The data scientist is dead--long live the data science conductor 

Every great business analysis career has a turning point — usually a conversation with someone who's already been where you're trying to go. The Bluegrass IIBA Chapter is launching a new Mentoring Program to make that conversation possible for our entire business analysis community, whether you're an IIBA member or not, whether you live in Kentucky or not. If you are looking to advance your career, this program is for you. Join Program Coordinator Cathy Krist as she introduces the program and shows you exactly how it works: how mentees get matched with experienced BA professionals for career advice, skills building, career transitions, and IIBA certification guidance — and how mentors can give back to the profession that shaped their own careers. Whether you're looking to grow, or ready to help someone else grow, this is where it starts. Come hear the vision, meet the team behind it, and sign up on the spot as a mentee or a mentor. Presented by: Cathy Krist, CBAP (Retired) | Wednesday, September 9, 2026; 6:00 PM EDT | Virtual presentation | | Hosted by Bluegrass IIBA Chapter

You may be asked to review processes that no longer deliver value, remove processes after departmental mergers, or fix workflows that no longer work as intended. These tasks require a clear approach to business process analysis. The Bluegrass IIBA Chapter is hosting a full-day workshop on Saturday, September 12, 2026. The session will focus on assessing existing processes, understanding their link to strategy, and using BPM techniques to analyze, improve, and document business processes. This course qualifies for 6 PDHs/CDUs for all IIBA® certifications. This workshop is Sponsored by Bluegrass IIBA Chapter This Workshop is Delivered by David Vrbanek

BAs on the Street is a live event and video series in which we will have conversations with business analysis professionals in our community to see what is going on in the business analysis community. We will talk with business analyst all along the experience spectrum from those new to the profession to those with decades of business analysis experience. We will talk about the thrills and challenges of being a BA; and discuss the daily work of business analysts and where they may see the profession going in the future. We will then take questions from the audience. The BA on the Street: Nelly Ruiz, Business Analyst, Carnival Cruise Lines | Hosted by Bluegrass IIBA Chapter

GUARANTEED TO RUN | SEATS ARE LIMITED, ONLY 6 LEFT | Most AI courses promise you'll learn "prompting" in an afternoon. This one is different. The AI Career Accelerator is a six-week evening program that takes you from AI-curious to AI-competent across 15 discrete, portfolio-ready skills in five categories. You will build real, documented proof — not just a completion badge — that you can use AI at a professional level. Every skill includes a hands-on exercise and a portfolio deliverable, so by the end you walk away with 15 employer-ready work samples. 27 hours of course work and instruction over 6 weeks. Course includes one-on-one office hours with your instructor. Limited space, Only 20 seats available — first come, first served. This course qualifies for 27 PDHs/CDUs for all IIBA® certifications. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, September 15 - October 22, 2026; 6:30 - 8:30 PM EDT | Virtual training class | This course is sponsored by Bluegrass IIBA Chapter This course is delivered by SoftEd

Organizations often try to improve results by pushing teams to move faster through existing processes. But in many cases, the real problem is not effort nor speed. It is workflow design. This session shares a practical business analysis case study on transforming a fragmented, delay-prone workflow into a more streamlined and scalable process. What initially appeared to be a turnaround-time issue was actually a structural problem shaped by hidden dependencies, system sync delays, manual handoffs, duplicated handling, and limited operational visibility. By stepping back to analyze the workflow end-to-end, the team reframed the problem, redesigned the operating path, and then applied automation more intentionally. The result was a centralized workflow with direct intake, automated routing, improved visibility, and significantly faster processing. The redesigned process reduced readiness time from 7–10 days to 1–3 days and eliminated major non-value-added steps. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for identifying hidden dependencies, diagnosing structural workflow problems, and applying redesign-first thinking before automation. While the case is specific, the approach is transferable across service delivery and other operational environments. Presented by: Adwoa Arhin, CBAP, PMP, Business Analyst | Wednesday, September 16, 2026; 6:00 PM EDT | Virtual presentation | | Hosted by Bluegrass IIBA Chapter

This is a free online chat session with some of our CPOA certified mentor(s). Whether you just want to learn more about the agile business analyst role, you are interested in obtaining the IIBA®-CPOA Certificate, or you just wish to learn the IIBA Guide to Product Ownership Analysis, this session is for you. Our certified mentors will tell you of their journey to become IIBA Certified, provide tips & tricks related to the IIBA Certification from the application process to re-certification. Whatever you wish to discuss, come let’s talk and ask questions of our certified mentors. CPOA Mentor: Aaron Whittenberger, CBAP, AAC, CPOA, A-CSPO, Senior Business Analyst | Hosted by Bluegrass IIBA Chapter

Join the Bluegrass IIBA Chapter for an engaging lunch hour focused on enhancing your business analysis toolkit! Our expert-led session will feature a hands-on demonstration of a practical BA technique you can apply to your work immediately. The Art of Negotiation for Business Analysts: Building Strong Foundations and Amplifying with AI A Bluegrass IIBA Chapter Lunch 'n Learn with Misael Castro Rosas September 22 | 12:00 PM EDT Negotiation isn't just for contract talks and salary discussions—it's a skill business analysts use every single day. Whether you're aligning stakeholders with competing priorities, negotiating scope with a project sponsor, or pushing back on an unrealistic deadline, your ability to negotiate effectively can make or break a project's success. In this session, Misael Castro Reyes will break down the core negotiation principles every BA needs in their toolkit: reading the room, finding common ground among stakeholders, balancing scope against limited time and resources, and knowing when to hold firm versus when to flex. But this isn't just a negotiation 101 session—we'll also explore how AI tools can give you an edge in preparation and strategy, helping you anticipate objections, structure your talking points, and walk into tough conversations more confident and better prepared. Whether you're a seasoned BA looking to sharpen your influence or newer to the role and want to build these skills early, you'll walk away with practical techniques you can apply in your very next stakeholder meeting. Presented by: Misael Castro Rosas, PMP, ITIL | Tuesday, September 22, 2026; 12:00 PM EDT | Virtual presentation | Hosted by Bluegrass IIBA Chapter

Early Bird Pricing ends September 4th | Design Thinking has emerged as a major trend for how innovative organizations and teams are approaching problem-solving. This hands-on, interactive workshop explores the intersection between Design Thinking and project teams and will provide participants with a high-level overview of Design Thinking methods and tools. Participants will work in small teams and will learn about useful tools to use in a more agile, discovery-driven world. Case studies are used to show concretely how to integrate design methods into projects with lessons learned and unique outcomes. The workshop includes a warm-up rapid-fire sketching exercise and several individual and group hands-on exercises to expose participants to various design methods for user research, idea generation, visualization and prototyping. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants should be able to describe the benefits of incorporating design methodologies on projects for increased customer alignment and business impact and be able to illustrate multiple design-thinking tools that could benefit current or future projects. This course qualifies for 4 PDHs/CDUs for all IIBA® certifications. This course will contribute 4 PMI® PDUs towards your chosen certification. Tuesday, September 22 and Wednesday, September 23, 2026 | 6PM - 8PM EDT | Virtual training class | This workshop is Sponsored by Bluegrass IIBA Chapter This Workshop is Delivered by Astrevo