Jimmy thinks

I’m breaking up with the business analyst title. It’s absurd to be this emotional about a job title, but here we are. Enjoy the a front row seat to my existential crisis about it.

Buckle up, she a long one.

Business analysts create unintended waste in a myriad of ways. But it’s hard to reduce waste if you’re not even aware that you’re creating it!

A deep dive on the different kinds of waste we can create and how to avoid them.

Power is very real. It impacts everything. And it especially impacts how things get done. Since getting things done is what good business analysts do, good business analysts need to be aware of the power dynamic.

The truth is that business analysts don’t always operate in ways that are helpful to the team, project, organisation. I figure, if I am promoting business analysts, then I have to do that honestly. I have to talk about the times we aren’t helpful.

This is why we need to talk about BA(D) Modes!

Not all systems work perfectly and many don’t work well at all. Dysfunction is another axis that can help us understand context.

Part two of the context series, because if context is king … Dysfunction is Queen!

Doing great business analysis is context dependent. So thinking about our environment is kind of a critical starting point, no?

This article digs into context and poses a model for locating where you are right now!

Your how-to guide for projects on fire! In this we cover how business analysis can play a key part in putting the fire out, approaches for finding and tackling the big problems, tips for getting everyone on the same page, and tools for staying sane under pressure.

Plus some real talk about when it’s just not worth the effort.

This very simple project model helps explain why some problems are harder to solve.

And can help you to identify when to pull a U-turn, even if the signs tell you not to!

A short esoteric rant about the (BA) universe.

Oh and also the Treachery of Images.

Not sure how to get the best from the business analysts on your team? This primer can help!

There are five things you have to nail. Read the primer to find out more.

(UPDATED!) BA roles can look really different! Each focuses on different stuff and requires us to act in different ways.

But maybe there are patterns in all the “it depends”? And maybe those patterns could help us talk more meaningfully about our role …

Everyone knows that you don’t add gasoline to a fire. But when the fire is metaphorical (like a project that is struggling), it is less clear what will make it worse.

Here are five things to avoid if you’re on a project that is on fire.

You know that feeling of dread when things aren’t going as well as you expected? Same! Been there and done that!

The trick is to admit when you’re on fire. And then, sometimes, things we learn in primary school are useful, even when we’re old!

Requirements are the thing we do as business analysts—they are really the only constant “output” expected from us.

And yet, I’ve been wondering if we’re focusing on the right things when we do them …

The realities of business analysis when you’re on the ground in an agile team feel quite different than the theory you read about. Here are my top ten learnings from boots-on-the-ground business analysis!

Good outcomes are created by taking a iterative, people-centric approach, to getting the right things done.

Having a map helps!

If Jimmy ran a book club, this would be the reading list! The books on this list are those that have influenced, inspired, and/or challenged my BA work the most. It’s a varied list, which makes sense because the business analyst role is itself varied.

After all, the easiest way to keep learning is to keep reading …

The performance of any system is more about how the different parts work together, then it is about how one part performs.

If true, to positively effect the system, we need to understand how business analysts impact it.

Infrastructure is the things in the background that make things work like plumbing, roading systems, or traffic lights. And infrastructure for teams? Information!

Business analysts are great and do rather a lot of helpful things!

Yet, for some reason BAs are usually relegated to lower-tier positions within organisations and on projects, and I’ve been doing some thinking on why that is…

There are many techniques and tools that can help you to be more BAweome™. Here’re my guide to some of the best resources online—tools and techniques that I use regularly and rate highly, but which don’t make appearances as a Jimmy Methods.

I think of them as the Un-Jimmy Methods!