Volume 18 Issue 2

National / International Connection

The BA Skill Set - The Growth Mindset

How many of you know people in their roles who are doing things the exact same things they were doing years ago, without ever really improving their delivery or results?

The best advice I could ever give is to never become that person - you will only look back and regret the time you wasted.

I know first-hand, because I wasted a number of years being that person. Luckily, I was able to make changes and have never looked back since.....

Understanding cloud and what it means to a BA

By Ken Fulmer, President & CEO, IIBA

We hear a lot about the cloud or specifically cloud computing. There is an analogy to a former era of “timesharing”, but cloud is more than that. Cloud computing is a means of delivering infrastructure in a whole new way. For this discussion, I want to examine cloud from the perspective of software as a service (SaaS).

One of the best examples of SaaS is SalesForce.com. In many ways, it combines the cloud with the concept of Commercial of the Shelf Software (COTS) or just packaged software. Business analysis professionals (BAs) have worked for many years .....

10 Most Useful Business Analysis Tools

As a practicing business analyst, trainer and consultant for last 25 years, I have come across many business analysis tools.

I was forced to use some of these tools because my clients and organization mandated some of them. I do read about a lot of blogs and articles about which business analysis tool is used extensively by industry. Many of them appear to be simple marketing propaganda by the tool vendors (or copy paste from someone else’s blogs) saying the particular tool is the greatest tool for business analysis.....

Chapter Connection

Board of Directors Spotlight...Richard Power, CBAP

Richard Power

Vice President of Administration and Finance

Richard Power has been a member of the Bluegrass IIBA since March 2016, shortly after learning about the organization through his employment at SQS USA, a corporate member of the IIBA. It was an eventful year. Soon after discovering the IIBA he decided to take the opportunity to improve his business analyst skills by pursuing certification as a Certified Business Analyst Professional (CBAP), achieving certification in July of 2016. He found the process of documenting his previous BA experience, exploring the BABOK, and preparing....

Upcoming events

June 13, 2018 - August 29, 2018 - 2018 BABOK v3 Study Group

Are you interested in ECBA™, CCBA® or CBAP® certification, or just would like to learn more about the content of A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK® Guide) version 3...

August 22, 2018 - The Art of Eliciting Requirements

Have you ever gathered Easter eggs? If only requirements were lying around waiting for us to collect them up in our BA Basket. But requirements – current state, future state, gaps – are not static. They live in people’s minds and even their arm muscle memory. There are tools and techniques that business analysts use to draw...

August 24, 2018 - Workshop - I Write Use Cases...Do You?

Use cases are often used to support solution requirements. It is a widely used business analysis technique used to explain the requirement in more detail by describing the actions and responses between one or more actors and the system under discovery...

Coming Soon…Online Game!

Let’s have some fun! Bluegrass IIBA Chapter has a new, fun, interactive activity with which you can get involved. Online BA Gaming is a series of online business analysis trivia games. We have a few different formats of gaming and will play one format each session. Each session will be 20 to 30 minutes, so it will not take a lot of time; and we will play once or twice a month......

Two More Join the Bluegrass Business Analysis Hall of Fame...

On May 16, 2018; Bluegrass IIBA Chapter inducted the third class of inductees into the Bluegrass Business Analysis Hall of Fame (#BBAHoF). The Class of 2018 saw two more individuals join the Hall of Fame, bringing its total number of inductees up to seven (7).

This year LeShai Phelps and Marguerite Stearns join five (5) others as Business Analysis Hall of Famers for the Bluegrass Region....

Local Connection

Bluegrass IIBA Chapter welcomes new sponsor...TEKsystems

TEKsystems is an Allegis Group company, the largest private talent management firm in the world. Their longstanding history and industry-leading position speak to our success in providing IT staffing solutions and IT services that empower organizations to actualize ROI and sustain...

Green Roofs Take Root

By the time the University of Kentucky starts its fall semester, students and faculty will be able to enjoy a lush new feature of the newly remodeled Student Center—a planted roof installed by the Klausing Group, a Lexington-based commercial grounds management and landscape construction company.

Totaling 6,000 square feet and planted in seven different sections of roof on the second and third floors, the student center project is the largest green roof the company has tackled to date. Klausing Group has also installed green roofs....

The Elusive American Black Truffle

On a frigid winter day in southern Kentucky, Margaret Townsend crisscrossed her family’s farm, following Monza, a truffle-sniffing dog hired for the day.

They were hoping to find black Périgord truffles growing in the roots of the 4,800 hazelnut and oak seedlings Ms. Townsend planted in 2011, after her father read an article...

BA Humor

Can't make it to live monthly meetings?

The chapter supports statewide remote venues (called satellites) for monthly events. If your company has a group of BA's, it might consider establishing a satellite location, and you can help. Find out how to make it happen in your area.

Beginning in August 2016, members are able to attend Bluegrass IIBA Chapter meetings for free (some restrictions apply). Remember to renew your membership to continue to enjoy the benefits of membership. Do you have more than 10 professionals who perform business analysis in your organization? Then the IIBA Corporate Membership and Bluegrass IIBA Corporate Membership programs may be for you.

This Newsletter Sponsored by:

Charter Sponsor

Based in Lexington, Kentucky and serving all interested Kentucky Business Analysts

Mailing address: Bluegrass IIBA Chapter | 1588 Leestown Road, Suite 130-111 | Lexington, KY 40511

Email: info@bluegrass.iiba.org