Don't discount the process of learning the process

Sometimes it's not how good the process is, but how the team gets to the solution.

When introducing new process, like tracking defects or managing resources I've found that sometimes the business and the development team need to have some room to work their way through it. For example I've Introduced Issue/Fix/Bug tracking to several clients over the years; along with managing assignments of these to resources. I know of a couple of ways that are very effective, but the client is rarely ready to just use the solution in it's entirety right away. Over time the process eventually becomes what it needs to be, but the team feels like they brought it to where it needed to be.

Jim Furey
Senior Business Analyst

Data Flow Diagrams

I ran into a web site that shows a good data flow diagram that seems fairly simple to follow. I prefer using simpler flow lines (e.g., visio DFD makes this easy)

http://www.umsl.edu/~sauter/analysis/dfd/dfd.htm

It also goes into the gory detail behind the diagram.

Jim Furey
Senior Business Analyst

What's the big deal about Business Analysts?

I've run into people that have done various tasks over their career that could be a bit of business analysis, and project management. They seem frustrated with the Project Managment assignments and would like to get into more BA work. What gives?

I personally think that most seasoned project managers have 80% of the skills needed for BA tasks. If they've ever completed a complex project charter, they've used most of the skills required for gathering requirements and specifications.

I know I end up doing project management on most of my assignments. Usually the Project Manager is too busy, or the project is too small to warrent a PM.

Jim Furey
Senior Business Analyst