More about the BABOK Guide v3

BABOK Guide®: Global Standards for Business Analysis

What is the BABOK® Guide? The ever-evolving business world requires reliable guidelines to assess and maximize corporate productivity. Thankfully, the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®) created and maintains the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) Guide — an indispensable reference that is widely regarded as a gold standard in business analysis. It’s essential for …

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

Vicki develops and maintains Watermark's Business Analysis Training programs and is an instructor for in-person and online classes. James has 15 years’ experience in the public and private sectors as a project manager, business analyst, author, and independent industry consultant and trainer, where her clients included Microsoft Corporation. She also spent time in the public sector successfully delivering projects to support governmental operations. James is co-author of Strategies for Project Sponsorship and contributor to The Complete Project Manager. She is president of the IIBA Seattle Chapter, and past vice president of the PMI Olympia Chapter.

Top Business Trends to Watch for in 2023

Top Business Trends to Watch for in 2023

By Andrea Brockmeier, Jason Cassidy, Ken Crawshaw, Amy Farber, Susan Heidorn, Norman Kennedy, Jose Marcial Portilla, and Mike Stuedemann This past year has been a bit of a respite from the chaos of the last couple of years as many people have settled into working from home, in the office, or some combination. We seem …

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

Implementing Strategies for Organizational Change Management

Implementing Strategies for Organizational Change Management

One reliable thing about the business world is it’s constantly in flux. Organizational leaders must be adaptable and know how to implement changes affecting their operations, products, and employees, often with limited time. This flexibility is what keeps them and their organization competitive. Regardless of the reason for the change, whether it’s related to new …

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

Facilitating vs. Leading

Facilitating vs. Leading

When working with others in a team meeting, how often are you leading the meeting? How often are you facilitating the meeting? What is the difference? Does it matter? Consider the scenarios below in which Leticia and her team are meeting to discuss a new project. Scenario #1 Leticia: OK team, what is our plan…how …

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.

business trends

Top 10 Business Trends to Watch for in 2022

While 2021 has been better in many ways than 2020, it doesn’t feel much more predictable. Yet, at Educate 360 we have identified the top business trends we are seeing and expect organizations to continue experiencing in Project Management, Business Analysis, Agile, Data Science, and Leadership in the year ahead. Overall, the theme of working …

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.

Business Relationships

An Intro into the World of Business Relationship Management, Part 4: A Continued Review into BRM

We are on the last leg of our four-part series. In our previous BRM blogs, we provided you with a summary overview of BRM, BRMP®, and BRM Institute®. We then followed with more detailed information about the BRM role and the BRMP®. This final blog provides additional information to round out what we provided you regarding …

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.

Business Relationship Management

An Intro into the World of Business Relationship Management, Part 3: What is BRMP and How Do I Get Certified?

We are on the third leg of our four-part series. In our previous Business Relationship Management blogs, we provided you with a summary overview of BRM, BRMP®, and BRM Institute. We then followed with more detailed information about the BRM role and its organizational value. Today, we will take you to the world of the BRMP — …

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.

In-Depth BRM

An Intro into the World of Business Relationship Management, Part 2: An In-depth Look at a BRM

Our BRM exploration journey continues. In our last BRM blog, we provided you with a high-level view of the BRM, BRMP®, and BRM Institute®. In this blog, we take a closer, more detailed look about the BRM role, a brief history, what BRMs do, and the core competencies needed to be a successful BRM. As you may remember …

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.

Business Institute

An Intro into the World of Business Relationship Management, Part 1: What is a BRM, a BRMP, and the BRM Institute?

Welcome to the first in a series of four blogs in which we will introduce you to the world of Business Relationship Management, the role of the Business Relationship Manager, its corresponding certification, the value BRMs bring to the organization, and how to move into a BRM role as the next step of your career …

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.

Business Conversations

Difficult Conversations: What Do You Contribute?

When it comes to navigating difficult conversations, frankly, I’d rather not. It’s exhausting trying to figure out how to approach someone about something you’d prefer not to discuss. Considering the pace at which most of our work worlds are operating these days, if you ignore something, it often doesn’t take too long before it’s forgotten. …

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.