Well it is tax time once again and for some folks it is time to think of remodeling your home. Exciting right? It can be… it can also be a maddening roller coaster ride that is difficult to stop. The next thing you know, you have not only spent your tax refund, but you have invested heavily into a credit card (or two). We all know that this can happen and we all know people that have had remodeling horror stories, yet we still forge ahead and remodel. Why? Repairs, reconstruction, and renovation are common themes (needs) that drive us to remodeling. When it comes to your home they completely make sense. Broken things are not fun to live with, we can get bored with the same ol’, same ol’ and the value needs to be kept up while we are waiting for the market to rebound. But what about our requirements – the models we put together that help our stakeholders clearly understand the problem or opportunity we are trying to solve or present? Does remodeling make sense?
Agile Posts
The Big Remodel
Posted: February 7th, 2012 by Bob Prentiss. Comments »
2011 BobtheBA and A Quick Look Back
Posted: January 9th, 2012 by Bob Prentiss. Comments »
BobtheBA here taking a look back at 2011 before we get too far into 2012 where we will boldly go where BA’s have not gone before! The New Year, a time of renewal and promised change. And generally speaking it is the only time when all creatures on this planet embrace change, but unfortunately not in a sustained fashion (more on this in my next blog as we look forward to 2012). For now let’s take a brief look back at 2011 from the world we live in to the world we work in. There was much to celebrate, mourn and marvel at. Was it a good year for you?
7 Trends in Business Analysis and Project Management to Watch for in 2012
Posted: January 9th, 2012 by ElizabethLarson. Comments »By Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM and Richard Larson PMP, CBAP
The close of one year tends to make one reflect on what has occurred in the past year and ponder the future. Here we ponder some trends in the Project Management and Business Analysis fields for 2012. Here are our top seven predictions for business analysts (BAs) and project managers (PMs) in 2012.
1. Divergence of the PM and BA Role. In 2009 we predicted that as the economy tightened, organizations would decrease their project budgets and combine the role of PM and BA. For 2012 we believe that organizations will see the need for both roles, particularly on strategic projects, and move away from a combined role. There are several factors for this trend:
Why Spend Time on Use Cases in Agile Projects?
Posted: December 2nd, 2011 by RichLarson. Comments »
Someone at a recent conference asked me how to respond to project stakeholders when they say that Use Cases take too long in an agile environment. I was presenting a talk on “BA Toolkit for an Agile Project (or any other for that matter).” Here are my answers with some added depth. (Thanks to Justin Roebuck for the great question.)
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman?
Posted: May 3rd, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »
Not exactly. It’s an agile project manager. They may not be superhuman, but they are super popular right now. Anything agile is hot, and although not the right fit for every project or every organization, its popularity is not likely to wane anytime soon.
PMI is introducing an agile certification in the third quarter of 2011, and there’s an opportunity to participate in the certification pilot. Applications for the PMI Agile Certification will be available at the end of May to anyone who meets the eligibility criteria. Pilot candidates will submit their applications and then be the first to take the exam when it becomes available in September. They will receive their scores 10-12 weeks after taking the exam, during which time PMI will be evaluating the responses to determine the pass/fail criteria. (Post-pilot candidates will get their scores immediately after taking the exam.)
Is the BA a Product Owner or Tester On Agile Projects?
Posted: August 3rd, 2010 by ElizabethLarson. Comments »
There have been many articles lately about the role of the BA on Agile projects. Some postulate that the BA role is closest to the product owner. After all, it is often suggested, they reside with and represent the business. They are in the best position to be the final voice when defining and prioritizing requirements. Others believe that the key role for the BA on Agile projects relates to testing. Since they define the requirements, they should complete the appropriate testing processes to ensure the final solution meets the requirements. I believe that neither of these is a business analyst role. That’s not to say that someone with the title of BA cannot play other roles as well. It’s just that when they are playing these other roles, they are not doing business analysis work.
Scrum vs. Waterfall: The Fight Continues
Posted: July 6th, 2010 by ElizabethLarson. 4 Comments »
Last month we began our “fight” by exploring two estimating techniques that are often used on both Scrum and Waterfall projects. The first was relative sizing (one kind of analogous estimating) and the second Delphi (called Planning Poker in Scrum). Scrum won both rounds (barely) because although both techniques can be used on both types of projects, their usage in Scrum seems easier to understand, learn, and apply. I don’t know about you, but when I hear the terms Analogous and Delphi I think academics and hard work. When I hear about tee-shirt sizes and planning poker, I think fun.
A Heavyweight Fight–Scrum vs. Waterfall: Estimating Part 1
Posted: May 7th, 2010 by ElizabethLarson. Comments »
I think people like a good fight. Certainly the media seems to, not only in the world of politics, but also in the worlds of sports and entertainment to name a few. In the world of business analysis the current fight seems to pit Agile methods against the Waterfall approach. For the next several blogs we’ll have a Scrum vs. Waterfall match. In corner #1, representing the Agile methods, we have the Scrum framework. In corner #2, representing Waterfall, we have the “traditionalists.”
Round One
Relative sizing of user stories (Scrum)
