Our Program at a Glance

 BA as a Bridge-Builder in a Multicultural World: Developing Your Cultural Intelligence

 In this interactive session we’ll explore how to increase and employ Cultural Intelligence in your relationships, to better navigate interactions and avoid unintended   confusion and awkwardness. You will 1) Gain insights into different cultural norms and values in business 2) Understand how to access, appreciate and leverage   cultural differences 3) Develop confidence working with colleagues from different cultures 4) Learn how to interact with your multicultural stakeholders with less   struggle.

 The Future of New: Tools and Techniques for Designing and Leading Complex Change

 In this engaging discussion, Tim will explore a practical set of tool and techniques he uses and has gathered from business analysts and project managers around   the world to drive complex change. We will talk about mindset, and where project managers get off target in driving complex change. We will look at some fun   examples and share some best practices. It is time for us to redefine the role of the business analyst in terms of outcomes and value, to evolve the competencies   needed to drive large implementations in commerce, transport, healthcare and all areas where new is the norm.

 Put ‘business analysis’ back into business analysis

 Stop thinking about Net Present Value (NPV) as a nerdy spreadsheet. Peter will unlock the mystery behind how to engage key stakeholders and improve   accountability. He will draw from a case study where the conversation about NPV led to an entirely different strategic direction — a painful but essential outcome.   Over the life cycle of a project, the dynamic business case can help analyze risk, optimize scope and test assumptions. This presentation allows you to put the   ‘business analysis’ back in business analysis.

 Bridging the Gap – Strategy Design and Implementation

 Strategy + Execution. Research shows that 9 out of 10 organizations fail to meet all their strategic goals. Why? One reason they have found is because we are not   asking the right questions. What are those questions and how can they contribute to a higher level of success for our strategic plans? Are you ready to succeed   with the implementation of your strategic plan?

 Mary Beth will provide an overview of the challenges we face in organizations, large and small, due to the ineffective implementation of strategic plans.   Organizations spend a significant amount of time, energy and resources on developing strategic plans that will drive their business, yet there is rarely any                 
implementation plan developed in conjunction with these strategies. How do these organizations expect to reap the benefits of these strategic goals if there is no plan in place to achieve those goals? In this session we will review the foundational tools and techniques associated with implementation planning to effectively and efficiently manage those strategic efforts.

 Know Thyself, Brand Thyself!

 The Secrets of Self-Actualization and Workplace Engagement
 In this session, Mike will share what he has learned from having consulted with hundreds of project management and IT professionals from around the world on   their personal branding and career development challenges. He will explain why self-knowledge and mindfulness are such critical success factors, while also   exploring  the key personal questions that everyone must find answers to, and that are universal across functional areas. Michael will walk you through this process   and then demonstrate how one's learning strategy, networking strategy, and personal branding strategy all flow logically from the answers. Attendees will walk   away with a roadmap for becoming more fulfilled and self-actualized and for positively transforming their careers.

 Your Business Model Is Out Of Date

 During this session, Doug will provide 3 things: 1) a simple business model, 2) proof that your value proposition is woefully out-of-date, and 3) what to do about it.   He will introduce a proven tool for capturing and analyzing all the aspects of how your organization delivers value to its customers. It will help you understand your   customers and how you interact with them. Then, this session will look at how technology is accelerating, integrating and disrupting all at once. We will explore how   client and customer expectations are being set in the “shared economy” by Amazon, Facebook, and Uber and offer ideas for updating how you attract, retain and   serve your customers. 

 Lean UX and Prototyping (Collision of Marketing, Web Design, and SDLC)

 In a lean startup world, you need a way to define a solution with enough substance to test, but not too much as to waste time on a “non-starter” idea. Business analysts working in heavy web enablement projects must understand UX. To build the skills needed to engage your customers successfully, you must blend lean methodologies with developing and testing your UX designs. Your competition is “only a click away.” This session will help you develop interfaces and flows to engage your customer and maximize the lifetime value of the solutions you design. You will learn how to rapidly evolve your design and use real-world data to create a powerful connection with your users, whether it is an internal facing or external facing web application.
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  Philosophy of Agile

 “A strong belief and trust is the things you are looking for” Do you understand the philosophy of agile? Many who go down the path of an agile transformation only   understand and learn the mechanics of the agile tools we use, but don’t understand the deeper belief system underlying it all. Adopting some lean and agile   practices doesn’t make you or your company agile alone. More than that is needed to go all the way. Trust allows us to make leap of faith steps, or follow a   movement without assurance of its outcome. Trust and belief in a greater cause is what drove millions of people down a street in Washington DC to listen to Martin   Luther King. Trust is what drove our patriotic forefathers to lead a revolution against an oppressive monarchy. Organizations often struggle with transformations,   because they’ve lost the ability to trust their own people and don’t understand why they do the things they do. Agile transformations are can be painful, disorienting, scary, and oftentimes destructive.

Douglas is both a technologist and a student of behavioral sciences. He understands how the large IT projects succeed when the end users understand the purpose, feel well prepared, and are coached through significant periods of change. He is an experienced facilitator and business analyst skilled at capturing requirements and developingroadmaps. Doug understands how users react to new technology and business processes and he knows how to quickly win support and develop new skills at all levels of the organizatio

 Agile vs. Requirements

 Exploring the natural conflict between agile methodology and classic top-down requirements and seeking resolution between the two to best serve technical   development. Includes examination of collaboration best practice between business analysts and product managers.