Atlanta/Mendham B2T Training (B2T), a founding member of the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®) and leader in the field of business analysis training and professional development today announced an agreement with Knowledge Partner International, LLC (KPI), a thought leader in the field of decision management, business rules and business logic, to offer to its client base a new course called Decision Modeling Essentials.

KPI’s managing partners Barbara von Halle and Larry Goldberg are the co-authors of the bestselling book “The Decision Model – A Business Logic Framework Linking Business and Technology” (Taylor & Francis LLC, 2009). The Decision Model describes a new and highly efficient way of eliciting, organizing, managing and testing Business Logic that today is the most successful and fastest growing methodology in the field of decision modeling and business rules.

As a KPI training partner, B2T will work very closely with the originators of The Decision Model to offer its clients a powerful extension of its existing training course portfolio.

“We are very excited about the benefits that our partnership with B2T is providing to both of our companies’ clients” said Barbara von Halle, Managing Partner of KPI, “the B2T team of seasoned trainers, business analysis experts, and BABOK® veterans proves again that they feel the pulse of our industry, know what Business Analysts want, and are hosting training classes offering a competitive edge.”

“Kupe” Kupersmith, President of B2T said “The Decision Modeling Essentials course introduces students to what we believe is the next evolutionary step that comes after conventional Business Rules Management. At B2T we are interested in working with the thought leaders in areas that are relevant for the business analysis professional. Being able to offer a course authored and certified by the originators of The Decision Model is a great addition to our program.”

The first public Decision Modeling Essentials training course is scheduled in Atlanta, Ga on April 10, 2012. Register today!

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Further Information

B2T Training, LLC

“Kupe” Kupersmith, President

Phone: (678) 366-1363

Email:

Knowledge Partners International, LLC

Michael Grohs, VP Business Development

Phone (919) 606-6711

Email:

About B2T Training

Since 2000, B2T Training has focused solely on providing business analysis professional development. The company developed the first comprehensive business analysis training program in North America and has been a model for other training organizations.  As experts in the field, B2T Training continues to shape the Business Analysis discipline and the careers of BA professionals in major corporations across the globe through its high impact training sessions and valuable resources.  B2T Training provides direct access to expert instructors who are also practicing BA professionals, well known and highly respected in the field. Business Analysts looking to increase knowledge, improve performance, and enhance their value; and BA Managers seeking to improve BA performance and increase customer satisfaction rely on B2T Training. We get it. We’ll help you get it too. B2T Training is an endorsed education provider for the IIBA® and a registered education provider for PMI®.(www.b2ttraining.com)

About The Decision Model

In 2009 Knowledge Partners International introduced The Decision Model, a technology independent model based on the inherent structure of business logic. The model is proposed in a groundbreaking new book The Decision Model: A Business Logic Framework Linking Business and Technology (Taylor & Francis LLC, 2009). The book is written for both the technical and non-technical reader, providing a detailed theoretical framework as well as a real-life approach to adopting The Decision Model in practice in business rules and business transformation projects. It also provides commentary on the use of The Decision Model in an Enterprise and Business Architecture, Service Oriented Architecture, Business Process Management, business requirements, and analysis, as well as management practices in general (www.thedecisionmodel.com).

About Knowledge Partners International LLC

KPI is the thought leader and innovator in the field of Business Decision Modeling and Requirements.  The company’s services enable many of the Global 1,000 companies to discover, organize and manage their business decisions. KPI offers project leadership to help organizations implement KPISTEP and FirstSTEP, leading methodologies in the fields of business decisions, business rules, business process and requirements. The company provides consulting, training, certification, mentorship and knowledge transfer services to ensure that clients become self-sufficient in these areas. (www.kpiusa.com). KPI works closely with software companies to integrate decision modelling and management into new and existing software offerings.

It takes some planning on the BA’s part, but in the end, it’s a very effective way to run the analysis phase of a project. Here’s what you need to do. Each requirement for the project will contain one of three statuses:

• Draft – this means that the requirement is still being written and will not be a part of any meeting’s discussion.
• Ready for Review – any requirement with this status will be reviewed in one of the requirements workshops, or working sessions. This status is the one that the stakeholders will pay close attention to.
• Approved – the requirement has been reviewed in one of the working sessions, and approved by the stakeholders.

First, you need to plan the analysis phase of the project. As you do so, think about the logical groupings of processes and how they decompose. If you haven’t created a process decomposition diagram yet, now would be a great time to do so. It may be that not every stakeholder needs to be involved in every requirements workshop. This helps you keep only those people who are involved in the processes engaged. Once you understand all of the processes in scope, you have a better idea how to structure the requirements workshops.

Second, set your process as follows: each requirements workshop that you hold will have a basic agenda framework. The framework is set up as: review the requirements that are in a “Ready for Review” status, then discuss new requirements and processes. Since the workshops are planned around specific processes in the decomposition, it becomes very logical to review that way.

Once you finish the workshop, update the requirements as necessary, and change the status to “Approved”. Then, repeat the process in the next workshop. With each workshop, you are essentially reviewing requirements and signing them off. Each meeting is not as long as one final review, people are better able to stay engaged, and at the end of the elicitation, the document is (theoretically, at least) signed off.

Once you ask for approval at the end, all of the stakeholders have reviewed the document during the elicitation phase, and can quickly provide sign-off and approval at the end without a lengthy final requirement review. It also helps to remove swirl at the end since the requirements have been reviewed and discussed in the requirements workshops, and not several weeks later when thoughts and ideas have been forgotten.

This technique can be used with any metholodology, but having a requirements management (RM) tool makes it easier. How? First of all, the RM tool contains statuses for requirements. Having a status within the tool helps you manage them as you move forward. Secondly, the RM tool will help you with traceability. As you move through the document, you need to know how all of the requirements relate to one another. Changing a requirement in week 6 may affect one that was Approved in week 2. You need to know where those exist, and the RM tool really shines here.

Have you used a process like this before? How has it worked in your organization? Thoughts?

OK, so you understand what is going on. WHO is the first baseman’s actual name (strange, but true, at least for this comedy dialogue). It’s comedic because as outsiders, we recognize that, but Abbot and Costello are so closely involved in the conversation, that they fail to see each other’s viewpoint. They never stop to think about where the misunderstanding is coming from. They continue to approach the conversation as if they completely understand what is happening.

While Abbot and Costello are doing it for comedic value, we stumble into these misunderstandings constantly during our projects. Why? We fail to define the terms up front, so we move forward without thinking that someone else on the project team (or even outside the project team) misunderstands what we are communicating. How can we overcome these misunderstandings of project terms?

One of the best techniques that you can use early on in the project is a glossary. This is a repository for all of the terms and definitions for the project. Think of how easily Abbot and Costello could have communicated if there was a definition for the first baseman. It would have explained his position and the fact that he had a unique first name of WHO. Perhaps they would not have even had to have that conversation since the positions were defined in the glossary.

The glossary is like the dictionary for your project. Any term that is unique to your project must be defined in the glossary. And if you think that people may misunderstand it, list it in the glossary. Some tips on your glossary:

• Fully define any acronyms that your project is using. Sometimes this can completely ward off confusion. I worked a project once where everyone on the team said that CRIS had this information or CRIS did those calculations, etc. A new project team member did not understand that CRIS was actually an acronym for a system rather than a person’s name. He asked how to get in touch with this “Chris person” and no one understood what he meant.
• Don’t include business rules within the definition. For example, if you are defining a pilot, you may want to say that a pilot is one who flies an aircraft. You do not want to include rules such as, “every pilot must have a current medical (FAA physical evaluation) in order to fly an aircraft. If they are under 40, a third-class medical certificate is obtained every three years – if they are over 40, they must have one every two years….” Just keep it to the definition of the pilot. The rules will be referenced in another section.
• Don’t “bundle” definitions. Is a customer a customer? Think about it – do you have different types of customers that you treat differently? Airlines do. They have first-class customers, frequent-flier customers, elite-level customers, etc. They certainly treat them differently when they board the aircraft, so define them differently since they are treated differently.

So does your team have a definition of first base? And does it describe the position so that anyone reading your document understands what it means?

Before you start working virtually (as opposed to virtually-working), assess yourself – are you the type of person that gets easily distracted? Do you need the interaction of your fellow office workers? Are you a face-to-face person and will struggle if you don’t have that communication with your fellow workers? What is the culture of the organization that you are working for and their expectations? Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses will help you understand what you need during your virtual workday.

• Keep your morning routine. This may seem counter-intuitive for the telecommuter. “After all,” you think, “I’m not actually travelling to the office, so who cares what I look like (let’s assume that you aren’t using video conference calls from your webcam)?” Getting up at your regular time, showering, and dressing will help you feel as though it is a “work” day as opposed to a weekend day. By keeping your morning routine, you will feel more professional and it will feel more like work.
• The laundry can wait. Remember that you are still working, and that you will probably have pressures that will try and pull you away from your work. The laundry will need to get done, the groceries will need to be purchased, coupons will need to get clipped. If you don’t separate your two worlds, you could get sucked into doing the domestic tasks instead of the true work. Establish rules with your family – when you are “working”, you can only be contacted through Instant Message (IM), e-mail, etc. Being at home doesn’t mean that you can just pop-off and pick up the kids from soccer practice, and then stop by and pick up groceries, etc. Remember, these things don’t get done when you travel to the office, so why do they take higher priorities on the days that you work from home? Answer – they shouldn’t. To combat falling prey to this, I have found that going outside the house and working remotely helped me a lot (next tip below).
• Go to your “office”. While you will not be traveling to your company’s (or client’s) office, you need to go someplace that you can separate work from home. This may be a room in your house that you have created as an office, or it may be the local coffee shop or lunch establishment with free WiFi. The point is that you have to feel as though you are in a work environment instead of just being at home. And if you are working from the local coffee shop (or bookstore) for several hours, patronize the establishment. Not only will they be happy to have you there for the hours that you are there, but you are keeping them in business (which effectively lets them provide the establishment – your “office”). One more point – know when it’s appropriate to be at the coffee shop. You don’t want to have to get on video conference and have people making faces behind you on your webcam, or deal with the coffee-shop-vibe ambient noise.
• Get comfortable with technology. You are not going to have 100% access to the office-guru who knows how to configure your e-mail client when you cannot connect. Know how to research computer issues and to support your own laptop, cable-modem, router, etc. And any time that you are using technology, make sure that you test it first – you don’t want to be presenting to the CIO when you learn that you need to download the latest version of the plug-in and it takes 15 minutes to download and install it.
• Have regular checkpoints with your team. This is very important. Being a virtual worker means that you are not punching a clock. You have deliverables to produce, and the strength and quality of your deliverables are what you are going to be judged by. So, if you have a document that is due in 10 weeks, the ninth week is not the time to find out that you are only 10% complete. You want to be able to ensure that you are progressing on schedule. Week 1 should be 10%, week 2, 20%, etc. By ensuring that the team gets together on a regular schedule, you will be able to assess progress and make adjustments as necessary.
• Polish your written communication. Your documents have to be even MORE polished and exact, because you will not have the immediate interaction with your team. I’m not saying that you should not have document turnover reviews, but as questions arise, your team members cannot stop by your office to discuss a confusing section of your document. Point is, the document has to be even more exact, maybe even more so than what you are used to. Making the documents that you write now more exact will help when you make the transition.
• Understand the limits of technology. Sometimes, the e-mail chain just goes on and on and on and on (you get the idea). If it goes on for more than 3 back-and-forth replies (or if people are pulling the “reply to all” option), maybe e-mail is not the best communication to share the message. A better idea may be to set up a conference call so that the entire team can get together and discuss the situation and come to a common understanding. And when you do have a conference call and key decisions are made, make sure that someone (and it usually falls on the BA) documents the decisions and sends to the team for review so that all of you on the team are aware and have documentation of the situation.
• Put the face with the name. I’m not saying that all of you should be on Facebook, but it’s nice to be able to put a face with a name. I have been training classes in organizations in which the first time that virtual team members see each other face to face is in my class. And this is after working together for years. Having a face to put with a name helps establish a relationship with the other person, instead of having them as a faceless entity. Think about it – when someone asks you for something, it is far easier to turn someone down or not respond whom you do not know than it is with someone who you have a relationship. While it’s great to be able to get together with the team every so often, maybe you can’t (such as working with a team overseas). Is there a way that you can have a directory with photos? Maybe a bio of team members so that you can help establish connections? It really helps for people to know each other.
• Set work-time expectations. Noone is going to be checking up on you to see if you are going to be at your desk by 7:00am each morning. Set the expectations with your team so that they will know when you are going to be at your “desk”, and when you will not. And stick to your commitments. Be there when you say that you will be there, and people will know when they can expect a response from you and when it will have to wait until the next day. And since they cannot see you, update your status on your IM or iChat if you are going to lunch (and don’t forget to eat lunch, either! You’d do it if you were at work). This way, they know why you are not responding immediately to their request.
• E-mail is not the only communication tool available. My daughter’s friend said, “no one uses e-mail anymore” but there’s no way that she can be in a business setting because it seems as though everyone thinks e-mail is the only tool to communicate. Sure, it’s convenient, but to my point above about understanding the limits of technology, it might not be the best medium for every person. You lose the non-verbal communication and tone-of-voice that communicates 90% of the message. Sometimes, picking up a phone and having a conversation works wonders. How about a video iChat? Facetime? Technology and broadband Internet connections are making video much clearer and usable for business. Use when appropriate. Also know the communication style of the person that you are communicating with. Some prefer e-mail, some phone, others text. Knowing the best way to communicate with each person will not only get you the information that you need faster, but it will help establish trust since they are using their preferred communication tool.
• Plan your day. Just because you are at home, doesn’t mean that you just fire-up the laptop and start pounding away at your e-mails. You still have to plan your day and set priorities to make the best use of your time. This might be tougher since there’s no one there to look over your shoulder; you have to be extra-mindful of the planning that is required so that you can get your work completed.
• Support a “pull” methodology for team documents. It’s far more convenient for all of the project team artifacts to be stored in a location where the entire team can access them. If they are all stored on a server in the “cloud”, team members can access the artifacts when they need them, where they need them. By e-mailing file attachments all over the place, you’ll find that it’s inconvenient to get the file when you need it, as well as run the risk of having the wrong version of a document. Waiting for a document can delay a project, and designing a solution using an incorrect version can be a disaster.

What do you think? Are there other tips that you have found that work well for you as a tele-worker or virtual worker?

First, you want people who have volunteered for the role. By letting people choose to be involved in developing and rolling-out the CoP, you will get people who are passionate about it. Since they have chosen to become involved, and want to do it, they will do whatever is necessary to make it succeed. If that means working through lunch to post an article on the CoP, or coming in a little early one day to research a BA issue, they will do it. I’m not saying all of the work needs to be done over lunch or outside normal working hours, but by volunteering, those in the position will feel ownership.

Second, you want people who are passionate about business analyis, and will communicate and take the message to the organization. These may not be your best BAs. Operationally, you may have BAs who are really, really, good at being BAs, but have no interest in moving the CoP forward. They are doing a great job as BAs in the organization, but these are the folks you don’t want on your CoP team. Your organization is best served having them continue to operate where they are. The people in the CoP are those who are motivated to bring and promote new, more efficient techniques, new ways of doing things, and advancing business analysis within the organization. Who are they? They are the people who are trying to advance their BA skills even without the CoP in place. How do you find them? Look for those BAs:

• who are attending the IIBA local chapter meetings
• who are proposing new ways of process modeling
• who are on the internet researching new tools to help them perform business analysis
• who are mentoring and coaching others on business analysis

Third, you want the BAs that have the best communication skill and know how to navigate the various levels of management. Again, these may not be the most technical BAs in your organization. You need this skill for BAs heading up the  CoP, because they will have to sell the CoP to upper management. Management will need to know the ongoing value in the CoP, and what return they are getting for their investment. BAs will need negotiation skills to sell the organization on the standardized processes that the CoP is rolling out. Again, selling the consumers on the advantages of the new processes may be a tough sell. People in the organization may not want to do things the new standardized way, and the BAs in the CoP need to negotiate with upper management to get their support, and work with the consumers to “sell” the new processes.

So, those BAs leading the CoP surprisingly may not be the best BAs in your organization. But, by choosing from those who want to be part of it, you will get BAs that are passionate about it, have skin in the game and will do whatever is necessary to make it succeed. Also make sure that those that are part of it are excellent communicators since they will be doing that at all levels across the organization.

Have you examined who’s in your CoP lately?

Think about an e-mail thread that is delivered to you. Simply clicking the “forward” button and entering “FYI” and then sending it on does little to help communcation. You have put the onus on the reader to figure out why you sent the thread. The recipient then has to navigate through the thread and figure out why the e-mail thread has been received. In this case, you (as the BA) have not provided any value in the communication stream.

Consider an alternate strategy – explain why you are sending the communication to the recipient. Perhaps it’s because you want other people on the project team to be aware of a decision that a stakeholder has made in the thread (and they were not copied on the e-mail). So, say that in your e-mail. State, “I’m forwarding this on to the project team to make you aware of a decision Mr. Stakeholder X has made in his e-mail dated Jul 10, 2011.”

If you are forwarding a communication to your manager, and the only reason is that you want to keep that person informed, state it. “I am forwarding you this e-mail because you stated that you wanted to be aware of every communication with the sales department and I did not see your name on the cc: list”. Done.

And, one final tip. If the recipient needs to take no action, mention that as well. If you think that there may be confusion, be proactive and answer that unanswered question. “I wanted to inform you of the alternate direction that stakeholder X has suggested. You do not need to take any action at this time.”

Do you feel as a BA that you don’t get respect? Well, start earning respect by making sure that every on of your communications contain value. Be clear about your intentions and what you expect people to do when they receive one of your communications – don’t make them guess. Try it – I think that your receivers will be well-pleased.

FYI,

Paul

How does feature benefit selling work? Suppose that you are purchasing a car. If the salesperson told you that the features are side-curtain airbags, fuel-injected cylinders, and a gas tank door on the right-hand side of the car, he has just explained the features. But what do you care? You care about the impact (or benefit) that it has for you. So, to sell you the car, the salesperson is going to tell you that the side-curtain airbags make the car safer if you are hit from the side. The fuel-injection makes a car’s acceleration smoother and has more dependable response – great for when you need extra passing power getting onto the highway. And a gas tank door on the right hand side? Safety minded for when you break down on the side of the road and you have to refill your tank – you are away from traffic (this was seriously the way that it was sold to me when I purchased my last car!)

How can we use this information to our advantage as BAs? If you explain how something that you are doing as a BA benefits the customer, you are far more likely to get buy-in from that stakeholder. Think of those items in your processes in which you experience stakeholder push-back. What are they? Now think about how those items provide value to your stakeholders. That is the benefit to them. When they understand the benefit that the item has for THEM, they are more likely to comply with your process.

For example, you need to have stakeholders review a business requirements document prior to your final review. Think about how having them review the document prior to the review benefits THEM. Does it make for a better quality document and a better delivered product for them? Does it make the best use of their time in the review session? Will it help uncover misunderstandings prior to the final document? Probably a combination of these.

Make sure that you keep track of your successes. By understanding the benefits and values that “sell” your “features” to your stakeholders, use that to build upon your stakeholder analysis. By understanding the business, and what provides them value and benefits, you will be more successful in getting them to align to your processes.

So, do you explain the benefits of a feature to your stakeholders, or do you leave it with “because that’s the process, that’s why”?

The other one says, “Your finger?”

“One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean [anything]”

“But, what is the ‘one thing?’”

“[smiles] That’s what you have to find out.”

The scene is from the movie City Slickers, and the conversation takes place between Jack Palance and Billy Crystal. While they are talking about life, I use this scene as an allegory for BA communication. I have often been in the role of a mentor to other BAs when they express their frustration at not being able to obtain the information that they need from stakeholders. BAs explain that they just can’t get the stakeholders to answer in time. I respond that they have not found the “one thing” that will help the communication with that stakeholder.

There’s a recent discussion going on at LinkedIn regarding key strengths of a BA, and out of 104 responses, at least 25-30 discuss communication. From my opinion, the BA is the lynchpin of communication on a project, and needs to be able to find that “one thing” that enables effective communication. As a BA mentor, here are some tips to facilitate effective communication and find that “one thing”

1. Make it about the stakeholder. Remember, your role as a BA centers around the bridge between business and technology. Talk to your audience about what is important to them, not to you. Don’t start off talking about what you need from them, start off by finding out what they need. Talk to them about their business problems and their “pain points.” They understand the difficulties that they face in their line of work, but may not necessarily be aware of all the aspects of what it takes to do your job as a BA. It’s your job to facilitate that discussion.Example – when I train BAs, I ask two questions: “What do you want to get out of this training?” and “What are the problems and ‘pain points’ that you experience in your job?” When I ask about which question is easier to answer, they always tell me that it’s the second one. I explain that it’s logical because the first question targets the instructor and the instructor’s needs while the second question targets the students and their needs. By making it about them, they can answer the question much easier.
2. Switch to their best mode of communication. Not everybody prefers the same mode of communication. Some like the phone, others prefer face-to-face interaction, and still others like e-mail. When trying to elicit information from stakeholders, and it’s not working, try switching to a different communication method. If you cannot get someone to answer your repeated e-mails, try a different technique. Try a phone call instead – that channel is considered more personal than e-mail, and it may just work better. Or try a face-to-face meeting with them. The important thing is that you are contacting them in the way that they need to be contacted. Sure, sometimes it may seem like you are stroking their ego, but ultimately remember that your mission is to facilitate the conversations and communications. Doing it in whatever way that you can to make the project successful will only ensure your success as well as the project success.
3. Look for that connection that makes you a trusted agent. Since you are in a position to elicit information from stakeholders, you need to get them to open up and see you as someone who can help them get their job done. How do you do that when they see the statement “Hello, I’m from IT and I’m here to help” as ironic? Well, aside from making the communication about them, you need to establish trust as quickly as possible. So I suggest that you look for something that has nothing to do with the project, and open up with a connection that you can find with the stakeholder. How do you know what they are interested in? One way is to look at what they have hanging on their wall, or a picture on their desk. If they put something like that on display, that is what is important to them.Once, I had to elicit information from a high-powered commercial real estate broker. This was not the first time that he was involved in CRM elicitation, and the time that he would spend with me would take away from his sales time, and I was only allotted a  30-minute meeting. So, I expected a very negative session. Upon walking into his office, I saw a large photo on his wall of a tropical island that I recognized as Trunk Bay in St John. Instead of getting into the elicitation, I told him that I recognized the photo. He asked if I had ever been there, and I said yes, and I asked him the same. Well, for the next 20 minutes, we discussed his scuba diving experiences there and I talked about my snorkeling. Instead of the 30 minutes that I had been promised, I had 90 minutes with him. By talking about his needs and his interests, I became someone that he could trust. We had opened the line of communication from what I initially expected to be a negative session.

As BAs, we have to constantly be on the lookout for that “one thing that helps facilitate communication between you and your audience, and establishes you as a trusted agent with your stakeholders.

 As someone who thrives on having satisfied customers, it is critical for me to go the extra mile which is really the same for a Business Analyst too.  How I go the extra mile depends on several different factors but it is not going to be the same for every account manager just like it is not going to be the same for every Business Analyst. 

 If you are a more senior BA, your ‘in addition to’ is going to be very different than what is a reasonable extra as a new BA.  As a Junior BA, my ‘in addition to’ might be to ask for a new, more challenging project to work on, experience more training on a new set skill, attend a first local IIBA Chapter Meeting, or asking to be mentored by a more senior BA to move out of my current comfort level.  As a Senior BA, my ‘extra’ might include becoming a mentor to someone and growing through the experience, being a critical catalyst to establish a community of practice within the organization, speaking at a local or national conference….or even writing a blog.  To determine an achievable goal, each of us needs to honestly evaluate our current individual skill set, mix in our own personal passion and available resources.   Then take action!

 There’s only one down side to taking the leap into the world of ‘extras’ – once we determine what our ‘in addition to’ is and begin to reach it, in time it will then become our new ordinary.  And we will need to start the cycle over again….that’s the real journey during our career. 

So, what is your “extra”?  What will you do “in addition to” what you are doing today to define yourself and your true contribution?

 Wishing everyone an extraordinary career!

Ann

When pilots first learn how to fly an airplane, they are accompanied by a flight instructor who assists them with every move an decision. Eventually, they are signed off to solo, but the student pilot is still learning as more and more responsibility and management of the flight is turned over to the pilot. Student pilots will eventually gain enough experience to pass an FAA exam and a check-ride. This occurs around 50-hours of flight experience. Pilots are still cautious and don’t take as many risks. Then, something interesting happens around 200 hours of flight experience. Accident statistics go up and then start to decrease around 500 hours of experience. It is this zone in which pilots feel that they have more experience than they actually do, and start taking more risks. Around 500 hours, accident statistics go down because pilots (who, morbidly you can say, have survived) have become instinctive regarding their actions. That, and the repeated training that they go through helps them stay safe.

How do BAs fall into the death zone? By letting their confidence level exceed their skill level. It’s when they start making decisions for the business without asking the business to make those decisions. If you have ever caught yourself thinking that you know the business better than the business people, you might be in that “death zone.” And that behavior may lead to missing requirements or generating the wrong requirements. While it’s helpful to know the business domain, your role as a BA is to be the liaison between the business and IT, not to be the SME. And while you may be consulted on the business, ultimately, you, as the BA, are not the one making the decision for the business. Doing so puts you in the death zone.

How can you stay out of the death zone? Parallel what aviation has done in order to keep the skies safe:

1. Aviation requires bi-annual flight reviews with an FAA instructor. Every two years, you have to prove to the FAA that you are able to fly a plane. This flight review occurs with a senior pilot who will watch you fly and quiz you about any aspect that you are required to know about aviation. In the BA world, this means partnering up with a more senior BA who can watch you go about your business, peer-review your work products, and watch your style. Think of it as having a mentor.
2. FAA requires pilots to pass health exams every so many months based on your level of responsibility (don’t worry – airline pilots have the most stringent regulations and have to get checked out every 6 months). How often do BA’s in your organization get a “health check?” Management should be looking at the status of what the BAs deliver – are they full of assumptions? Was the business consulted when the requirements were created? Do the developers need to make a lot of assumptions or question the BA many times after the requirements were delivered? And how about the organization? Does it give the BAs enough time and resources to complete the requirements effectively? All of these items could be examined to determine the health of both the BAs and the organization.
3. Aviation safety seminars. While these are not required, they go a long way to help pilots stay fresh. For instance, every pilot has had to learn how to land in a crosswind (when the winds are blowing perpendicular to the runway direction). A safety seminar will cover this subject in detail. We already learned it, so why attend a safety session to teach us the same subject again? Simple. We forget things that we don’t use every day. Or, there may be some new techniques to use when landing in a crosswind that makes it easier. In any case, we can all benefit from recurring and refresher training.

While not all BAs fly planes, it’s important to remember that by letting your confidence level exceed your BA skill level, you start to head into the “death zone.” While it may not cause actual mortality for the BA, it could be a way to kill the project