Business Analysis Advisor

Tyrion the Trusted Advisor: What Game of Thrones Teaches Us about Influencing Without Authority

I have always loved the Game of Thrones TV series. What has fascinated me the most is the treatment of the Trusted Advisor, beautifully portrayed by Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion embodies important ingredients of a trusted advisor who influences decision-makers, as we’ll see below (WARNING: some plot spoilers ahead). To influence without authority, …

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, CSM

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM is a consultant and advisor for Watermark Learning/PMA. She has over 35 years of experience in project management and business analysis. Elizabeth has co-authored four books and chapters published in five additional books, as well as articles that appear regularly in BA Times, Project Times, and Modern Analyst. Elizabeth was a lead author/expert reviewer on all editions of the BABOK® Guide, as well as the several of the PMI standards. Elizabeth also enjoys giving presentations, and her speaking history includes repeat keynotes and presentations for national and international conferences on five continents. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, theater, and spending time with her 7 grandkids.

Agile Isn't Enough Part 2

Why Agile Isn’t Enough, Part 2: Lean Startup Build Phase and BA Techniques that Enhance it

In part 1 of this article, we covered an overview of Lean Startups and its Build-Measure-Learn (B-M-L) methodology. To recap, in the B-M-L cycle we build a product increment, measure how it is adopted and used, and learn from the measures about what worked and didn’t and use it for the next cycle. In this …

Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA

Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, was the founder of and is now a consultant for Watermark Learning. He is a successful entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in product development, business analysis, project management, training, and consulting. As an internal entrepreneur, Rich led the development of several Watermark Learning online products as a business analyst and product owner. Rich is a frequent speaker at Business Analysis and Project Management national conferences and IIBA® and PMI® chapters around the world. He has contributed as a lead author to the BA Body of Knowledge version 2.0 and 3.0 and was a lead author on PMI’s Business Analysis Practice Guide. He and his wife Elizabeth Larson have co-authored five books on business analysis.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Thinkers

We all think, every minute of every waking hour. Thinking is an internal mental process that takes the data and information received through our senses and combines the new information into our existing store of learned information. This activity can lead to either the formation of new knowledge, modified knowledge, or be disregarded as irrelevant. …

Susan Heidorn, Ed.D., PMP, CBAP, HSDP, CSM, BRMP

Dr. Susan Heidorn, PMP, CBAP, HSDP, CSM, BRMP is the Director of Business Solutions for Watermark Learning in Minneapolis. Susan is an experienced consultant, facilitator, speaker, and trainer, with over 25 years of business experience. Susan directs programs in business analysis, business relationship management, and leadership, including developing and delivering courses and providing consulting. She has been a speaker at a number of IIBA® and PMI® conferences as well as local and regional organizations, boards, and private clients. She is a lifelong learner whose passion it is to guide people into achieving excellence in their personal and professional lives and works on creating positive impacts to the organization.

can the same person function as both project manager and business analyst

Can the Same Person Function as a PM and BA on the Same Project or Agile Effort?

Ten years ago, I wrote an article entitled, Can the Same Person Function as a PM and BA on the Same Project? I wrote that we need to distinguish whether the same person “could” (sure they could, but with sometimes questionable results) and whether they “should.” I explained that it made complete sense to have one …

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, CSM

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM is a consultant and advisor for Watermark Learning/PMA. She has over 35 years of experience in project management and business analysis. Elizabeth has co-authored four books and chapters published in five additional books, as well as articles that appear regularly in BA Times, Project Times, and Modern Analyst. Elizabeth was a lead author/expert reviewer on all editions of the BABOK® Guide, as well as the several of the PMI standards. Elizabeth also enjoys giving presentations, and her speaking history includes repeat keynotes and presentations for national and international conferences on five continents. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, theater, and spending time with her 7 grandkids.

Agile Isn't Enough Part 1

Why Agile Isn’t Enough, Part 1: How Lean Startups Fulfill the Promise of Agile

Let me ask you a dumb question: Does your organization produce or provide products or services that customers use? Of course. But maybe a better question would be: how many of you would like to produce them faster or with more innovation? If you produce new products or services, you potentially could use a Lean …

Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA

Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, was the founder of and is now a consultant for Watermark Learning. He is a successful entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in product development, business analysis, project management, training, and consulting. As an internal entrepreneur, Rich led the development of several Watermark Learning online products as a business analyst and product owner. Rich is a frequent speaker at Business Analysis and Project Management national conferences and IIBA® and PMI® chapters around the world. He has contributed as a lead author to the BA Body of Knowledge version 2.0 and 3.0 and was a lead author on PMI’s Business Analysis Practice Guide. He and his wife Elizabeth Larson have co-authored five books on business analysis.

Lessons Learned from an Accidental Product Owner

A key role in Scrum, the most common form of Agile development, is the Product Owner (PO) role. Some experts say it is the most challenging role. Besides the PO, the only other defined roles in Scrum are the Scrum Master and Team. The latter two are what we might call the “engines” of Scrum …

Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA

Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, was the founder of and is now a consultant for Watermark Learning. He is a successful entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in product development, business analysis, project management, training, and consulting. As an internal entrepreneur, Rich led the development of several Watermark Learning online products as a business analyst and product owner. Rich is a frequent speaker at Business Analysis and Project Management national conferences and IIBA® and PMI® chapters around the world. He has contributed as a lead author to the BA Body of Knowledge version 2.0 and 3.0 and was a lead author on PMI’s Business Analysis Practice Guide. He and his wife Elizabeth Larson have co-authored five books on business analysis.

The Digital BA Series

The Digital BA Series: 5 Killer Question Types for Digital Transformation

A recent article concluded that for an organization to get the desired results from their digital initiatives, such as data analytics, predictive analytics, machine learning, AI, etc., data scientists have to ask the right questions.[i] The article was written as a guide for data scientists to help them ask questions to get at the business …

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, CSM

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM is a consultant and advisor for Watermark Learning/PMA. She has over 35 years of experience in project management and business analysis. Elizabeth has co-authored four books and chapters published in five additional books, as well as articles that appear regularly in BA Times, Project Times, and Modern Analyst. Elizabeth was a lead author/expert reviewer on all editions of the BABOK® Guide, as well as the several of the PMI standards. Elizabeth also enjoys giving presentations, and her speaking history includes repeat keynotes and presentations for national and international conferences on five continents. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, theater, and spending time with her 7 grandkids.

The Digital BA Series

The Digital BA Series: Translators Needed in the Digital Age

I was recently talking to a lawyer about some future planning. As he was explaining the complexities of the law, I realized that I had not understood one word he said. Not only did he speak quickly, but he used language specific to his profession. I knew immediately that I was totally lost. At the …

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, CSM

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM is a consultant and advisor for Watermark Learning/PMA. She has over 35 years of experience in project management and business analysis. Elizabeth has co-authored four books and chapters published in five additional books, as well as articles that appear regularly in BA Times, Project Times, and Modern Analyst. Elizabeth was a lead author/expert reviewer on all editions of the BABOK® Guide, as well as the several of the PMI standards. Elizabeth also enjoys giving presentations, and her speaking history includes repeat keynotes and presentations for national and international conferences on five continents. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, theater, and spending time with her 7 grandkids.

IIBA Agile Analyst Certification Journey

My IIBA-Agile Analysis Certification (IIBA-AAC) Journey

Even after having earned many certifications in a variety of fields, I still find each journey to be unique in some way. In this article, I share a few observations about my recent experience on the road to the International Institute of Business Analysis® – Agile Analysis Certification, the IIBA®-AAC. The Application Process This is …

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, BRMP

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.

Beware Not all ScrumMaster Certifications are Equal

Beware – Not all ScrumMaster Certifications are Equal!

Deciding to earn a certification can be a stressful process – the application, the studying, even deciding which certification is right. If you are looking at earning a certification as a ScrumMaster, the options can be confusing. The two most recognized certifications for agile practitioners include Project Management Institute’s Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP®) and Scrum …

Watermark Learning

This is the corporate source for Watermark Learning posts. Watermark delivers engaging and practical training and coaching in Business Analysis, Project Management, Agile & Scrum, Business Process Management, and Influencing Skills since 1992.