One of my good friends recently changed jobs. For several years he was working with a fairly large software developer that loved to boast that they always had positive margins, always showed growth. I guess it isn’t too hard when you create nearly fixed cost products that can be resold over and over. From my [...]

When creating a data dictionary, it is critical not to design with it.  You should not be attempting to create a database nor should you be showing the relationships of data.  This will be a detailed description of the data involved in your project.  It will also be one of the largest morale draining approval [...]

I am all for great tools and processes that increase efficiency of work, facilitate better accuracy, allow for repeatable results, so on and so forth. But sometimes they simply do not fit.  Yes, I just said better is not always good.  Why?  Spending time trying to improve tools or processes on short turnaround projects or [...]

Just the other week the IIBA had a great demonstration of better requirements elicitation.  For those of you not familiar with the IIBA, their mission is to help Business Analysts grow professionally by providing training, networking, and career development opportunities.  We are fortunate enough to have a local Austin chapter that hosts meetings in town. [...]

Design has never been one of my strong points.  When I was picking out paint for my new home I assumed that if I liked the color, then it would work on the wall.  Didn’t turn out to be true.  Same goes for my requirements.  Just because my mock-up screen had a cornflower blue tint [...]

It is a bit late for Earth Day but who knew the three R’s could apply to software requirements as well?  Creating requirements can be long and arduous work.  Depending on the features or functionality you are exploring, it could be tedious or fun.  Regardless, you are doing this for a business purpose.  What is [...]

We have good days and bad days when trying to churn through our task list. And you should never let one day’s productivity dictate the speed at which the rest of your project will be estimated on. Nor should you predict speed in percentages. I have discussed some of this in a previous post What [...]

Luckily I have been working fairly consistently with the same client lately. This means that I haven’t had to constantly jot down notes during meetings on things to look up afterward, find corporate maps so I don’t get lost in symmetrical buildings with no windows, or remember not to call the client by the previous [...]

I am going to take it a little off the beaten path for this post and ask about some ‘non-functional’ work requirements you have. So I was wondering what you all like to do when you have to stay focused? Do you listen to classical? Work remotely from a coffee shop or home? Put a [...]

Jacqueline Sanders wrote a wonderful article that was posted on the modern analyst site, I highly recommend you read it. In it she writes briefly on the background of the Business Analyst field and several pointers for becoming a better and therefore more distinguished Business Analyst. I have a few suggestions for some of her [...]