Business Analyst Masterclass

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Business Analyst Masterclass

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About

It’s time to ensure that software delivers value to the business. To ensure you’re developing the right piece of software, for the right users, with the right functionality, on time and on budget. Because now, more than ever, organisations can’t afford to waste money on bad software and ill-conceived projects.

Business Analysts have a unique and widely varied skill set that makes them invaluable to the organisation. As the bridge between developers, management and end users, you need to speak geek, as well as be fl uent in the language of business.
Bright*Star have put together a compelling 2 day event, exploring some of these skills that the BA needs, as well as bringing together a great mix of real world case studies, thought leading analysis and Panel debates to incite, inspire and invigorate you!

We will explore:
Agile Methods | Methodological Comparisons | Requirements Elicitation and Analysis | UML | Change Management | Test Cases | Enterprise and Gap Analysis and more!

Hear from some of the leaders in the field including:
• Animal Health Board/Yonix (a presentation by BA of the Year 2009 Jody Bullen)
• Toll NZ
• Vero
• Telecom
• Ministry of Education
• TVNZ
• Southern Cross
• Equinox
• Gen-i
And more!

Don’t forget our 2 for 1 special offer! Register and pay for two people from your organisation at the same time, and the second attends free!

Take advantage of our Early Bird special, register and pay before 5pm, 15 March 2010 and SAVE $300!

2 For 1

Register and pay for two people from your organisation at the same time, and the second attends free!

Agenda

Day 1

8.30

Registration & Coffee

9.00

Opening Remarks from the Chair

Matthew Smith CBAP, Data & Applications Architect
Transpower New Zealand

9.10

The Strategic Role of the Business Analyst

The Business Analyst is increasingly working at a strategic level in the organisation, moving from the traditional IT or project management base to look holistically at people, products and processes. They have a set of unique skills that need to be nurtured if they are to maximise value to the organisation.
• The way in which Business Analysis contributes to the organisation’s competitive advantage
• How the role is changing – where the BA will be in 10 years time
• Self development options for the BA

Alex Natelli, Solutions Consultant, INTERGEN

10.00

Taking a Holistic View of Business Analysis Problem Solving

A problem solving approach is required in business analysis. Each element - who, what, where, when, why and how - is key to complete understanding of the business. Using real-world examples, this presentation explores how using a holistic approach will help you:
• Learn how business analysis fits into the strategic, tactical and operational views of a business
• Understand the dimensions to be addressed when analysing a business solution
• Explore the frameworks and tools that support the dimensions of an enterprise architecture

Gilles Rabaud, Principal Consultant, EQUINOX

10.50

Morning Break & Refreshments

11.10

Developing and Releasing Software through Agile Methods

Agile software development is one of the most popular methods of software delivery in the current environment. This Case Study will give the end to end development experiences of Vero using agile methods.
• Did Agile compare favourably with other methodologies?
• How Agile changed the culture of the IT shop
• Was the end-product developed faster than typical waterfall development?

Amanda Delamere, Business Analyst, VERO

12.00

Southern Cross’ Experience with Volere

Volere is used by many organisations to set guidelines around project scope, and to avoid scope and resource creep in the longer term, as part of the requirements process. This case study will highlight how Southern Cross Healthcare used this framework in their requirements elicitation and software development.
• How the technique helped improve the quality of requirements produced
• Challenges faced on the way and how they were managed.
• Advice on prioritising requirements

John Parbhu, Business Analysis Manager – Information Systems
SOUTHERN CROSS HEALTHCARE

12.45

Lunch Break

1.45

The Methodology Debate (Panel)

The question of which software development methodology to employ can attract an almost religious debate in Business Analysts. Is Scrum more effective than Agile? And where do other methods like Lean or RUP fit in? Can you reliably compare them? Bring your questions, headaches and opinions in this interactive panel discussion.
• Is there a reliable way of comparing methodologies?
• Culture shifts needed to change from a waterfall to iterative methodology
• Is there a “one best way?” Or do different methodologies work better in different situations?

John Parbhu, Business Analysis Manager – Information Systems
SOUTHERN CROSS HEALTHCARE
Amanda Delamere, Business Analyst, VERO
Tim Hallett, Director, FIVE RINGS

2.30

How to Leverage UML to Analyse, Specify and Communicate Requirements

“A picture speaks a thousand words” - diagrams provide a fast and simple approach to requirements elicitation, analysis and specification. UML provides a rich ‘language’ that allows analysts to express the key aspects of a system. Whether looking for a light weight approach to support User Stories in agile projects or an enabler to accelerate more formal projects, this session will show:
• The three key aspects of a system and how to capture these through diagrams
• The use of diagrams to ensure the completeness and integrity of every aspect of a system
• How diagrams can accelerate requirements elicitation and validation
• Simple techniques that allow you to identify and communicate the complexity of a system
• Learn how to capture business and system rules in diagrams

Tim Hallett, Director, FIVE RINGS

3.15

Afternoon Break & Refreshments

3.30

Effectively Modelling Business Processes

Enterprise-wide change requires that all business processes are analysed before wastage can be identified and removed. This session will compare and contrast different modelling notation systems and will give practical thoughts on improving your business processes. First timer or seasoned veteran, there’s sure to be something to take back to the office!
• The Business Process defined
• Analysing the different process granularities
• Differences between BPMN and UML

Michael Tapp, Consulting Practice Lead, OPTIMATION

4.15

Who makes a better test - a Business Analyst or a Software Tester?

Shane Parkinson, Senior Consultant, PLANIT SOFTWARE TESTING

5.00

End of Day 1 and Networking Drinks

Day 2

9.00

Welcome Back from the Chair

Matthew Smith CBAP, Data & Applications Architect, Transpower New Zealand

9.05

Building the World’s Most Sophisticated TB Eradication Software Solution

In 2008 the Animal Health Board completed one of the most successful software development projects in New Zealand. The project took top honours at the 2008 Computerworld Awards for Excellence, winning awards in Overall Excellence in the Use of ICT award and Innovative Use of ICT, and helped Jody Bullen, who was the senior BA on the project, win the Computerworld Inaugural Business Analyst of the Year in 2009.
• What distinguished this project from the typical software development project?
• How to achieve excellence in requirements and analysis
• Using business analysis to create success of software development projects

Jody Bullen, CEO, YONIX and

9.50

Navigating the Changing Business Case Landscape

With a changing business environment and more conservative business strategies in most organisations, the projects that get the green light in 2010 will be markedly different from 2009. So how do you sell what needs to be done to the CIO and CFO?
• What executives want to see in a business case presentation
• The changing perceptions of business value
• What key contributions Business Analysts make to business case preparation

Steve Lapwood, Senior Management Consultant
INTERGEN LIMITED

10.40

Morning Break & Refreshments

11.00

Enterprise/Concept Analysis at Telecom

Business units need to make investment decisions at a time when there is low certainty on business outcomes, the technology and business capabilities needed to achieve them, and the options available. The Business Analyst can play an important role in providing conceptual level analysis to support the decision making and business casing, giving the business greater confidence in investment and trade-off decisions prior to project initiation. Through real examples, explore:
• Traits needed of a Business Analyst to work at a conceptual level
• Approaches and techniques for conceptual analysis
• The importance of getting the right level of detail
• Links into business casing

Janine Andrews CBAP, Manager – Business Analysis, TELECOM

11.45

Keep the Change: Effective Change Management as the Key to Ongoing project Success

Effective Change Management is critical to the success of any project and its importance is often misunderstood. No matter how well a project is managed and how fabulous a product you deliver, if you haven’t effectively handled the people side of the equation, your project could still fail!
• Why people resist change and how that translates to project risk
• Change management: a mix of task and people
• Managing multiple stakeholder deliverables

Deanna Hughes, Business Analyst Team Leader, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

12.30

Lunch Break

1.30

The BA as a Translator between End Users and Developers (Case Study)

Ensuring business analysis reaches its potential for adding value in the organisation starts with specification and requirements analysis. Done well, business value is added through ensuring software and processes will be aligned in accordance with user needs and business strategic direction. But how do you ensure this occurs? Through:
• I dentifying common knowledge gaps between IT users and software developers
• I ncorporating an overarching view of senior management requirements into these competing needs
• Liaising with in-house and out-source developers

Gopi Dinakaran, Business Analyst, TOLL NZ

2.15

It’s all about Stakeholder Communication: The Role of BAs in the Success of Software Development Projects

As business analysts, it’s our job to encourage collaboration and communication between technical and non-technical stakeholders. The majority of project failures are attributed to the requirements and analysis phases. This session presents findings from a recent New Zealand survey, highlighting common business analysis problems faced in software development.
• Common Business Analysis problems faced by New Zealand organisations
• Encouraging joint project ownership
• How to improve collaboration between technical and nontechnical stakeholders

Jody Bullen, CEO, YONIX and

3.00

Afternoon Break & Refreshments

3.15

Developing and Maintaining a High-performing Business Analysis Team (Case Study)

In almost all medium to large organisations, business analysts operate in teams affecting organisation-wide change. However with the move towards fixed-term and contract-based workers, you run the risk of organisational knowledge loss at the end of contract.
• The keys to hiring, retaining and developing a high quality team in a tough labour market
• The dynamics affecting the labour market for business analysts
• What are the characteristics of a high performance culture in a Business Analyst team?

Leanne Pickering, Business Analysis Manager – Technology, TVNZ

4.00

The BA as a Project Manager (Panel)

The business analyst needs to manage end to end projects. To take a piece of software from an organisational need, through development and testing to a finished product successfully is key to ensuring final delivery meets business requirements.
• The key project management skills that a BA needs
• Thoughts on professional qualifications such as PMBOK or PRINCE2
• Case Studies: Sharing the Panellists’ experience of successful project management and the key success factors behind it

Leanne Pickering, Business Analysis Manager – Technology, TVNZ
Deanna Hughes, Business Analyst Team Leader, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
Jody Bullen, CEO, YONIX and

4.40

Summary Remarks from the Chair and Close of Conference

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