Be Careful what you Ask For: A Good Business Case May Uncover Something Better

Be Careful what you Ask For: A Good Business Case May Uncover Something Better

On the way home from the Building Business Capability (BBC) conference last week, my wife Elizabeth and I stopped in at an electronics store in Las Vegas. We wanted to listen to an audio book on her new iPod, and the gizmo we have to play the iPod in the car has the traditional iPod connector …

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.

Five Tenets of Project Customer Service

Five Tenets of Project Customer Service

The trip my wife Elizabeth Larson and I took to South Africa to speak at this year’s BASSA 2013 ended well. The conference had over 200 registered participants, and the organizers kept the sessions moving smoothly. We were delighted with the response from the attendees, made new friends, and re-connected with existing ones. While travelling …

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.

IIBA Business Analysis Summit Southern Africa - Part 1

IIBA Business Analysis Summit Southern Africa – Part 1

 Part 1 – The Process. We recently traveled to the IIBA Business Analysis Summit Southern Africa, and were exposed to several different “systems” as we traveled from Minneapolis to Cape Town: the TSA in the US, airlines, security in Amsterdam, and yet a different airline. They all manage to get the job done, but with …

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.

Project Management Lessons Learned During Jury Duty

Project Management Lessons Learned During Jury Duty

Part 2—Communicate Complete Project Scope  In Part 1 of this jury duty blog I discussed how, when called to serve for jury duty, I had no idea that so much of my time would be spent waiting for something to happen. I compared this wait time to what many of our business stakeholders experience waiting …

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.

Lessons a Business Analyst Can Learn on Jury Duty

Lessons a Business Analyst Can Learn on Jury Duty

Part 1—Why Do We Have To Wait So Long?! The reality of a jury trial is different from what we see on TV or read in books, where the action moves quickly towards the acquittal or conviction of the defendant. On TV the opening arguments, the witness interrogation, and the closing arguments are all pertinent …

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 Real Positives and Negatives of Working Virtually

The Real Positives and Negatives of Working Virtually

Developing our new course, Getting Real Results from Virtual Teams, has me poring through resources and reflecting on my own experiences of working virtually. There are, of course, many types of virtual work environments and circumstances, just as there are many reasons why workers work remotely. There are also many passionate advocates and critics of …

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.

7 Ways to Build Trust for Successful Requirements Elicitation Q&A, Part 2

7 Ways to Build Trust for Successful Requirements Elicitation Q&A, Part 2

Thanks to all of you who attended Watermark Learning’s webinar Seven Ways to Build Trust for Successful Requirements Elicitation. This is Part 2 of a three-part series of questions and answers that were not addressed during the webinar. Question 1: Do you have a specific time limit when conducting requirements workshops? Mine is 1-1/2 hours. …

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.

Requirements Writer's Block

Requirements Writer’s Block

Requirements writer’s block – it happens to all of us at some point.  Writer’s block is a condition where an author loses the ability to produce new work.  Requirements writer’s block may happen for several reasons including: a lack of concentration, a feeling that our work is inferior, general feelings of anxiety, lack of inspiration, …

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.

7 Ways to Build Trust for Successful Requirements Elicitation Q&A Part 1

7 Ways to Build Trust for Successful Requirements Elicitation Q&A Part 1

Thanks to all of you who attended Watermark Learning’s webinar Seven Ways to Build Trust for Successful Requirements Elicitation. Thank you for the outstanding response. I do apologize that we didn’t have time to address all the questions during the session. I know some of you would have liked to hear all the questions and …

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.

Business Analysis New Zealand Style – Part 2

Business Analysis New Zealand Style – Part 2

It’s been a few weeks since Elizabeth and I visited New Zealand, with a July 4 holiday in the middle. I’m finally getting a chance to finish my blog about the second half of our trip. After having business meetings with Equinox, our New Zealand partner, and doing presentations to two groups, it was time …

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.