Technology is not always the answer…

As a business analyst, my job is largely to help a business define and document its needs, usually so that those needs can be satisfied by technology. However, if we assume that technology is always the answer, we might find ourselves overlooking other solutions that might satisfy the business needs more quickly and […]

Daniel Pink on the science of motivation (TED)

This will catch a lot of people by surprise in the business world, particularly the world in which I move, where cognitive skill (watch out for that phrase in the video) is vital.

Key points:

“There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does” People need autonomy, mastery […]

Showing some backbone…

In a previous post I said that humility was one of the attributes business analysts should have. But analysts also need to be courageous, especially if they are to fulfil the role of Requirements Manager.

Analysts who say “yes” to every request can be the ruination of a project. Such acquiescence […]

Scary times

When we are involved in producing a piece of software, it’s easy to forget that we are not simply building a product: we are implementing a change in the way a company operates.

Change is unnerving. We all know that. I know it particularly because I started losing my hair when […]