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Green Eggs and Ham – a Study in Change Management

“I am Sam. Sam I am.” For those of you who are unfamiliar with the quote, it comes from the book Green Eggs and Ham, written by Dr. Seuss. According to Publisher’s Weekly in 2001, it was the fourth-most popular children’s book of all time. That would lead me to believe that most of us have either had this book read to us in our childhood or have learned to read from this book (some, like me, still read it today). We have been indoctrinated at such early ages to accept change, so why do so many of us react badly towards change? After all, Sam has a mission, and that’s to get the unnamed character to change his behavior. Perhaps, though, if Sam went about it a little differently, we would never have had the book after all.

As BAs, we are often in the middle of changes – application changes, process changes, organizational changes. Let’s see how Sam handles a case of change management, and see if we can learn from his mistakes.

1. Failure to plan the change

Human beings are complicated people (even those asexual creatures in the Dr. Seuss books). Sam barges in and starts announcing something new and expects that our friend will embrace it as much as Sam does. It’s clear that Sam wants our friend to eat the green eggs and ham, and probably thinks that eating them is great, but Sam’s expectation is that our friend will partake of the new treat. It seems that Sam’s strategy is to offer so many ways to eat green eggs and ham that our friend should just change and do it. Consider that it’s not until 7/8 of the way into the book that he finally asks if our friend would just try them. If that strategy to “just try them” was planned at the beginning, the change implementation might have gone better.

2. Failure to communicate the reasons and expectations behind the change

It’s no wonder that our friend who is having green eggs and ham is put off by Sam. He barges in with, “I am Sam. Sam I am.” but with no explanation to our friend about the change. It’s no wonder that our friend is turned off and immediately puts up a defensive wall – he clearly has no idea of what is happening. Perhaps Sam could explain the reason why he is offering the green eggs and ham. “Times are tough, the economy is strange, and the cafeteria selections have got to change. Here’s something new, a nutritious meal, it will give you low blood pressure and abs of steel.” If perhaps Sam explained it that way, our friend would have understood the reason behind the change.

3. Sam should have gotten buy-in from our friend

One of the most effective ways to change is to make the person want to change. If they want to change, they embrace the change. If they feel that they are part of the change, and had a stake in it, they will do everything that they can to see it succeed. Why? No one wants to be on the losing side, and if our friend thought that it was partly his project, he will do what it takes to make the change work. Once he feels that it’s his idea, he’ll want to push forward with the change. If Sam had played his cards right, our friend might have stated, “When we serve everyone this food, who will whine? When after all, this idea was MINE!”

4. Roll it out to the influencers

There is always a group that is highly influential in any group, and they set the trend. If you can get them on-board with the change, then the change is far more likely to happen. The fox, the mouse, and the goat didn’t really do much to help Sam and his cause. But perhaps if Sam had brought in others that our friend trusted (the influencers), they would have “sold” the idea of change as beneficial. Influencers can be at any level, and even at the same level of the people that are going to change – sometimes it helps having that peer allied with the change so it doesn’t give the impression that “big, bad, management” is forcing something upon the masses. Why are so many in the United States driving 4WD SUVs to pick up groceries and take their kids to soccer practice? GM and Ford didn’t push that change on them, influencers in society did.

5. There was nothing in it for our friend

How well did Sam communicate to our friend what the benefit was for eating the green eggs and ham? None, as I recall. Sam just prattled on and on about places to eat them and animals to eat them with, but no clear reward or benefit for our friend. When explaining change, explain how it is going to benefit those that have to make the change. How much more effective would it be if Sam had provided an incentive to eat them. Then perhaps the response would have been, “Hand over the plate, and give me a fork. I’ll proclaim their greatness to ALL of New York!” And remember, not everyone perceives the same benefit the same way – you have to figure out what motivates each team member and what each one will consider a benefit.

6. Not involving the people who were going to have to change

It was clear that Sam knew all about green eggs and ham, but how well did he involve the others in the story? Not much. He basically swept in and announced that green eggs and ham were now going to be eaten. And what is our friend’s immediate reaction? “I do not like that Sam I am” Why do you think that is his first reaction? Well, he may have heard rumors about a horrible new food being introduced, and because those involved in the change management (in this case, Sam) have not involved those who had to change, our friend had no clue what the real story was. Think of your organizational – how quickly do rumors spread when there is uncertainty? By the time that the change is announced, the rumor could be far worse than the actual change. By involving the people that are going to change, they can dispel the rumors and help with the transition.

7. Sam should have led the change, not simply ordered it

Sam was not in a position of leadership; he was more in a position of ordering, or “bossing around.” He was so busy telling our friend how many ways to eat the meal, but did not mention that he ate them himself and liked them. If he could give testimony to their quality, our friend may not be as hesitant. Sam may have said, “I had them last night, they’re quite a good meal; my wife and I loved them, and it made my kids squeal.” Or better yet, he could invite our friend to the meal, and they could all eat them together. If our friend sees Sam eating the green eggs and ham himself (thereby leading), our friend may see that the change is good, and find it easier to go along and make the change.

Obviously, Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) had no intention of writing a book about change management, and the message really is to try something new because you might like it. But look how often we reject changes and have trouble with change, especially since many of us grew up reading this book (born after 1960, anyway). It’s not that change is bad; it’s just that it fails because of a poorly executed plan or poor communication. So, to sum up:

  1. Plan the change, and how you are going to roll it out to those that will change
  2. Clearly communicate the reasons behind the change and what the expectations are from those that are going to change
  3. Get buy-in from the people that are going to change – when they want it to succeed, they will do everything in their power to make it succeed
  4. Make sure that the influencers are on board
  5. Explain the benefits to those that are about to change
  6. Involve the people that are going to change, and make sure that they know what is happening and when so as to controls rumors and mistruths
  7. Lead the change – be the first person to change when it happens – don’t lead from behind the front lines

Don’t forget to leave your comments below.


“I am Paul. Paul I am.” Paul Mulvey is a Contract Business Analyst currently on assignment at Cushman & Wakefield. His current assignment has him commuting 4 hours daily on a bus from Eastern PA to NYC, and all he does is just sit, sit, sit, sit, and he does not like it, not one little bit. He can be reached at [email protected]

Champion of Change – The Business Analyst

SteveBlash_Article_Jan4_2Six months after implementation of a new software application, complaints were heard, such as “The software doesn’t work” or “It’s too cumbersome.” After several weeks of post-implementation analysis I determined that the problem was not with the system but rather the resistance by the users to the changes required by the new system. This resistance had become so strong that a replacement of the new application was already being considered.


Upon completion of a project, the organization will have to cope with the inevitable changes that will affect the business. This is a classic example of where the business analyst has to be a “Champion of Change” and mitigate the impact of new systems on workers at all levels in the organization. Project success doesn’t just mean delivering on time and on budget — but includes genuine acceptance by the people in the organization who will benefit or, in some cases, be impacted negatively by the new implementation. This aspect of the project is often lightly touched upon or brushed aside as the BA views these changes as merely part of project communications (“Just tell the employees what needs to be done in the future”), or training (“Just send them to a training session”). In reality, acceptance of change can either make or break a project effort and needs to be addressed throughout the project.

The implementation of the application will always result in some change to the organization’s structure, processes, systems and/or jobs. Whenever change of any type happens within the organization it requires extensive planning and hard work to ensure the change is implemented in a manner that will be embraced by all. This change applies to all individuals, or stakeholders, who will be impacted by the results of the project. They are the ones that Mark Twain’s quote would apply to best, “I’m all for progress. It is change I don’t like.”

The business analyst utilizes a set of tools and techniques to elicit and manage the business requirements. These are usually focused on understanding the requirements necessary for the software and technical aspects of the application and can challenge a business analyst’s “hard skills.” On the other hand, the “soft skills” of a business analyst need to stay focused on the stakeholders and workers impacted by the change that is inevitable. This includes providing support and empathy in addressing resistance while helping mitigate the eventual impact of the final solution to the organization.

Stages of Change

When business change is inevitable, the business analyst needs to be aware of and identify:

  • Specific organizations and jobs that will be impacted
  • Individual business persons from those organizations who will most likely accept the changes as well as those who will resist the changes
  • Potential discussions that can be facilitated to address the changes that will occur, giving individuals the opportunity to share their concerns, provide feedback and ask questions
  • Concerns that need to be addressed in order to potentially move stakeholders from a non-supportive to a supportive position

Understanding the various stages that a person goes through when presented with change will also help determine the appropriate way to proceed.

  1. Denial of change
  2. Response of anger and resistance
  3. Acceptance and adaption to the change
  4. Commitment to the new way

During this time it is critical to continually monitor the resistance, as well as the acceptance to the new environment, as various stakeholders progress through these stages at different rates.

Communication

A communication plan will need to be targeted for each of the different audiences impacted by the change to ensure that the most effective communications methods are being utilized. The BA needs to identify the right message, at the right time, the right format and the right “authorized” sender to carry the message to the organization.

These types of communications are often best conveyed by someone in the organization, other than the BA. By working with management and project sponsors, a strong and active coalition of senior “leaders” can be gathered to craft the key messages, or “sound bites” that must be communicated. Just as in political debates, often impressions are made based on a few words, and therefore these words need to be very carefully chosen.

The initial emphasis should focus to making the case of “why” the change is needed, even before the specific details of the solution are complete. This is very similar to the development of a marketing plan for a “product”, without which no new product would be expected to be successful when “rolled out”.

These messages need to be incorporated into the development of a training plan that will include not only the normal operational training aspects but also the “selling” of the benefits or reason behind the change. This may require not only formal training, but also potential mentoring and coaching to effectively enable the change throughout the organization.

Final Thoughts

To truly become a champion of change, the business analyst should consider the following suggestions:

  1. Seek support from management and then support them.
  2. Choose your battles wisely with the people, management or supervisors.
  3. Be patient with the rate of acceptance; some take longer to see the light.
  4. Be tolerant of mistakes; they happen.
  5. Practice good stress management; you’ll need it
  6. Have a sense of humor; you have to laugh sometimes.
  7. Embrace the future and don’t get “bogged down” by the past.
  8. Recognize and reward the accomplishments of those who were instrumental in enabling the change – Yes, it’s time to party

Most of all, remember the purpose of a project is to provide a benefit or improvement for the organization, and with that, something must change. If there was no need for change, there would be no need for business analysts!!!


Steve Blash is an experienced IT professional consultant providing business and technology leadership, mentoring and vision. His areas of experience include business process improvement, business analysis, business intelligence, data analytics, project and IT management.

How Do You Get Team Members to Come Prepared to the Meeting?

The Problem:

We’ve all attended meetings where participants were asked to read a document, do some research, or conduct some other “homework” prior to the meeting but very few people actually did it. Obviously, the intent of assigning the pre-work is to ensure that all attendees are prepared which should result in a quick, efficient meeting… right???? Wrong!!! Too often some attendees don’t complete the assignment as requested which drags down the entire group. Before you lead your next meeting, consider these tips about assigning pre-work.

Consider these suggestions….

  • Give the group a choice about how to complete the prep (either outside or within the meeting). You might say, “Everyone will need to review the requirements document prior to our review discussion. We can either do it as a group and plan to meet for a full day or everyone can review it offline, and the group will meet for 2-3 hours to discuss changes. Which approach does the group prefer?” Most groups will opt for the shorter meeting. This technique tends to work because the group was given the option to review the document during the meeting and they chose not to do that.
  • Assign specific team members to lead certain sections of the meeting (which would require them to have completed the pre-work). When they know they will be asked to lead discussion, attendees are much more likely to have done their homework. No one wants to appear unprepared!
  • Try to keep the pre-work brief. The more complicated it is, the less likely attendees are to complete it.
  • Ask team members to email you either a list of questions or comments on the pre-work several days prior to the meeting. This acts as a confirmation to let you know that they have indeed reviewed the document. If you don’t get feedback from someone on the team, place a call to them asap to request their feedback.
  • Give attendees ample time to complete the pre-work. If you ask them to review a lengthy document 3 days prior to the meeting, it may not provide ample notice. Ideally, let the team select the due date for completion of the pre-work. This buy in significantly increases the likelihood of compliance.
  • Discuss the issue of attendees not being prepared during the meeting debrief, and encourage the team to identify approaches to address the issue (e.g. incentives, “punishments”, etc.)

Don’t forget to leave your comments below


Dana Brownlee is President of Professionalism Matters, Inc. a boutique professional development corporate training firm. Her firm operates www.professionalismmatters.com and www.meetinggenie.com, an online resource for meeting facilitation tips, training, and instructional DVDs. Her latest publications are “Are You Running a Meeting or Drowning in Chaos?” and “5 Secrets to Virtually Cut Your Meeting Time in Half!” She can be reached at [email protected].

Interrogating the Business Analyst Process to Discover Your own Value

Brandenburg_Sept_14_3One of the ways we can unknowingly hold our careers back is failing to understand and communicate our value effectively. Many of the business analysts I work with in their job search and career development initially lack an appreciation for how they contribute to the organization’s bottom line.

There are two common challenges that I see:

  1. Failure to understand how business analyst activities tie to clear business objectives.
  2. Failure to fully appreciate the value of the contributions they make as individuals.

In an earlier Business Analyst Times article, “Think “I” Instead of “We” When Talking about Your BA Career,.”  I’ve already touched on point #2 above. Today I’d like to discuss how an intrinsic focus on business analysis activities unframed in a business value context can be career-limiting.

In an often-quoted article from CIO.com the value of the business analyst was cast in relief:

“For two decades, the CIO has been viewed as the ultimate broker between the business and technology functions. But while that may be an accurate perception in the executive boardroom, down in the trenches, business analysts have been the ones tasked with developing business cases for IT application development, in the process smoothing relations among competing parties and moving projects along.”1

This statement speaks to a business-focused value of the business analyst. From an executive perspective, business analysts are valued because they help contribute to successful projects that have a solid business case. They are in the trenches ensuring that IT investments create value for the business.

However, oftentimes we see and hear business analysts talking about their value in terms intrinsic to the BA process. They focus on what we do as business analysts over and above why we do it. For every what, there is a why. And one of the best things we can do for our careers is to interrogate our own process with the same rigor with which we might challenge the process our stakeholders use to complete their work.

For example, one of the guidelines for writing textual requirements from the BABOK® Guide is “using consistent technology”. This is a worthwhile attribute and we all know that any decent business analyst will use terms consistently throughout their requirements specifications. But “using consistent terminology” is an answer to “what we do” or “how we do it”. It does not answer “why do we do things this way.” Let’s interrogate our own process to discover the why:

Interrogator: How does “using consistent terminology” create value for our organization?

Business Analyst: It reduces confusion about requirements.

Interrogator: Why does that matter?

Business Analyst: Well, if stakeholders are confused about requirements, we might spend extra time validating the requirements.

Interrogator: Why does that matter?

Business Analyst: Stakeholder time costs money.

Interrogator: Why does that matter?

Business Analyst: It means that creating the requirements for the project costs more than it should. If we use consistent terminology in our requirements, then we should be able to complete our requirements cycles faster. Oh, and it also means that we’re less likely to build the wrong thing and have to waste development resources reworking the system.

Interrogator: Nice!

Executive Level Summary: Business analysts help reduce the costs of project implementations by bringing clarity to the requirements. One way they do this is by using consistent terminology in their requirements.

Any activity we do can be diagnosed in this way. But sometimes the answers are not quite so flattering. Let’s interrogate the infamous “software requirements specification.”

Interrogator: How does “creating a software requirements specification” create value for our organization?

Business Analyst: This document tells us everything we need to know about building the system. Sometimes its 50 or 60 pages long. We’re really detailed.

Interrogator: Why is that important?

Business Analyst: Well, if we don’t document everything, we’ll miss something.

Interrogator: I can see that how it’s important not to miss something. How does the document ensure we don’t miss something?

Business Analyst: Well, we conduct a walk-through with everyone that needs to know what’s in the document and everyone that will be building what’s in the document. That way we know it’s complete.

Interrogator: Why does the walk-through ensure that nothing is missed?

Business Analyst: [Blank stare]

Now, your answers might be different. Maybe your software requirements specifications are required for regulatory reasons or you’ve found a solution to organize a walk-through of a long document that ensures completeness (I haven’t).

The point is not so much to pick apart a process that receives an almost constant beating. The point is to challenge you to evaluate your process with the same rigor your interrogator might do. What if this interrogator was your CFO or an external consultant who had promised you boss to find ways to reduce the costs of building software? Would you be able to justify the activity is worth your effort and the effort of your stakeholders? And, even if you could, are there other approaches to the same problem that would work just as well or better?

My challenge to you is to begin your week by looking at your calendar and to do list and asking yourself “why” for each significant item on the list. If you don’t know the answer, start researching it with your peers and your manager. Focusing on “why” is one of the most impactful career habits you can develop, both in becoming a promotable business analyst or in framing up your applications for your next job. We do it in our projects, why not also do it for our careers?.

1 Why Business Analysts are so Important for IT and CIOsCIO Magazine.

Don’t forget to leave your comments below


Laura Brandenburg is a business analyst mentor and author of the free “3 Career Habits for Successful Business Analysts“, a primer to becoming a promotable business analyst. She hosts Bridging the Gap, a blog helping business analysts become leaders and advance their careers. She has 10 years of experience leading technology projects and has helped build business analyst practices at four organizations. If you’d like to learn more about discovering and increasing your value, including an ROI framework for business analyst activities, additional career habits that help you increase your ROI, and techniques for communicating your value to stakeholders and managers, check out Laura’s upcoming BATimes webinar.

Working with Business Analysts Made Easy

Working-with-Business-Analysts-Made-EasyOver the last few years, many people have asked me for tips, techniques and skills you should develop when managing a group of business analysts. This article is an informal list BA managers might consider, especially if they are transitioning into management from a Business Analyst role.

Develop a BA Process

Provide a framework to which all your BAs work. Not only does this give them a consistent approach, but you a get a consistent way to assess their progress. Business stakeholders and IT staff should recognize a similar pattern in every project. In doing this, you are also training your stakeholders to think like a BA. After repeated exposure, they can foresee the next steps and come more prepared to meetings and projects.

Develop Consistent Tools and Standards

One of the worst things for a business user or developer to see is different documentation standards from each BA. I insist that everyone uses standard templates and adopts a consistent approach to diagrams and other supporting information. Be sure to make your templates flexible and try to refrain from producing overwhelming or heavy documents. I encourage BAs to try to separate documents as logically as possible. Having a functional requirements document full of use cases, mockups, data specifications and a report catalogue can quickly become a 100 page+ document and business and technical staff struggle to read it.

Get Involved in Planning Projects and then Leave the BA to it

One of the realizations when you move into management is that you cannot be everywhere all the time. More importantly, you understand that you don’t want to be everywhere all the time! It’s challenging when you move from being responsible for your own projects, running meetings and getting involved in as much detail as you like, to only having time to view projects from the periphery. One of the methods I use to stay involved, but not participate on a day to day basis, is to work with the BAs at the start of the project, to ensure they plan their efforts and evaluate the scope of their projects in a consistent and clear manner.

The scope evaluation typically takes the form of what I refer to as Power Verbs. These are the action points that you can then use to maintain your sense of the project. For example, if the project was to move house, the Power Verbs might be Investigate, Decide, Prepare, Pack, Move, Unpack, Recover. I would then spend time to expand each Power Verb into a series of action areas. These action areas then allow the BA and the manager to ensure that a project starts off with a clear understanding of potential scope. For the manager, this affords an opportunity for context any time they need to get involved, because they a basic understanding of the overall process.

By overseeing planning and providing a solid framework within which the BA can operate, the BA is free to use their own techniques and methods, while the manager is comfortable knowing the scope will be addressed.

Resource Your Team Well and Review it Constantly

One of the major areas of challenge for a manager is resource management, especially in fast paced environments. I use a tried and tested technique which I documented here, it has not failed me yet. However, regardless of which method you use, you need to find the right resources and resist the temptation to take on projects or problems yourself. It is not ideal if you assign a BA to a project and then they have to leave a few days later, because you forgot they were required on something else. I find that BA’s max out on 2 large projects or 3-4 smaller projects at any one time, any more and they lose the consistency needed to stay focused and add value. You will also want to track the time spent utilized vs. down time, as this will be a key measure in your demonstration of your success in resourcing your team.

Find a Way to Reduce BAs Moving from Project Area to Project Area

If a BA has to move business areas on each project, you will easily waste time unnecessarily as they need to ramp up to a new environment each time. To prevent this, assign your BA’s to a business area or project type and try to keep them there. As the BA gains experience they become more familiar with the stakeholders, processes and systems, they will reduce ramp up time to zero and add more value to the project. On a yearly or bi-yearly basis, try to switch the BAs around to keep them learning and developing.

Over Invest in Recruitment Efforts

Many managers are nervous about interviewing and recruitment and as a result hire the wrong candidates. If you are hiring BA’s, think about the qualities your candidates should demonstrate and try to use behavior based questions that call for specific examples. I will typically ask BA’s to do a live iteration exercise or some other activity relevant to the job to get a better sense of their real world performance. It’s better to take your time to hire the right skill set than to rush and hire the wrong person.

Don’t Forget the HR side

Being a good manager requires skills that you may not have developed as a Business Analyst. To make it harder, BA’s are usually smart people and need a specialized management style. They generally hate micro-management, are creative, and by nature are always finding problems that you’ll need to develop into opportunities. Encourage a collaborative style and get them involved with how the group progresses.

Meet as a Team Regularly

Schedule a weekly or bi-weekly meeting to talk about projects and status. You’ll find numerous instances where BA’s are overlapping or suffering from a similar pain point. Talking about these issues in a group format allows everyone to learn for very little effort.

Develop the Skills of your People to Improve Team Performance

Invest in team training but identify the skill deficiencies at the individual level. There’s really no point to sending your whole team on a use case course, if only one of them doesn’t know how to do them. Also, get creative and proactively look for free webinars and events. One of the easiest ways to develop a sense of where each BA is at is to create a competency model, specific to your process and to your environment. Use the competency model to guide where a BA needs help and improvement. It is also a great tool for managers to show leadership how the group is developing over time.

Establish Membership with the IIBA

Sounds expensive but it isn’t at all. $95 per BA for the year and you have access to a wealth of information and potential connections. The corporate membership is also a great deal and isn’t that much more expensive.

Don’t Forget your Stakeholders and Customers

As a manager, you represent your group to the wider organization. You will need to develop and maintain partnerships with your customers, especially the challenging ones. Enterprise Analysis is a great way to stay engaged as a BA Manager, but inevitably you are now going to focus on your relationships with stakeholders, ideally higher up in the organization. Don’t forget that the judgment of your success often lies in the perception your customers have of your group. It’s helpful to research how effective account, product or relationship managers operate, to give you some tips and techniques in this area.

Also, don’t forget to get to know your new peers. Build new relationships with the other managers you work with. Find out the pain points they have with your team and offer to help by changing things that aren’t working.

Change your Relationship with your Manager

You will now have a different working relationship with your manager, possibly even a different manager entirely. You have to recognize that there is more of a strategy element to the management role than was required for your role as a BA. Focusing purely on tactical and not strategy is going to quickly disrupt progress. One of the key documents to develop is a road map for your group, set some goals, establish a timeline, get all your team involved and then manage to a plan.

Remain Positive, be Enthusiastic, Lead by Example

As the leader of your group, your actions and demeanor have an instant impact on the moral of your team. Your staff will be looking to you for leadership and you need to respond accordingly. When you interact with BAs in project teams, live, breathe and demonstrate the development you want to see in them. Don’t forget to reward your staff for a job well done, even if all you can afford is a thank you, it’s a great place to start!

To conclude, while this article is not exhaustive list of everything you need to manage BAs (nor will that list ever be completed) but I hope it has given you some ideas. Remember, there is really no need to start from scratch as you mature your team and develop your management skills. The internet (Twitter, IIBA, Bridging the Gap etc) and people going through similar experiences are great sources of information. LinkedIn is also a great way to connect with colleagues, it’s also a really great way to recruit!

Don’t forget to leave your comments below


Mark Jenkins is the Associate Director of Business Analysis at KPMG. Mark leads a team of 20+ Business Analysts at KPMG in a Center of Excellence format. Prior to KPMG, Mark established a highly successful Business Analysis group at Internet Security leader Websense. Mark draws on his 8 years of Business Analysis experience, including numerous CRM initiatives and a wide range of projects, across all business areas. He can be reached at [email protected] and on twitter www.twitter.com/JenkoUK. Mark is also the Regional Director for the Americas Eastern Region at the IIBA and will be speaking, as part of a panel discussion, on Building a BA Career Center of Excellence at the IIBA Conference in October