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Requirements In Context Part 3: Scope = High-Level Requirements

Written by Dan Tasker on May 31, 2016. Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on Requirements In Context Part 3: Scope = High-Level Requirements

The first article in this series established the context of requirements being addressed are those that relate to business information systems and that various contexts have an impact on those requirements. The second article addressed the first of these contexts – Functional. That context was further divided into three conceptual levels labelled Functions, Processes and Activities. An example high-level requirement was presented at each of these levels.

Project Scope

This article moves on to a different context – Project Scope. We will see how scope statements, when making reference to business functionality, leads directly to high-level requirements.

Gathering requirements for a business information system is most often done within the context of a project. Approval of a project includes its sponsors signing off on its scope. The scope of a business information system project is typically defined in functional terms. Items in scope make reference to (or should make reference to) business functions, processes and/or activities that are to be delivered.

Related Article: Using Feature Trees to Depict Scope

A Context Diagram Is Worth A Thousand Words

In addition to the bulleted item list of scope, it is very common for the project initiation document to include a context diagram. The objective of a context diagram is to illustrate what is inside the system and what is outside. Things outside the system represent sources and/or consumers of data. The original form of context diagram comes from Dataflow Diagramming (DFD). The top-most level of functional decomposition using DFDs was considered a context diagram. The Unified Modelling Language (UML) Use Case modelling also supports a form of context diagram. Both of these diagramming techniques represent ‘the system’ and both portray things outside the system boundary. The DFD term for these outside things is External Entity. The UML term is Actor. The definition of these two terms is virtually identical.

A DFD context diagram says nothing about the functions inside the system. That is left to subsequent levels of functional decomposition. Clues are provided by labels given to the data flows. The Use Case context diagram provides more of a clue to the functions within scope by including named use cases. Data flows in a DFD context diagram connect only to the system. Actor connectors in a Use Case context diagram connect to one or more specific use cases within the system.

High-Level Requirements From Project Scope

Examples of high-level requirements were presented in the previous article based on a high-level business function, a medium-level business process and a low-level business activity. We are about to present an example of a project and its scope. As mentioned above, the scope of business information system projects is very often expressed in functional terms. It should, therefore, be possible to derive high-level requirements from scope items.

Consider the following situation involving a large hypothetical on-line retailer we will call Nile.com:

Nile.com has a well-established purchase process for its on-line customers. The check-out portion of this process includes activities for identifying the intended shipping address and for providing some form of payment. What the process does not currently include is anything to do with tax on items being purchased. As the result of pressure from various tax authorities this needs to change.

In establishing a project to deal with this change in the business environment the following scope items were agreed by the business sponsor and signed off:

Maintaining tax-related details for designated tax authorities
Determining applicable tax on items being purchased
Including applicable tax with purchases
Accounting for tax charged

The Use Case form of context diagram for this example would look like this:

Scope items will seldom be stated so conveniently that they can be converted one-for-one into the names of use cases. For the sake of brevity, please accept that the scope items in this example are “ones that I prepared earlier.”

The objective of this article is to show that it is possible to derive high-level requirements based on a project’s scope. The following are examples of such requirements from the scope in this scenario:

Scope Item 1 – Maintaining tax-related details for designated tax authorities

The system shall support an administrator maintaining tax-related details required to perform tax determination. This includes establishing tax authorities that are the source of tax rates and to whom collected taxes need to be paid. It also includes mapping of products to tax rates for each authority where there are product-specific rates or specific product types that are tax exempt.

Because charging tax is new to this organisation there may not be an in-house subject matter expert available when it comes time to sorting out the details for this requirement. Until more is known this high-level requirement acts as an appropriate placeholder for what is likely to be a number of business processes. One would likely be needed for setting up new tax authorities, one for setting up the tax rates and where applicable, one for specifying different rates for different product types. The requirement from a business perspective is fairly straight forward – maintain whatever details are necessary to be able to charge tax. The devil is in the detail.

Scope Item 2 – Determining applicable tax on items being purchased

The system shall be able to identify the appropriate tax that applies to the purchase of a given product based on the product type and the tax authority(s) that have jurisdiction where the shipment is to be delivered.

Where the previous requirement calls for wholly new business processes to be supported within the business information system, the functional context of this requirement would be somewhere within the “Identify the shipping address” activity within the “Purchase” process. At this point the product(s) are known, and the shipping address details can be used to determine any applicable tax authority(s). Subsequent detail requirements would get into how an appropriate tax rate is determined and specifics of where that rate is used in calculating the total charge to the customer.

Scope Item 3 – Including applicable tax with purchases

The system shall present to the customer all applicable tax amounts as part of the purchase process.

This statement should be sufficient as a high-level requirement from a business perspective. Part of the detailed requirements analysis would include identifying all of the places where the customer ‘sees’ purchase price details. Each of those places will require modification to include whatever tax applies, if any.

Scope Item 4 – Accounting for tax charged

The system shall report charged tax amounts as a distinct component of each purchase to the general ledger system identifying appropriate GL Codes and the designated tax authority.

Wherever money is involved the organisation’s general ledger needs to be kept informed. In this case it is unlikely that there will be any new processes or even activities required. Reporting to the GL will be in place for the current untaxed purchases. This reporting will just require an enhancement to include the tax amount and its corresponding GL Coding. There should also be an existing Accounts Payable process that handles making payments to suppliers for the organisation. The different tax authorities that are to receive payment of collected taxes should be covered under that process.

Next Time – Keeping High-Level Requirements High-Level

The four requirements derived from the project scope items would not be the only ones for the whole project. But it must be said that they cover the agreed scope of the project and that they are high-level (not slipping into detail). Next time we will look into how to keep high-level requirements high-level when dealing with stakeholders that are asked to participate in the context of “Gathering high-level requirements.”

Accomplish Your Dreams NOW: The Easy Guide to Setting Goals

Written by Clinton Ages on May 12, 2016. Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on Accomplish Your Dreams NOW: The Easy Guide to Setting Goals

Note: Here is the 3rd episode of my ‘Coach Clinton 7-Steps to Accomplishment Methodology’ where I had set the stage for putting you on the track of accomplishment.

To get the most out of this article as well as the ones that will follow, I would suggest you to read the first article and second article before moving forward.

In the 7-step journey towards a successful and satisfying life, the piece that we are going to fit in today is one whose importance cannot be overemphasized.

Do you remember the fable about “The Ant and the Grasshopper”? The ant was diligent and planned for winter by gathering and storing food. What did the grasshopper do? It was short-sighted, only focusing on the present and failed to take heed toward preparation. The ending result? The grasshopper had no food and starved. The moral of the story is best summarized in the old adage – “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.”

In the first step, appraise, you saw the importance of evaluating yourself and your performance in order to separate the value-adding habits and patterns from the hazardous ones and then focusing on the actions that will actually help you materialize your accomplishments.

Moving forward, we will discuss the extremely important step, ascertain, that involves setting up goals for yourself that will drive your accomplishments and help you stay on track until the final objectives are achieved.

Why set goals?

You cannot achieve anything unless and until there is a clear and definite goal in front of you. Having a set of goals in front of you is crucial to your success because you can easily get distracted by other urgent yet unimportant things that won’t contribute towards your accomplishments.

In a landmark research study, American psychologist, Edwin Locke and his colleagues proved the fact that the presence of challenging goals enhances performance as compared to situations where there are easy goals, ambiguous goals or no goals at all. It is of utmost importance to set yourself goals because:

Goals add clarity to your vision
Goals help you break overwhelming feats into small, doable tasks
Goals give you a sense of accomplishment and the motivation to keep moving forward
Goals provide you feedback on your performance to be used for continuous improvement
Goals let you weed out the energy parasites from your life and help you focus only on valuable tasks

Elements of effective goals

Edwin Locke also proposed an influential theory by the name of ‘goal setting theory’ that rolls out the 5 basic characteristics of a successful goal(s). The following 5 principles, if kept in view, while setting your goals can improve the chances that a certain goal will be achieved:

Clarity
Challenge
Commitment
Feedback
Complexity

There is another framework called the SMART criteria that can help you set successful goals. SMART is the abbreviation of the following parameters that can help you set goals with a higher chance of success:

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-bound

Based on these two guidelines, you can make sure that your goals will be more likely to yield a successful outcome and contribute towards your life’s bigger ambitions.

Goal Setting Process

Now that there is no room for any doubt left about the importance of goal setting, you need to determine your goals and pursue them religiously if you are interested in living an accomplished and productive life. Since these goals will be deciding your fate, there must be enough due diligence going into the process rather than casually selecting your goals and wasting your time and energy – and having them revised later on.
Based on my extensive experience helping others with their goals, I recommend to use the process laid out here while setting your goals.

Step 1 – Goal Formulation

Remember the self-assessment diagnosis that I explained in my last article? In that article, I introduced you to self-assessment tools like The Innovator’s DNA Assessment, Gallup’s Clifton StrengthsFinder Assessment, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Personality Inventory and DiSC Personality Test. Using these, and many other similar tools, you need to get to know yourself in greater depth and identify your strengths and weaknesses so that you can leverage your strong points to accelerate your success and find ways to eliminate the shortfalls.

To start with, you will formulate your goals at three levels:

Long Term / Strategic Goals – First of all, you will sit down and contemplate on the ultimate demands that you want to place on yourself. Through this thinking process, you will visualize what you want to achieve and what you want to become. By doing this, you will be able to construct your long-term goals that will be the guiding light for all your efforts, from this point forward.
Medium Term Goals – Once the high-level goals are in place, you will have to draw up the supporting goals that will be required to keep you on the right track – a track that leads to the achievement of your strategic goals.
Short Term Goals – While keeping the ultimate objective(s) in view, you need to devise the short term goals with the intent to break down the sizeable long-term goals into manageable milestones. These goals when duly achieved will take you closer to the fulfillment of your life’s purpose.

Step 2 – Goal Categorization & Prioritization

In the second step, you will categorize all your goals by looking at each one and assigning it an appropriate label. Then you will pick out the themes and make an exhaustive list of all the themes that your goals fall into.
With the category list in front of you, you can assign a priority to each category depending on how much value you give to each one. After assigning a priority to all the categories, you will now have a list of categories or themes which you want to pursue in the shape of goals along with a guideline regarding which one to assign more energies, resources and your precious time.

Step 3 – Monthly Plan Development

Napoleon Hill very rightly said that “A goal is a dream with a deadline”.

Now that you are clear about your goals and their priority, it is time that you develop a monthly plan and convert your goals into monthly deliverables. At the end of each month, you will have to sit down and track your actual progress in the light of your monthly plan. In case you did not meet any deadline, you need to analyze that lapse and uncover the reason behind it so that it won’t happen in future.

Step 4 – Weekly Plan Development

People tend to carry great dreams in their minds throughout their lives, but most of them remain unfulfilled because people are overwhelmed by the sheer size of their wishes and dreams and end up giving up all hope for achieving those dreams. If any objective is broken down into challenging yet reasonable sub-tasks, it becomes easier to believe that you will make it through and finally achieve that goal, no matter how big and ambitious the idea might be.
So starting with the first goal, break it down into tasks/steps and assign weekly completion of tasks for the goal based on your best judgment as to your ability and time to complete. Then stick to the plan and make sure that your weekly objectives are met without fail.

Now you have all you need to start developing, prioritizing and breaking down your goals into smaller tasks. You must take out some quiet time and sit down to cover this tremendously important step. When you are done with your goal development, you will come much closer to the fulfillment of your life’s dreams and aspirations.

Time is very limited and running fast – so take action NOW and get busy chalking out your goals.

An Essential App for the Business Analyst: Paper by Fifty Three

Written by Jennifer Oswald, CBAP on April 12, 2016. Posted in Articles.

I’m going old school in a new way…Paper.

Paper is an application for iOS that is distributed by Fifty Three. I know a lot of individuals will comment that Paper doesn’t “do” enough, but what it does do is simple, elegant and, most of all, useful to a business analyst with a creative bent.

Did you ever sit in a meeting and start riffing with someone, but the whiteboard is marked up and there is a “Do Not Erase!” circled in the corner? Or, worse, no whiteboard in the room.

Perhaps you’ve experienced the agony of having a great idea on how something should flow when you are sitting in a car on a long drive with a colleague, but you don’t have any paper to write it out?

Maybe, like me, you just need a visual to really solidify the ideas people are sharing.

If these situations irritate you, and you have your phone, look no further for a quick and handy solution—Paper!

Paper allows you to draw things freehand, take a picture and draw on the picture, or just take notes. The product is easily shared and can really help in those situations where you need to do something NOW, but you don’t have all of your normal tools at hand.

Related Article: 10 Essential Apps for the Business Analyst

In addition, Fifty Three makes a product called Pencil which is a pretty sweet stylus. Not as utilitarian as I usually need for work, but if you are an artistic soul (which I am in my free time), this stylus rocks.

Here are just some of the examples where I’ve used Paper while I’m on the go to help with my project management/business analyst activities:

Quick screen mock ups
Process flows
Checklists
Photograph of a whiteboard and then marking it up for edits

Here’s an example of the power of Paper by Fifty Three. Let’s say you’re reviewing your traditional pen and paper interview notes and you find a statement, “Client requests an interactive dashboard that shows project ROI by fiscal year.” You begin to wrack your brain trying to understand the client’s vision because you neglected to jot down the details. Adding to this stress, you come to the realization that you must swallow your pride and return to the client to grab the details. Now, here’s how Paper by Fifty Three can help.

For this example, I’ve made a private space for the interview. Within this space, I’ve included the same vague interview note; however, I’ve sat with the client to sketch out a high-level framework of this dashboard. Note how the level of “interaction” is really limited to “VCR” buttons – a detail you would’ve never known by the interview note alone.

As a PM/BA, I find that every added bit of functionality and efficiency can help. Paper works for me.

Becoming the Trusted Advisor

Written by Aaron Whittenberger on March 15, 2016. Posted in Articles. 2 Comments on Becoming the Trusted Advisor

A couple of months ago I wrote on the value of the business analyst being a trusted adviser to many people on the project team and within the organization. Read The Value of Business Analysis: The Trusted Advisor to see that discussion.

I conveyed the business value of becoming that trusted advisor, but I didn’t tell you how to get there. So if you read that article and thought to yourself “well that is all fine and dandy, but how do I become the trusted advisor to everyone within my company?” Well, read on.

Set Expectations

Let your stakeholders know what is coming up next. You shouldn’t leave anyone questioning next steps or action items; always call those out for both yourself and other team members. When you take ownership of action items, that is called making a commitment. It shows a willingness to be held accountable to complete the action item on time. It does not guarantee completion on time, just shows your willingness to accept the responsibility. There are many things that can crop up that get in the way of meeting commitments once they are made but never shy away from accepting the responsibility. This is a major way to earn respect.

When action items are assigned to other stakeholders on the team, especially when they intersect with action items assigned to you, check on their progress from time to time. Your items may have a dependency on other’s action items or vice versa. In the latter case, stay in contact with that team member and let them know your progress so that they may plan out their work on their action items. When monitoring the progress of others, do it in a very non-intrusive and non-authoritative way. Typically, you won’t have authority over someone else’s work so approach this from a co-worker checking on a friend or offering a helping hand.

Deliver

Now that you have made the commitment to take responsibility for an action item or task deliver on it. Always work to finish your assigned tasks ahead of schedule so when those inevitable items pop up that take your time away from these tasks, you still have time to get back to it and deliver on time. In this way your team members don’t see all your tasks slipping behind schedule. This is a major way to lose trust. Be creative when the situation calls for it to complete task assignments.

I was always astounded by my children who always looked like they were trying to get a “C” in every class in school. A “C” is a passing grade right…the problem was that far too many times they missed that “C”, and sometimes by a lot; so what did they end up with…a “D” or “F”. When I was in school I always tried for an “A” in every class, whether I liked the subject or not. So when I didn’t meet expectations what did I end up with….a higher GPA than my kids did.

Communicate

You know the old adage…communicate early, communicate often. This ties back to setting expectations. Let your team members know what to expect from you, so they can know how to work with you. When new issues or risks pop up, identify and communicate them early so they can be properly managed. Raise those red flags early.

Communicate bad news early. When the project is behind schedule, when it needs more resources, or when lack of stakeholder engagement is slowing the project, address the issue with the project manager and/or project sponsor. Be prepared with information and examples, and possibly a plan of action to get back on track. This again ties back to setting expectations, are things slipping behind because expectations weren’t properly set or communicated?

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Provide frequent updates to the project manager, project sponsor or other stakeholders on your work or the project solution. Survey your stakeholders to determine the right level and frequency of communication.

Be Consistent

Be consistent in your setting of expectations, making commitments, communication, and interactions with your stakeholders. Consistency is at the heart of integrity. Inconsistency tends to build walls between people and inhibit collaboration. When people don’t know how you will act or react, they may shy away from approaching or engaging you. As a business analyst you need information, and when your stakeholders do not wish to interact with you or discuss issues in an open way, this impedes your ability to get the information you need to be effective.

Have the Courage to Challenge Appropriately

I will combine lessons from Elizabeth Larson, Rich Larson and Bob (BobtheBA) Prentiss to say have the courage to challenge appropriately. It takes courage to deliver bad news or just say “No” to someone. You may see how a simple “No” won’t go very far; people will find other avenues to get what they want if they see you as a roadblock. So be prepared to back up that “No” with solid evidence, data and/or facts. As Elizabeth says ”Courage without preparation is foolish.”

You will not challenge every idea that others have; that is truly foolish. Make sure you take the time to understand fully the idea and reasoning behind it. Determine if the idea has value and feasibility. Take a structured approach to determining when it is time to challenge an idea. When you do challenge, make sure you do it with respect to everyone including those that presented the idea to the group. Make sure your challenge isn’t perceived as offensive or confrontational. This is another good way to destroy trust.

To Gain Respect, Show Respect

This should go without saying, if you want respect you have to earn it. One of the best ways to earn respect is to show it to others. Respect every stakeholder’s expertise in their subject matter or domain. Respect and acknowledge everyone’s contribution toward the common goal. Respect their role within the team and organization.

Also, remember that your role within the organization is one of the newest, and not everyone has worked with a business analyst before or knows how to interact with that role. So some education of your role within the team and organization may be in order. Take a coaching approach to this opportunity and don’t make any feel dumb because they don’t know this yet.

Be Proactive

Anticipate the needs of others. Not only your project manager and business stakeholders but your technical resources as well. When preparing a presentation to management or your project team, anticipate questions you will get and be prepared to answer them. Have adequate examples and models prepared to demonstrate an idea or concept.

When issues or risks arise, identify and communicate them early. Possibly prepare an action or risk mitigation plan for it. Don’t allow tasks to slip so far behind that it affects the project schedule and is noticeable by everyone, communicate roadblocks and other commitments, so team members understand the conflicts and pressures. In this way they understand that slippage isn’t because you are lazy; communicate the situation.

Take responsibility for action items and tasks quickly; ask for them, don’t wait for them to be assigned to you.

Be Authentic

Being authentic is simply being yourself. Be sincere, speak from the heart, be respectful and be empathetic. Don’t mix your words in a cloud of ambiguity; say what you mean and mean what you say. Take the time to build relationships with your team members and stakeholders. Be interested in their situation and ideas. Understand their perspective, motivations and attitudes. If you are not truly interested in their perspective, motivations and ideas; then don’t pretend that you are. However, you will find how much harder it is to work as a business analyst when you don’t understand your stakeholders.

If you are able to master these skills and competencies, you will gain the trust and respect of your stakeholders. Remember, that it takes much longer to regain respect and trust once destroyed then it does to earn it in the first place. So take the easy road and earn that trust from the first encounter with every stakeholder and work vigorously to keep that trust. Respect each stakeholder’s role in the project and organization, show your capabilities and you will earn their trust.

If you would like some additional reading on this topic, I suggest you take a look at:

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey (2013)
The Influencing Formula: How to Become a Trusted Advisor and Influence Without Authority by Elizabeth Larson and Richard Larson of Watermark Learning (2012)
The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything by Stephen M. R. Covey (2008)
Influence Without Authority by Allan R. Cohen and David L. Bradford (2005)
The Trusted Advisor by David Maister, Charles Green and Robert Galford (2001)

Starting with the Man in the Mirror: Using Assessments to Drive Your Accomplishments

Written by Clinton Ages on March 14, 2016. Posted in Articles.

Note: Here is the first sequel to my ‘Coach Clinton 7-Steps to Accomplishment Methodology’ article where I had set the stage for putting you on the track of accomplishment. If you want to pick up something practical from this article and the ones following, I would suggest you to read the aforementioned article first, if you haven’t already.

If you are ready to do something that is nothing less than remarkable and committed to breaking all the barriers that are blocking your path to success – you are set to follow the Coach Clinton 7-Steps to Accomplishment Methodology.

Today in this post, we will dissect the first step ‘Appraise’ which is the starting point of your journey. You are starting the journey toward your destination by analyzing the person who is staring back at you in the mirror. The process of appraising yourself falls under the first phase i.e. the Mind Mapping phase. Now the first question that you should be asking is ‘What on earth is a mind map?’ Well, that question is best suited for Tony Buzan, the inventor of this technique:

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“A Mind Map is a powerful graphic technique which provides a universal key to unlock the potential of the brain. It harnesses the full range of cortical skills – word, image, number, logic, rhythm, color and spatial awareness – in a single, uniquely powerful manner. In so doing, it gives you the freedom to roam the infinite expanses of your brain. The Mind Map can be applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human performance.”¹

In other words, a mind map is a graphic or a visual thinking tool that lets you plot your ideas and generate new ones by breaking large blocks of thoughts into smaller intelligible pieces. In the mind mapping phase, you will create a visual log of your goals and plan your journey effectively.

As mentioned in the last article, appraising in this context means assessing your current state of performance and identifying the factors that aid in enhancing your performance.

There are a number of assessment tools out there, and you need first to decide the tool that will bring out the best results for you. These tools focus on a number of aspects of your personality, your actions and habits, your strengths, your behaviors under stress, or your career options. In completing the assessments, it is imperative that you are specific about what you are assessing and answer each question honestly. It is also important to have a clear understanding and appreciation of your results. Do not judge yourself or your responses. The only way to effectively maximize your potential and create change is to accept what you’ve learned from the assessments and seek to comprehend them. Once all results have been received, the information will later be used to create an actionable plan for improvement.

Use of assessment tools is absolutely necessary. In order for you to reach your desired ending destination, you must first have clarity on your starting point. The assessments offer you the requirements needed to accelerate the speed of your journey.

The first step is to understand the nature of the tools available for assessment and then move on to deploying a specific tool that seems to fit the bill.

The discussion that follows is aimed at introducing you to a few assessment tools that are worth considering, when you are shopping for the most suitable assessment:

The Innovator’s DNA Assessment – As the name suggests, this tool’s foremost focus is to unearth the innovative or creative capabilities of an individual. This assessment is based on five specific skills i.e. Associating, Questioning, Observing, Networking, and Experimenting. The renowned developers of this assessment system, Jeffrey H. Dyer, Hal B. Gregersen & Clayton M. Christensen, have identified these five innovation capabilities after years of rigorous research. The Self & 360 Assessments tools provide individuals with a personalized Innovation Profile, detailed scores for their Courage to Innovate, Discovery Skills, and Delivery Skills.
Gallup’s Clifton StrengthsFinder Assessment – This assessment tool digs deep into the test taker’s personality and reports the most prominent strengths of the individual. These strengths then can be used to identify the types of activities that will be most suited for a certain person. The assessment presents the individuals with 177 pairs of statements that offer the opportunity to describe themselves in a number of different angles and perspectives. The test-takers are then required to choose the statements that best describe them in a limited period of time.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Personality Inventory – MBTI is a widely used personality assessment tool that categorizes people in 16 different personality types – based on a number of individual characteristics derived from Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types. The main ingredients of a MBTI profile is made up of a 4-item combination of these characteristics:

Extraversion or Introversion (E or I)

Sensing or Intuition (S or N)

Thinking or Feeling (T or F)

Judging or Perceiving (J or P)

So the result that you will get a four-letter profile (for example ISTJ or ENTJ) along with a detailed insight about that profile including the most suitable professions for your type of personality.

DiSC Personality Test – DiSC is another powerful personality assessment tool that provides the opportunity to have a closer look at one’s self – including the motivations, conflict management / self-management capabilities and problem-solving skills. DiSC is the acronym for:

Dominance – emphasis on accomplishing results

Influence – emphasis on influencing or persuading others

Steadiness – emphasis on cooperation, sincerity and dependability

Conscientiousness – emphasis on quality and accuracy, expertise, competency

Now that you have been introduced to the idea of using assessment tools to achieve the optimum performance levels, you should dig into the tools discussed above and see which one seems to stand out to you the most. This is not a comprehensive list; it is however, a list of a few of my personal favorites. This evaluation should be based on the objectives that you plan to achieve from this crucial exercise. If you really want to get the most out of it, I will advise you to research additional tools that are best suited for your personal needs.

For now, I’m leaving you with the task of looking at yourself in the mirror and throwing some tough questions at the person staring back at you – who is this person and how can I make use of assessments to know this person inside out. The answers to these important questions will pave the way for the next step that is goal-setting for realizing your dreams, discussed in the next article in this series.

Until then, start the process of honestly getting to know yourself.

[1] Source: http://www.tonybuzan.com/about/mind-mapping