Watermark Learning Posts

Facilitation Top 5

Posted: January 30th, 2012 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »

Top FiveAs any instructor will tell you, one of the best things about teaching is learning from your students.  It happens in some way, big or small, every time you get in front of people who are expecting to hear how to do it “right.” 

Of course, there is no “right” a lot of the time.  In my classes, for example, I instruct and inform, but I also facilitate discussions about the options, and the students decide what’s going to work for them.

This brings me to the recent Facilitation Skills Workshop class I taught.  In this class, we learn about different facilitation techniques and then the students do the work; they actually facilitate each of the 12 sessions throughout the class.

A New Year’s Resolution?

Posted: January 23rd, 2012 by Bob Prentiss. Comments »

New Year CalendarBobtheBA here and the last time I blogged, we briefly took a look back at 2011. The New Year is a time when people make predictions, resolutions, and plans with the hope of change and improvement. It can be a very exciting time with anticipation to see if the predictions come true, resolutions are met, or if the plans were effective. What resolutions and plans have you made for 2012? I have to tell you though, I am not a big fan of New Year resolutions. More on this shortly.

Learning Success

Posted: January 10th, 2012 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »

We’re all probably a little hung over from the ardous task of coming up with gift ideas.  But how about the idea gift?   There’s no more precious gift than a great idea, and I get lots all year long from students, friends, colleagues, even family.  Below is an article about an idea that a colleague gave to me and that others found helpful when I ran it a year ago.  So in the spirit of continued giving post-holiday, here is my idea gift re-gifted for you.  And thank you to all the great gift givers in my life!  All the best in 2012!

2011 BobtheBA and A Quick Look Back

Posted: January 9th, 2012 by Bob Prentiss. Comments »

ClockBobtheBA 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:

1992 – It Was a Very Good Year

Posted: January 9th, 2012 by RichLarson. Comments »

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since Watermark Learning opened for business! Yes, 1992 was a very good year. As the founder, I taught the first classes and was a solo act for a few years. Watermark mostly taught programming back then, with a few selected BA classes to complement them. My wife and co-owner, Elizabeth, actively joined full-time in 1996 and launched our PM classes and strengthened our BA offerings. Starting any business is a risky proposition, and we had no idea whether it would last 20 weeks or 20 months, much less 20 years.  

Is Your Meeting Worth the Time?

Posted: December 20th, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. 2 Comments »

MeetingA couple of days ago I fired up my online calendar and started to schedule a meeting with my manager.  Our meetings are typically less than 30 minutes long, but I had  a lot to talk about, so I was going to make it an hour long.  Yessirree.  I had a lot of stuff on my mind, I needed an audience, and he was the logical person to hear me out!

Ask the CBAP/CCBA Experts

Posted: December 13th, 2011 by RichLarson. 2 Comments »

Are you thinking about getting your CBAP® or CCBA™? Struggling with the application? Currently preparing for the exam? Almost ready to take it?

We can help! Join us monthly for a free, live CBAP®/CCBA™ Q&A session. Each month a CBAP®-certified expert from Watermark Learning will be available online to answer your questions. We have seven CBAP instructors on our staff to give you the most complete information possible on the CBAP®/CCBA™ process, application tricks, and preparation tips. In our jobs and relationship to the IIBA®, we encounter a great deal of information. Let us share that with you live and direct! We are dedicated to helping you apply for and pass the CBAP® or CCBA™ exam.

Scrooged!

Posted: December 6th, 2011 by Bob Prentiss. Comments »

ScroogeScrooged!

“Bah humbug!”  Well at least that is what it sounded like to me (BobtheBA) at the time, a few Christmases ago.  And all I could think of was “What a Scrooge!”  So what’s the story that brought out the worst in two people during the holiday season?  Well before I tell you this true story just know that this person and I are close friends and I do have permission to tell the story (we laugh about it a lot now).

Grapevines and Rumor Mills – Assets or Liabilities?

Posted: November 30th, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »

SecretCommunications is, of course, the single biggest indicator of project success or failure.  As project managers, we have to think about all aspects of communications, including how much, to whom, in what format, etc.  We also get pretty savvy at knowing which communication channels to use.

A lot of project work gets done through informal, undocumented communication channels.  This is not only OK, it’s actually necessary.  Imagine if every conversation or information gathering effort we conducted required a documented plan.  The fact is a lot of good data can be mined from the water cooler and coffee klatch gatherings.