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Bridging the Gap Between Waterfall and Agile
Do BAs really need different skill sets based on which approach or methodology their project is using? This question has been floating around my mind for at least a year now. So, I will pose it to you--what do you think? PMs and BAs who have been in the industry for...
We’re Agile, You’re Agile, Why are We Struggling?
So, here’s the scenario: Your organization wants to purchase packaged software to support a key business function. Your team thoroughly evaluates several products and chooses the best fit. During discussions with the vendor, you discover they “use Agile.” This is...
Agile: It’s More Than User Stories
The primary tenant of agile is to deliver value to organizations, iteratively, using the most efficient techniques, just-in-time. Many agile teams, especially those who choose the Scrum approach, choose user stories as their primary technique/tool for solution...
Bad Meetings and Bad Dates Look the Same!
Have you ever witnessed a bad date in progress? When I was out recently, I noticed a couple who spent their entire evening browsing and texting, independently, on their cell phones. Instead of enthusiastic and engaging conversation, the couple struggled with awkward...
Student Success Story
Facilitation skills matter! A great facilitator uses a variety of techniques to make meetings interactive and collaborative. No matter what types of meetings you lead, great facilitation skills will help you get more reliable and enthusiastic participation from your...
Three BA Metrics You Should Be Tracking
What do you know about healthcare.gov, the United States' new online healthcare marketplace? No matter your political affiliation, you have to admit the launch of the website has been a giant fiasco. When you visit the site, here are a few of the interesting things...
Registration Now Open for Virtual Collaboration
A Live, Instructor-Led, Virtual Workshop with Angela Wick March 24-25, 2015 Are your conference calls effective? Do multitasking stakeholders sabotage your virtual meetings? Join us in our virtual classroom, to learn the best ways to engage and collaborate virtually....
The Devil is in the (Non-Functional) Details
Some systems are a joy to use. Others create extreme frustration and waste valuable time. Why? What’s the difference? Well, let’s think about the characteristics of good and evil systems: The “angels” of systems are: intuitive, easy to use fast reliable, always up and...
Time to Pause
Do you have time to think? Most of us operate on autopilot. We buzz from meeting to meeting while battling our maxed out inboxes, instant messages, text messages and to do lists. We scramble through each day just trying not to crash. We barely have time to catch our...
Roll the Dice: A lesson from Las Vegas
"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!" But in this case, I learned something new that I really want to share--a way to bring Vegas to the office. Sorry, no meetings with $10-minimum-tables, giant feathery headdresses or complementary "beverage" service. Instead,...
Get past the parking lot…make the move to strategic facilitation!
Most PMs and BAs know basic facilitation skills. They know how to plan a meeting, move participants through an agenda, document decisions and manage a "parking lot" of open issues. These basic facilitation skills are important, but they often leave PMs and BAs in the...
Be curious. Even mundane tasks will get more interesting.
I recently had a conversation with a friend about curiosity. She said that curiosity was innate, but often required inspiration. She explained: "After breakfast yesterday, my kids asked what we were going to do for the day. With lots of enthusiasm, I said, 'We are...