top 5 characteristics of effective facilitators

Top 5 Characteristics of Effective Facilitators

As 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, …

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.

a primer on working with executives

A Primer On Working With Executives: Swim With The Sharks Without Getting Eaten Alive

Even though my wife Elizabeth Larson and I owned and ran a business, I wouldn’t exactly have used the term “executive” to describe us. But, we have both worked with several. And, in building and running Watermark Learning, we shared an important characteristic with executives which this series of articles will explore. Early in my career, I was …

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.

You Gotta Have Heart

You Gotta Have Heart! 4 Steps to Asking Great BA Questions

This past July, I (Susan) was hospitalized for a heart condition. Looking back at this event, I found that my business analysis skills were useful in understanding the overall situation. I was visiting my parents in my hometown of Perham, MN when I was admitted to the hospital with chest pains. After a few tests …

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.

Staying Fresh - Three Keys to Growth in Everyday Interactions

Staying Fresh – Three Keys to Growth in Everyday Interactions

 August makes me think of lots of things: hot summer days, lemonade stands, and one of the most popular topics in the media this time of year, the summer slide. I’m not talking about the summer slide like the one you’d see at a swimming pool. I’m talking about the “slide” of students who fall …

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.

Preach What You Practice

Preach What You Practice

 An acquaintance was talking a few days ago about a company function at which a functional group had been brought together for purposes of learning, bonding, and growing as professionals, presumably to benefit themselves and the organization. But when someone asked the CEO a question during the Q and A section of her presentation to …

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.

Virtual Meeting Challenges: Stop Fighting the Multitaskers, Part 2

Virtual Meeting Challenges: Stop Fighting the Multitaskers, Part 2

The frustration of multitaskers was the topic of my last blog, in which I reminded readers of two things most of us already know: 1) Our brains really don’t allow us to mentally think about two things at once, and 2) Most of us are not able to sustain our attention on something for more than …

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.

Virtual Meeting Challenges: Stop Fighting the Multitaskers, Part 1

Virtual Meeting Challenges: Stop Fighting the Multitaskers, Part 1

During the Q and A following my recent webinar, Offsite and On Board, most questions pertained to challenges around people multitasking during conference calls and online meetings. Evidence of people multitasking during virtual meetings includes the tap-tap-tap of keyboarding, silence when asking for input from someone, and the steady drip of “Could you repeat that …

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.

What’s Done is Done, Not Just Complete

What’s Done is Done, Not Just Complete

Last month, I was driving through a major highway construction project when my passenger commented how excited she was because she’d heard that the project was nearing completion and would be finished before year-end.  I took a quick gander at the site and responded that I was sure whatever source she’d heard that from must …

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.