In this special edition of our BA Brew, it’s BA Question Time! Mike Williams presides as AssistKD’s Fiona Bruce with Debra Paul and Jonathan Hunsley as the panellists.

This week’s questions are:

❓Should BAs understand commerce/business?

❓How can a BA team of 20 balance sharing knowledge and experience as a team with time on their own projects?

❓How do I bring together a group of professionals working in and around the business analysis space together to add value to the business?

❓Business Analysts often feel overlooked. How can we raise the profile of the profession?

❓What’s going to be in fashion in the BA World this year?

Do you have a question for our next BA Question Time? If so, please email us on BABrew@AssistKD.com or post on our wall on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn.

The following BA Brews and articles are relevant to the answers given:

Adair’s model of action centred leadership addresses balances the team, the task and the individual.

This article on inclusive leadership.

This article on establishing a centralised Community of Practice.

This article on creating a BA Service Definition.

BA Brew 68: Stepping Beyond the BA toolbox

BA Brew 44: Building a BA Community

#BAQT #businessanalysis #businessanalyst #BAtoolkit #leadership #teamwork #business

In our latest brew Jonathan Hunsley and Nicole Alderton are joined by Michelle Shakesheff and Tim Clark of Close Bros to share their thoughts on getting started in a BA career.

They share insights on the different modes of learning available to build the professional toolkit, the importance of mentoring and stepping out of your comfort zone to take on new challenges. Handily, they also delve into the sources and benefits of ongoing self-development.

With so many structured routes into business analysis, including the BA apprenticeship, perhaps gone are the days of simply drifting into the BA career.

#businessanalysis #ba #businessanalysis #growthmindset #mentor #apprenticeships

The pandemic and new technology have changed the way we work, but how are we responding as humans? Special guest Helen Holder considers the human element of our professional lives in this fascinating BA Brew.

Topics include: how we respond to our work, interact with stakeholders and deal with change; the personal attributes of BAs, business architects and service designers; investing in personal growth; the strength inventory; resilience and the growth mindset and more.

Helen Holder is a Senior Business Analyst and BA of the Year Finalist 2022.

If you enjoy this BA Brew, you may also enjoy the following articles:

Resilience Resources

You can’t spell Challenge without Change

Helen referenced the following books during the conversation:

Leadersmithing by Eve Pool

Who You Are is How You Lead by Rachel L. Rider

The following BA Brews may be of interest. BA Brew 20 on Resilience; BA Brew 30 on Confidence; BA Brew 50 on Stepping out of your Comfort Zone; BA Brew 62 on Advice that Got Us Through Life and BA Brew 69 on Self Assessment and Development tools.

#charactercrafting #growthmindset #businessanalyst #businessanalysis #servicedesign #BA #personalitytools