working with a BA to collect consumer perspectives on current branding and collect requirements for future branding efforts.

In both projects, the BA did what they had been trained to do. Though they knew what their peers were working on, they failed to “connect the dots.”

The Danger of Not “Connecting the Dots”

The group marketing that new product did not share their learnings with the group working on the public relations strategy. When the strategy rolled out, the analyst working with the product manager noticed some features that contradicted the consumer requirements collected. That analyst said nothing.

In most organizations, we are learning in silos.

Connecting the dots between learnings is not just for streamlining processes and ensuring efficiencies – it is necessary to nurture innovation. Leading creative and strategic projects while also teaching about innovation has validated what researchers have been telling us: innovation is about making connections.

Innovation Through Connections

Connections of information from different sources. Connecting a random idea from an accountant to another random idea from marketing to form an unusual concept. These connections seem simple, but they are not.

They require different segments of an organization to make connections with each other, and to have access to different information that may seem unrelated. There needs to be a systematic and consistent capture of learnings that is not limited to the project, but is organization-wide and ongoing.

Change your Mindset to Change Your Organization

I began to explore different models of how “mindset change” can take place within an organization.

First, mechanisms must be in place to allow for the transfer of information to happen organically. For this, organizations must adopt a continuous learning mindset.

In order to identify the best way to adopt this mindset across departments and silos, I had to identify the common variable that was in all the sessions where connections were missed. A champion of sorts, who has access to information and the skill sets to facilitate connections.

So who acts as the conduit of interdepartmental information flow? This would have to be a centralized person who can connect the dots and “hold the whole” of the organization. A journalist of sorts, that asks the right questions with unyielding perseverance to identify the right problems to solve.

The Business Analyst is a natural fit as the holder of these connections.

BAs have the skills and the access to serve as the internal journalists able to influence and shape strategy. This is especially true for older organizations with mature structures that cause silos between departments without clear collaboration points.

To be successful in such a role, the BA must explore adopting this journalist mindset. Recognizing that there is a lot of information and data, but there is one core story being told.

Perhaps most importantly, it’s their job to uncover that story – not to write it. This story is not necessarily the product solution you are seeking; it is an untold plot that only you are able to see.

Making connections is an essential BA skill to help shape modern organizations. As great entrepreneurs know, connectors get better with practice.

Exercising Forced Connections

Work on forced connections before you are able to make them organically. Fixate on an object in your environment, and use that object to solve a problem. Work on these forced connections to help pivot your brain to start making connections by default. The results can be astonishing.

Free write all the learnings that you have gathered. Are you working on separate projects, all yielding learnings that appear unrelated? Take some time to reflect on those unrelated learnings and begin to write about them nonstop. Do not censor or edit – no one is checking your grammar. Be amazed as connections begin to form without you noticing.

This next technique allows the BA to make connections in real time and I have deployed it repeatedly. After a requirement gathering elicitation session, the BA asks:

“What do I know that they don’t know?”

Is the team missing something that was uncovered in a requirements gathering session eight months ago, or are there gaps that the elicitation with marketing tomorrow could potentially fill?

Recently, I spoke with a BA who told me, “This is great and all, but I can’t keep all this information in my head. How can I reference it more frequently?”

Tools for Consistent Connection Building

I coached her on developing what I am calling a “Connection Board.”

Using a whiteboard, a blank piece of paper, or some virtual tool, draw out three columns. This is a living document that will be updated regularly.

In the first column, write “Discover.” This area is for any information that you are learning that “sticks out.” It makes you think, “Hmmm, that’s not related to this solution, but that’s interesting.”

The next column, titled “Connect”, is for any connections that can be made from the pool of information you gathered under “Discover.” Are there any “dots” that are from very different sources, but seem related?

Finally, move connections you want to investigate further into a column marked “Explore”, and uncover the story behind those connections. What questions does this connection trigger?

This can be a visual board, a chart on a white board, or a notebook entry. It should be easily accessible as a living document to train you on making those connections consistently.

These are some tools and techniques for your toolkit and, there are numerous out there on stretching and exercising your connection muscle.

To fully flex this muscle, we have to stop viewing each product or requirement gathering as a separate event. Often there are connections to be made that your organization needs, but is unaware of their existence. As a BA you have the potential to be a strategy thought leader within your organization, shaping and influencing agendas.

You will find with connection building you are able to reveal ideas that only you have the information to reveal. Working like a journalist is writing small stories – collecting evidence from each story that ultimately connect, allowing you to reveal a breakthrough story.

The Oppressive BA

Written by Brad Egeland on October 9, 2019. Posted in Articles.

Do you excel in your field? In everyone’s eyes or your own? Be careful how you answer that.

Seriously though – we want to excel, we are in the position we are in most likely because we are good at what we do. We excelled and made advances and gained leadership because we were good at leading. We were analytical, could document requirements, could lead teams into battle and translate things the customer said.

Are we still there? How do we solve the hard issues? Task management, ego clashes and conflict management, collaboration issues, communication breakdowns and missed dates… what’s the coverage and follow-up? Are we oppressive when the going gets tough?

What is oppressive? Here are some descriptions and definitions of “oppressive” …

Weighing heavily on the mind or spirits; causing depression or discomfort
Suggests causing mental as well as physical strain
Implies extreme harshness or severity in what is imposed

Is a great leader oppressive? Probably not – at least not in my opinion. Are you an oppressive business analyst? Or do you just lean that way when the pressure is high and the project or a deliverable is on the line? Do you really want to be that way – do you really want to go there? Probably not. Here are five ways to improve, avoid or at least mitigate that behavior (and if you’re a project manager or other project team member who is being oppressive, this is also for you!)

Count to 10… seriously.

I realize this one sounds simple but thinking before we react – while it sounds easy is not really an easy thing to do. I know, I’ve got 6 little ones aged 5 through 11 and after 10 minutes of what seems like silence I can walk into the next room where they are playing and find anything from them all playing together nicely to 2 inches of water to curtains pulled down from the rods above the windows. How did they do that so quietly? Everything can be dried up, washed, and fixed… but that initial reaction is one I’m not often good at… and certainly not as good as my wife is at it! When the going gets tough on the project and there are issues to deal with, staying calm and organized in your response and action can be very difficult… but it is critical for leadership, respect and project success. Becoming frustrated, reacting oppressively, pointing fingers and assigning blame is no way to move forward as a team to right size the project ship.

Put yourself in their place.

Yes, transpose yourself to the project team or the team member with issues. See things from their point of view. Were you clear in your initial direction? The actual fault in any issue may be your own communication skills. Communication is Job One for every project leader – project manager, business analyst, team lead, etc. Poor communication, miscommunication, lack of follow-up to ensure understanding, poor listening, and unclear directions are the key ingredients to a communication issue bringing down a project. Is that what happened? Also, is your oppressive behavior going to be received well and responded to or will it further delay appropriate forward and productive action and response? Will it get the project or task back on track or will it only cause further derailment? Usually it will be the latter.

Constructively consider the available options at the moment.

Take a deep breathe during times of stress and issues on the project. Don’t react to the moment, respond to the problem. Look for ways to mitigate and avoid, not over react, oppress and point fingers. Many mutinies have begun over leaders over-exerting powers and directing blame, punishment and humiliation in a public way. This shouldn’t even be done in private. It does no good. Collect the group, brainstorm solutions and workarounds and decisions with your team to present to the project client so as a delivery team you can – collaboratively together, get the off the rails project back on the rails.

Reach out for leadership assistance.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Lots of bullying and oppressive behavior is merely a result of not knowing what to do or say or the best way to react. The CEO or the guy to your left may have never gone through what you and your team are going through. But the guy to your right may have. In today’s real time communication possibilities there is no excuse for not trying to reach out for assistance somewhere – even outside your organization.

Sit down and do a roundtable discussion.

Great way to avoid being an over oppressive micromanaging jerk? Hold roundtable discussions with the team, with stakeholders… even involve the customer if the situation calls for it. You might get away with being oppressive with a team member or two but when you grab everyone involved and gather them to help work through a problem or issue that whole group isn’t likely going to let you get away with wasting their day with your demanding me-centric behavior. The first step in getting help is knowing you need help!

Summary / call for input

So – are you an oppressive BA? Probably not. But we all have those moments of control issues. If you find you have lots of those moments though, you might be an oppressive business analyst. Stop, take a very deep breath and then go take a nap and come back refreshed. Or don’t come back. Your team needs a leader, not a dictator. These steps or actions above will help you to stop, think, reach out to others and avoid a very negative reaction when leading a team. I realize there are more ways to calm down and avoid oppressive behavior – but it’s a start.