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6 High-Value UX Techniques to Boost Your BA Role

Written by Steven LeMay on . Posted in Articles.

A financial services company came to Usability Matters with a terrible problem. They had just rolled out a new platform for financial advisors and the advisors were furiously refusing to use it. Usability Matters was asked to help figure out what the problem was and how to fix it.

Not surprisingly, financial advisors at this company are on the phone speaking with their clients throughout day. Their clients call, a little chit chat ensues, and then financial matters are discussed. Advisors needed a tool that allows them to quickly pull up client information to support the banter– things like the client’s spouse’s name or the date of their last financial check-up – and then lead seamlessly into details of the client’s investments. The BAs on the project team had thoroughly identified all the needed information but it was so cumbersome to retrieve in the new design that when clients called, advisors found they had to hang up, look up the information they needed and call their clients back several minutes later. They ultimately refused to use the new platform because it failed to support the way they do their jobs. Plenty of grief all around.

In many ways, Business Analysts and User Experience (UX) professionals are two sides of the same coin. We both aim to create better, more successful products and services for our customers and we both liaise with the technical team to bring those aims to life. The difference quite often is simply one of perspective: where the BA typically represents the needs of the business, in UX we steadfastly represent the needs of the people who will use the product or service.

Every successful project needs both viewpoints, but in our example above, the financial services project team missed the user perspective – they missed the real-life needs of the financial advisors.

So let’s look at some typical BA activities and identify ways a UX perspective can add value to your BA role and help you create products and services that people will want to use.

BA ACTIVITY: DEFINE AND SCOPE BUSINESS AREAS

In this step, BA’s and UX professionals alike want to establish a shared understand of why the project is being undertaken – the project’s goals and objectives. Both roles help determine what the business domain is and who the key stakeholders are.

HOW UX CAN ADD VALUE

1. Identify User Goals

Get the project team thinking about your users right from the beginning. Identify, at least at a high level, who the users are and how the project will benefit them. No need to flesh out user profiles or personas at this step, simply document who the project aims to serve and make sure their core goals are recognized alongside the business goals.
Reach out to people who have the most direct contact with your users to gather insights. Often this is marketing, sales and support personnel.

The project model canvas can help you gather all of this on a single page.

BA ACTIVITY: GATHER REQUIREMENTS

This is where most of the BA’s insights and expertise are channelled – gathering accurate and complete requirements. From a UX perspective, we want to ensure that user requirements are included with the business and system requirements. Familiar techniques such as interviews, workshops and surveys are used and we supplement these with techniques that may be less familiar to BAs.

HOW UX CAN ADD VALUE

Try adding one of these to your next project:

2. Contextual Inquiry

Contextual inquiry or observation is a research method that provides rich insights into the context in which a product or service will exist. Spend a few hours watching how your intended users do their job, watching for key influences on their work and how your product or service will fit in to it. This technique may have helped the financial services example to stay firmly on the rails.

3. Card Sorting

Card sorting is an engaging, yet effective activity that reveals how users think about information. It allows the Business Analyst to match your organization structure and labels to the way users think of them. Simply create cards for all of the features or content elements in your project, ask people to sort them into meaningful groups and then provide a name for each of those groups.

BA ACTIVITY: ANALYZE AND DOCUMENT REQUIREMENTS

Business requirements documents are often the key deliverable from both BA’s and UX professionals but we always want to make sure this documentation includes a thorough understanding of our users and their needs.

HOW UX CAN ADD VALUE

4. User Profiles and Personas

Document who your users are. Often that takes the form of either user profiles or personas. User profiles tend to be more generalized and provide insights into groups of people. They are a great place to start but most UX folks prefer to take profiles a step further by creating personas.

Personas are usually a one page summary of a person’s behaviours, characteristics, and overall personal profile including name, age, marriage status favourite brands and technology use. They evoke empathy and they prevent thinking of generic ill-defined users that each project member imagines differently. To be effective, persona development must be firmly grounded in user research techniques.

Personas can also help objectively prioritise your requirements. Each feature can be assigned weighted values indicating how important it is to the business and to each persona. The result is a feature prioritization matrix that takes the guesswork and individual subjectivity out of the prioritization process.

BA ACTIVITY: DEFINE THE SOLUTION

The technical part of the solution is usually captured in process flow diagrams, system maps and data models. From the user perspective, it’s all about workflow, navigation, user interfaces, and interactions. Often a BA is responsible for all of these and may even create annotated wireframes.

HOW UX CAN ADD VALUE

5. Prototype Testing

Begin testing your ideas early in the process. With a little repurposing, wireframes can quite easily be turned into a paper prototype that can be tested with real users long before any code is written. Pick a few key tasks and ask people to try to accomplish them with your prototype. When they “click” on something with their finger, simply present the next screen on paper. If you can’t get real users, test with anyone you can – testing with anyone is far better than not testing. You’ll be amazed how these early insights have a major impact on the solution at little or no cost.

For a more realistic experience, try a prototyping tool and test your ideas as if they were the real system. There are great tools like Axure created specifically for this purpose.

BA ACTIVITY: VERIFY THE SOLUTION MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS

Often this step is the purview of Quality Assurance team with the BA providing support and expertise to the testing efforts.

HOW UX CAN ADD VALUE

6. Usability Testing

Usability testing is a qualitative technique that assesses not only if the solution fulfills the requirements, but also how well it does so. Ask some people – anyone if you can’t get real users – to accomplish a few key tasks and watch where they trip up. Test early, test often and smooth out those cracks in the sidewalk before formal user acceptance testing begins.

BONUS UX VALUE

7. Service Design

To add even further value to the BA and UX roles, we want to make sure that a holistic view is taken of all the user’s touch points with the business so that a harmonious user experience is delivered – you’ll hear this broader perspective referred to as service design or customer experience design. 

The broader point is that the BA and UX perspectives are entirely complementary and hopefully we have given you the confidence to inject a little more UX value into your projects. 

10 Essential Apps for the Business Analyst

Written by Josh Maxwell, CBAP on . Posted in Articles.

Let’s face it, a career in business analysis isn’t one where you’re at your desk from 9-5. It requires you to be out in front of people, having conversations, and collaborating. It requires you to be mobile, both from a physical sense and technological sense. People often laugh at (and maybe get a little annoyed) when others have their faces buried in a phone, but the reality is that most of us have our phones in our pockets at all times. Some of you are reading this on your phone at this very moment.

As I began pondering this world of “always-on” mobile connectivity, it became clear that there has to be greater value in having that phone in your pocket than just simply playing Candy Crush in your free time. In my quest to find value, I have identified 10 apps that can increase your productivity and help you collaborate and engage your stakeholders in a mobile world.

  1. BA Glossary – This app is a great reference for definitions of BA tools, techniques, and terms. It’s helpful when you need to look up a new term quickly or if you simply want to browse and review. It features an intuitive search function that narrows the results as you type which is helpful when you don’t know exactly which word you’re looking for. Its simple layout and multitude of terms makes this app an efficient tool for any BA. Available in the Apple App Store.
  2. MindTools – If you want to take your reference materials to another level, MindTools is right for you. This app features extensive material on many different techniques from strategy tools to communication tools to time management. You’ll have access to over 100 useful tools such as impact analysis, value chain analysis, and emotional intelligence. The app goes far beyond just providing definitions; it provides pages of information on each tool including links to external sources and videos that are relevant to the topic. Available in Google Play and the Apple App Store.
  3. Smartsheet – Ok, this app is more oriented for the project manager role but many business analysts perform both roles to some degree. With Smartsheet, you’ll be able to create project schedules, budgets, feature roadmaps, task lists with Gantt layouts, and more. A nice feature included with the app are templates so that you aren’t starting from scratch (although that is an option). One other great feature is that the app allows you to export and send documents in both Excel and PDF formats. Available in Google Play and the Apple App Store.
  4. SurveyMonkey – Surveying stakeholders is a classic tool for business analysts, but the SurveyMonkey app lets you quickly and easily create custom surveys that have meaning for whatever your topic is. The app lets you add many different question types such as dropdowns, multiple choice, matrix/rating, and more. Once you’ve created a survey, you can email it straight to your target audience from within the app. Recipients of the survey can complete it either in their SurveyMonkey app or online. The app collects and displays the results as they are received. Available in Google Play and the Apple App Store.
  5. Polaris Office – This app allows you to view, create, and edit Microsoft Office products such as PowerPoint, Excel, and Word. You can also view PDF documents. Using share capabilities, you can send documents to cloud storage services like OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox. The app also syncs to multiple mobile devices. Available in Google Play and the Apple App Store.
  6. CamCard – This app eliminates the need to save business cards by allowing you to categorize them in custom groups. It uses your phone’s camera to capture the card, extract the name, title, and contact information so that it can be stored in the app. It also retains the image of the card. You can also choose to export the information directly into your phone contacts. Available in Google Play and the Apple App Store.
  7. Paper; Notes, Photo, Annotation, and Sketches – Are you the kind of person that likes to capture an extensive whiteboard session via your phone’s camera so you don’t lose the information? This app allows you to create an idea board and add notes, photos, and annotations pertaining to the idea that you’ve created. This is a great way to capture a photo and add some notes to help you recall the conversations and important decisions that stemmed from your whiteboard session. Available in the Apple App Store.
  8. Sunrise – Sunrise is a calendar app that aggregates all of your other calendars into one. You can add Google, iCloud, and Office365 calendars as well as events from Facebook, Eventbrite, and many other apps. It’s a great way to see what’s really happening in your life in one view. Available in Google Play and the Apple App Store.
  9. Moxtra – Moxtra is a team collaboration tool that allows teams and workgroups to connect and communicate with each other. Chat, share files and images, assign work items, and schedule meetings with your team. The app can send push notifications to alert team members of new content. You can create multiple groups to help manage all of your teams. Available in Google Play and the Apple App Store.
  10. DrawExpress Diagram Lite – This app is great for creating diagrams when you don’t have access to your computer. Using touch controls, it’s easy to draw shapes and connections. The app will transform your imperfect scribbles into beautiful shapes. You can also select from a multitude of stencil kits including workflow, Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), network, and wireframes. You can export your diagrams via email, Dropbox, and Google Drive or save it to your phone’s photo library. Available in Google Play and the Apple App Store.

There you have it. Using these apps will enable you to leverage your phone, a device that you always have readily available, to continue to innovate and engage your stakeholders even when you don’t have access to your computer. I am sure there are many other great apps out there that I’ve left off of the list, and I’d love to hear about them. What are your favorite apps?

Leadership Lessons: Eliminating Workplace Bullying is Good for Business

Written by Paul Pelletier on . Posted in Articles.

Bullying can be as harmful to business profits, productivity and workplace harmony as it is in schools and other areas of society. If asked, most business leaders most likely feel a moral and ethical obligation to respond.

However, despite studies, much publicity, and even expanding illegalization, the majority of organizations throughout the world remain ineffective or unmotivated to proactively prevent or directly confront workplace bullying. Even when they are motivated, business leaders may not know where to begin.

Perhaps the key to unlocking organizational response is to focus on the broader business impacts that could harm the bottom line, program or project success, and wreak havoc within employee ranks. Instead of ethics, let’s focus our arguments on profits, financial incentives, and ROI. Bluntly put, ending bullying is just plain good for business. Second, by providing an action plan for change that is logical and reasonable to implement, we can help our organizations move forward.

Where to Begin?

Bullying can be as harmful to business profits, productivity and workplace harmony as it is in schools and other areas of society. If asked, most business leaders most likely feel a moral and ethical obligation to respond. However, despite studies, much publicity and even expanding illegalization, the majority of organizations throughout the world remain ineffective or unmotivated to proactively prevent or directly confront workplace bullying. Even when they are motivated, business leaders may not know where to begin.

Perhaps the key to unlocking organizational response is to focus on the broader business impacts that could harm the bottom line, program or project success, and wreak havoc within employee ranks. Instead of ethics, let’s focus our arguments on profits, financial incentives, and ROI. Bluntly put, ending bullying is just plain good for business. Second, by providing an action plan for change that is logical and reasonable to implement, we can help our organizations move forward.

The Costs of Workplace Bullying

The statistics are clear and irrefutable – workplace bullying is costing businesses billions of dollars annually. For every short-term result that a bully might create (i.e. a project completed on time and budget, or a previously struggling unit whipped back into shape), there is a long list of longer-term negative business impacts that far outweigh any temporary benefits. To quote Patricia Barnes, a workplace bullying author, judge and attorney, workplace bullying is likely the “single most preventable and needless expense on a company’s register.”

Many business leaders would likely say that bullying is wrong, but not all recognize that it has tangible and significant costs and where those costs and impacts are created. Putting ourselves in the world of the executives, model the conversation on identifying topics or statistics that resonate in their world and keep them up at night.

Cost caused by bullies can be organized into a series of buckets, each having potentially more significant impact.

Targets: Targets of bullying, who are often the organization’s top performers, often punish their offenders and the organization. Research has shown the punishment includes intentionally decreased work effort and quality, losing time to avoid the bully, reduced loyalty and work commitment and taking their frustrations out on customers.

Team members/ Colleagues: Experiments and other reports offer additional insights about the effects of bullying on those around the Target. Productivity, performance, creativity, and team spirit deteriorate. Bullies prevent work from getting done, causing chaos, confusion and a loss of focus. Most executives will listen if you ask to talk about an issue related to productivity.

Human Resource Impacts: There is a direct link between bullying and sick-leave/disability claims. The stress and health impacts caused by bullying impacts not only profits when your top talent takes time off work, but also requires the engagement of HR personnel to manage each situation

Legal Costs: The first place HR often turns for advice is legal professionals. Time spent risk managing, strategizing, and preparing to respond with lawyers involved adds up quickly. Further, courts are becoming more aware of workplace bullying with expected negative results for the companies that are found to have condoned the bully. A single bully can cause hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars in costs, just if one well-founded claim is successful, even before the matter gets anywhere near a court.

Reputation and Executive Job Security: Every executive is concerned about their own and their organization’s reputation. The recent media-frenzy about the alleged Darwinian work environment at Amazon proves that bullying can have serious impacts on organizational reputation. If your workplace is perceived as toxic, people inevitably gossip about it. They share their frustration with anyone willing to listen, which, in the case of Amazon, led to journalist engagement from the New York Times. Think of what such an event costs in public relations, communications, and lost time – a reputational event of Titanic proportions.

Profits and Share Value: Near the top of the pyramid in terms of issues that every senior executive worries about are profit and share value. It bears noting the potential impact that a bullying workplace environment can have on share price. Again, using Amazon as a wonderful illustration of market forces at work, Amazon’s share price dropped from $535.22 a share on Aug 17, 2015 to $463.37 one week later. If that doesn’t get executives sweating, then I don’t know what might.

Customers/Clients: Finally, we reach the top of the pyramid knowing that businesses fail if their customers lose faith in them. Most recently, the world has witnessed Volkswagen fall meteorically from grace losing billions, all thanks to a decision to choose profits over ethics. This is a terrific lesson for all organizations and plays perfectly into the issue of workplace bullying.

People are less likely to do business with a company with an employee they perceive as a bully or rude, even if the bullying isn’t directed at them. Disrespectful behavior makes people uncomfortable, and they’re quick to cease business relations with an organization that permits bullying. People will judge organizations harshly and the tide is definitely turning towards a marketplace that won’t support organizations that condone bullying.

What’s Your Anti-Bullying Action Plan?

As a reminder for both readers and the motivated executives to implement change, it helps to have an action plan, just like any sound project. Business-savvy organizations are taking increasingly proactive steps to confront workplace bullying, reinforcing the value of ethical awareness and policies predicated on building trust, protecting employees and instilling confidence in those who work for the organization and those who do business with them.

Anti-bullying advocates and experts offer tips to companies and managers. Some of the most practical, proactive tips are the following:

  1. Create clear, robust organizational anti-bullying policies and make training mandatory for everyone: All organizations should establish clear and effective bullying policies and procedures for addressing bullying allegations. Training, awareness, and education are critical to the success of such policies. Human resources must be on board and not feel unprepared.
  2. Consider long-term project, program and organization well being when addressing bullying: Since workplace bullies often get short-term results, employers – particularly senior management level staff – too often tolerate them. However, it is far better to proactively and directly address the bullying than to permit spreading poison throughout the organization.
  3. Lead by example: From the organization’s highest levels, it should be made clear that bullying isn’t acceptable. From the CEO, executive team, senior managers and project managers all the way down to lower-ranking staff, the message must be one of zero tolerance for bullying.
  4. Respond to all types bullying behavior: Bullying often begins with small actions such as eye rolling, sneering, or demeaning a colleague, either in private or publicly. While such behavior may seem insignificant, it is unprofessional and everyone in the organization must be trained and capable to address it immediately.
  5. Establish fair, effective and safe methods to report alleged bullying: Bullying isn’t like other conflict in the workplace. It requires specialized processes and methods for conflict resolution. First, an unbiased, safe and user-friendly complaints reporting process is essential. This is works to everyone’s benefit and will ensure impartial, confidential and trustworthy processes.
  6. Bullying investigations must be impartial, fair and fulsome: In order for a staff to feel safe and have faith that it takes this issue seriously, it is essential that investigations are unbiased, free from political interference and result in appropriate responses if allegations are proven. Fair treatment for Targets, bullies and witnesses is needed to engender trust in the process.
  7. Take bullying claims seriously but tread carefully: Take bullying allegations seriously, but don’t assume they’re true – that is for the investigation process to determine.
  8. Normal conflict resolution processes won’t work with bullies: It is naïve to think that you can reason with a bully. Consequently, mediation is simply another opportunity for the bully to misbehave and instill fear in the target. Thus binding arbitration is normally the best process to use.

With our pyramid of impacts to provide cogent arguments and the recent examples of Amazon and Volkswagen fresh on the radar, it is the writer’s submission that both the readers and the bosses see the true conclusion of this exercise – the opportunity cost of failing to act to prevent and eliminate workplace bullying is massive in comparison to becoming a change leader.

If employers and senior executives take initiative in addressing bullying early on, much larger financial, ethical, legal, human resource and project problems will be avoided. Eventually, these initiatives will lead to wider support for zero tolerance for bullying in the workplace regardless of circumstance, societal norm, or jurisdiction.

References

– Barnes, Patricia G. (2012, updated July 2013) Surviving Bullies, Queen Bees and Psychopaths. United States. ISBN 978-0-615-64241-3.
– Cardemil, Alisha R.; Cardemil, Esteban V.; O’Donnell, Ellen H. (August 2010). “Self-Esteem in Pure Bullies and Bully/Victims: A Longitudinal Analysis“. Journal of Interpersonal Violence (Sage Publications) 25 (8): 1489–1502. doi:10.1177/0886260509354579. PMID20040706
– Einarsen, Ståle (2003). Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice. Taylor & Francis. ISBN978-0-415-25359-8.
– Erickson, Ian. “Bullying in the Workplace A Problem for Employers”. Guardian Newspaper Published February 1, 2014. 
– Habib, Marlene. “Bullies Can Make Workplace Intolerable.” Globe and Mail Newspaper Published: Dec. 19 2011. Last updated: Sep. 06 2012.
– Kantor, Jodi and Streitfeld, David. “Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace.” New York Times Newspaper. Published: August 16, 2015.  
– Kelsey, Lindsay. “The significance of Amazon’s work culture — and how the Times article may impact the retail giant.” Published: August 19, 2015. 
– Pfeffer, Jeffrey. “3 lessons from the Amazon takedown.” Published: August 18, 2015. 
– Pinsky, Erica (2009). Road to Respect: Path to Profit, Canada: ISBN: 978-0-9811461-0-2
– Porath, Chrisine and Pearson, Christine. “The Price of Bullying in the Workplace.” Harvard Business Review. Published January 1, 2013. 
– Project Management Institute (2014). PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. (2006). 
– Project Management Institute (2013). PMI Ethical Decision-Making Framework. (2013). 
– Project Management Institute. (2007). Project manager competency development framework – Second Edition. Newtown Square, PA: Author.
– Stephens, Tina; Hallas, Jane (2006). Bullying and Sexual Harassment: A Practical Handbook. Elsevier. p. 94. ISBN 9781780631493.
– The Workplace Bullying Institute website including “The WBI Definition of Workplace Bullying“. 
– The Workplace Bullying Institute’s list of reference books. 

As If – Four Steps For Getting and Using Feedback

Written by Kupe Kupersmith on . Posted in Articles. 2 Comments on As If – Four Steps For Getting and Using Feedback

Join us in New York October 13-15 at Project Summit *Business Analyst World where Kupe is a keynote speaker.  Spaces still available!  Don’t miss your chance to see this amazing presentation – Register Today!

As if you thought it was impossible to associate the complexity of business analysis with the simplicity of Clueless, I’ve done it!

No matter who you are, what you know or what you can do for your company, knowing how to request and manage feedback is one of the most important skills you will need in order to continue to grow and improve. Using this “AS IF” technique, I’ll guide you through the four steps for requesting, receiving, implementing and following up on feedback.

I’m going to talk about a four part system that will help you get the feedback you need.

  1. Ask for feedback
  2. Say “thank you.”
  3. Implement the feedback
  4. Feedback on the Feedback

The first step is asking for feedback. Nine out of ten people don’t give you the feedback you need in order to improve, so you have to ask them: what you did well, what you didn’t do so well, and where you can improve. It’s not natural for people just to throw out advice that you need, so make sure you ask. Start with people you trust, people you know, people that have your best interest at heart.

Step two is just say “thank you.” Don’t get all defensive. Feedback is a personal attack…or it feels like that. So it’s gonna hurt. But don’t come up with excuse after excuse of why you did something. Just say “thank you.” Then go off in the corner, if you have to, and start to cry. (But don’t do it in front of the person that gave you the feedback.) You know the old saying, “no pain, no gain.” Feedback is a little painful but you need it to really move forward and improve.

Okay. So now that you’ve recovered from the pain, the third step in the process is implementing the feedback. Sit back and really think about what you can do with the advice that person gave you. How are you going to implement this? What are you going to do differently? How are you going to change your behaviors? How are you going to improve?

The fourth step is to give feedback on the feedback. Go back to the person and say “Thank you again for that feedback! Here’s what I’m doing: I’m going to do one, two, and three differently going forward…”

By getting your feedback on the feedback, the person realizes that not only did you take the time to listen to them, you took time to think about how you’re going to implement and actually change. And the next time you go to that person they’re more apt to give you the feedback you need.

Now there’s a caveat with number three. What if you sit back and think about it, take that advice, and try to figure out how you’re going to implement it, and it doesn’t feel right?

You know yourself the best, so it’s okay not to implement the feedback. You can decide, “You know what? That’s not who I am, and that’s not where I want to go.”

Now you still need to give feedback on the feedback. Go back to the person and say, “I listened to you. I thought about it, but it’s not right for me. The advice you gave doesn’t fit with where I want to go.”

So it’s okay not to implement the feedback. Just give feedback on it. The reason you still do step four, feedback on the feedback, is that you don’t want people to see you in a similar situation doing the same thing after they took the time to give you advice. You didn’t do anything with it, so why would they give you any advice in the future? Does that make sense?

Okay so here’s a little example from my real world.

I do a lot of keynote presentations, and I’m always asking people to give me feedback. Somebody told me once, “Kupe, you say ‘gotta,’ ‘gonna’ and other kind of slang words here and there, and you really have to take that out of your speech.”

I said “Thank you,” and I thought about it, and I realized that in my approach to speaking, I want to be me. I want to be flexible up there…transparent. I want to be who I am. If I had to think about every single word I said, then I would get more robotic and it wouldn’t be me. So I decided not to implement that feedback.

I went back to the person and said “Hey, I’ve gotta tell you something,”

(And hopefully by now you got the joke…I gotta tell you something). “I’m not gonna implement your feedback, and here’s why…”

Does that make sense? That way the next time they saw me speak, and they heard me say “gotta” and “gonna,” they wouldn’t be upset. They would get it.

So I hope this is helpful. Please share with all your friends and your team, and start to improve. You’re awesome, and here’s to your improvement!

Now, it’s your turn – ask a co-worker, your boss or a friend (yes, this can be used in your personal life too) something about a recent project, task or situation to start implementing your own feedback system today. From there, keep asking questions and don’t forget to close the circle and give feedback on the feedback! For a few more tips on some subtle aspects of feedback that are important to keep in mind, take a look at our Instructor and Agile Practice Lead, Kent’s, new The Power of Feedback blog post.

Speaking of feedback…we know your inbox is full and we don’t want to create content just to have something to send you. Let us know what we can provide to help you the most: 3 Quick Questions. Thank you.

And be sure to let me know your thoughts on feedback below!

All the best,

– Kupe

*reprinted with permission from the author

Recertification Woes

Written by Shirley Sartin on . Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on Recertification Woes

Having obtained IIBA’s Certified Business Analysis Professional™ (CBAP ®) designation in 2006 (first group tested) I have had to recertify every 3 years which means I am recertifying for the third time.

This requires a review of efforts that have kept me involved in and learning about my profession for the past 3 years. It also includes identifying relevant work experiences, training, and volunteering by giving back to the Business Analysis industry. To retain my designation I must document at least 60 Continuing Development Units (CDUs) in those areas.

Today I began the recertification journey in earnest – even though after the last painful recertification efforts I promised myself that I would track relevant experiences as I acquired them. Sadly I did not keep that promise. To make matters worse I was notified 90 days before my recertification anniversary date and yet I did not begin recertification efforts at that time. Now I must undertake herculean efforts to meet the deadline in about a month while also working as a Business Analyst and conducting non-Business Analysis volunteer activities. Woe is the life of a serial procrastinator.

Related Article: Business Analyst – Born or Made?

I reviewed the 6 categories for reporting the requisite 60 CDUs and considered those areas for which I can provide supporting documentation. Unfortunately I was unable to attend a conference (Category 2A or 2D worth 30 CDUs), I did not write that book for which I had been considering (Category 3E worth 30 CDUs), and for certain I attended 0 (zero) formal academic education courses in Business Analysis (Category 1 worth 30 max CDUs). With my IIBA volunteering days in the past (Category 5 maximum 30 CDUs) and no local IIBA chapter where I could attend meetings (Category 2C maximum 30 CDUs) I realized I was going to hit a deficit for required number of CDUs using only Category 6 Professional Experiences (maximum 25 CDUs) and Category 4 Self-Directed Learning (maximum 15 CDUs). That is only 40 of the minimum 60 CDUs! I began stressing out but then I recalled the internal 1 week training for agile requirements I attended this past summer. Yay! Category 2 is saving the day because I will be able to claim up to 30 CDUs in that category.

I have other professional designations for which I must recertify every 2 or 3 years and I have trained myself to retain documentation for self-directed learning efforts. However, it is going to be painful documenting related work experience and describing the activities as they relate to the BABOK®. For every 1,000 hours documented I will receive only 5 CDUs.

That means for the maximum 25 CDUs I must identify over 5,000 hours work experience as it relates to the BABOK®! The work was tough enough the first go-round and now I will be reliving those experiences by analyzing and documenting the tasks during every available moment for the next few weeks.

I have already made myself another promise not to procrastinate for the 4th recertification efforts. I am going to develop a strategy to earn a balanced number of CDUs across several of the 6 categories in the next 3 years with a plan for when and how I will earn them and also to document the CDUs by completing the spreadsheet provided by IIBA as I earn each CDU. I will not wait until the last minute again! My advice to CBAP®s and CCBA®s? Don’t do as I did…do as I am planning to do. Best of luck to you all!