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Your Chapter Newsletter - January 2022                   Visit Us at:  calgary.iiba.org

 

President's Message

Great Translation is One Key to a Successful Project

Greetings and Happy New Year to you and your family. I hope you are staying safe and healthy. Alberta’s extremely cold weather has been challenging and I am sure you welcome the warm reprieve. Linda and I were fortunate to escape the cold during a quick trip to Mexico. We certainly enjoyed the warmth, highlighted by the 60 degree Celsius difference between home and our destination.

The most basic and key role of any Business Analyst is to capture, translate and interpret needs of customers. This skill is not limited to Business Analysts and is used regularly in our everyday communications. I want to share a few observations I made on my trip regarding communication, translation and fulfilling expectations.

My first observation occurred while dining, as our server’s mother tongue is Spanish while the menu was in English. The server interpreted our meal requests from English to Spanish and passed along the translated information to the kitchen. As business analysts we must elicit the needs and requirements from the stakeholders in a language they understand.

The second translation happened between the wait staff and the chefs. Then the chef, having received the order, is responsible for translating into individual tasks in order to prepare the dish. Similarly, Business Analysts translate captured requirements to a technical team who will work on the solution to fulfill those needs.

The third translation that we encountered was a coffee cultural difference. When ordering our morning cup of coffee, Linda would order a cappuccino but received a latte. I would order a latte but always received a cappuccino. Rather than making any fuss, we would swap drinks and were very happy to enjoy our morning cups of coffee. After this happened repeatedly even with different servers, I decided to investigate the mix up with the wait staff. I learned that their understanding was different to ours and according to them there was no mix up at all. As business analysts, we need to confirm with the stakeholders that our deliverables are in line with the customers’ expectations and correctly meet their needs.

I am sure we have all encountered challenges translating during the various stages of managing requirements similar to what I have described. You must always be aware of your audience in order to effectively communicate using terms that suit the end user stakeholders and the technical team. With practice and assistance from your peers, you will be able to provide great translation to both parties.

If you’re struggling to find the right kind of support, one place you might find that assistance is to become involved in the mentorship program that is very successful in our chapter. Please check out the details regarding the Mentorship Program here.

In closing, I would like to keep you up to date regarding some of the IIBA© Calgary Chapter happenings. This month the leadership team is meeting to finish off 2022 planning work that started with the Board of Directors in December. I also wanted to highlight a very insightful event that we are cosponsoring with the IIBA© Bluegrass Chapter, on January 20th. I am sure it will be highly beneficial to you in your business analysis profession.

Thank you,

Reg Cracknell,
President

  

Thursday, January 20, 2022 | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM MST

Software Development Pearls of Wisdom

KW​​​​​​

Register

Start the new year right with this free and highly informative webinar co-sponsored by the IIBA© Calgary Chapter and the IIBA© Bluegrass Chapter.

Description: Experience is a powerful teacher, but it’s also slow and painful. Software practitioners can’t afford to make every mistake others have suffered. You can compress the education and bypass much of the pain by absorbing lessons from others who have already climbed the learning curves.

Presented by: Karl Wiegers, Principal Consultant, Process Impact

Based on my more than 50 years of software experience and 25 years of helping software teams succeed in nearly 150 organizations, the book Software Development Pearls presents 60 lessons you can apply to projects regardless of the application domain, technology, development lifecycle, or your role. These pragmatic principles, perspectives, and practices cover six crucial domains of project success: requirements, design, project management, culture and teamwork, quality, and process improvement.

This presentation briefly introduces 24 of the 60 lessons and drills down into six additional lessons. Collecting such pearls of software wisdom can pay off quickly for anyone striving to build high-quality software products, whatever their project role may be.

Karl Wiegers is Principal Consultant with Process Impact, a software development consulting and training company in Portland, Oregon. He has a PhD in organic chemistry. Karl is the author of 13 books, including Software Development Pearls, The Thoughtless Design of Everyday Things, Software Requirements, More About Software Requirements, Successful Business Analysis Consulting, and a forensic mystery novel titled The Reconstruction. Karl has also written many articles on software development, design, project management, chemistry, military history, consulting, and self-help, as well as 18 songs. He has delivered hundreds of training courses, webinars, and conference presentations worldwide. You can reach Karl at:  processimpact.com

February 3rd, 2022 through to April 21st, 2022 - Chapter Virtual Event

BABOK Virtual Study Group Winter 2022 - Study Group Interest Form

 

The Study Group interest form helps to identify members and non-members who are interested in preparing for the ECBA, CCBA, and CBAP exams, want to know more and improve their Business Analysis ability.

The ECBA, CCBA, and CBAP titles are professional certifications for individuals with business analysis experience. Taking these exams is a big step where the distinction in a business analysis career requires command of a set of skills along with practical experience and possessing a variety of competencies.

Learning Objectives:

  • CBAP® Requirements and Competencies.

  • CBAP® Certification Requirements

  • Preparation for the CBAP Examination

  • Core Concepts of Business Analysis

  • Business Analysis Knowledge Areas

  • Business Analysis Techniques and Tools

  • Share and apply best practices

  • Recognize the connections between the knowledge domains and your workplace

  • Build networks with other participants

Certifications Covered:

  • ECBA

  • CCBA

  • CBAP    

Material:

  • BABOK® Guide v3

  • Exam Simulator: Weekly exams to test understanding

  • Watermark Exam Simulator available for purchase through the chapter

What you get:

  • Professional Development Hours (36 PD Hours).

Study Group Lead(s):

All online sessions will be led by certified Instructors and participants will have the ability to interact with the Instructors and with each other

Start Date: 3rd February 2022
End Date: 21st April 2022

Fees:

  • Members:  Free!

  • Non-Members:  $ 50.00 CAD

Please join the study group interest list here before January 25, 2022.

 

Save the Date! 2022 IIBA© Calgary Chapter Annual General Meeting

 

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Virtual Members Only AGM - Details Coming Soon!

 


 

Your Chapter and Professional Development Day Sponsors

Solvera

 

IT|IQ Tech Recruiters

 

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For a complete list of upcoming events,
visit: Events Calendar

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