Business analysts wrestle with business ramblings every day. From longwinded verbal ramblings to endless pages of written rambling “policy,” they are everywhere. Ramblings waste time, cause frustration, and leave everyone confused as to what’s really supposed to happen. In this presentation we will

1. review the Business Rules Mantra - rules are based on facts and facts are based on terms,
2. discuss and demonstrate a practical technique for breaking down ramblings into their fundamental components and reassembling them into structured rules, and
3. demonstrate a macro for extracting highlighted text from Word into a pivot table in Excel which is useful for translating large ramblings.

If you are new to the concepts of business rules, this technique can help you get you started. If you are a more seasoned veteran with business rules, this may be another tool for your toolbox. Either way, this technique can give you a jump start on your analysis by unraveling the ramblings.

Learning Objectives:

• Reinforce the fundamental concepts of business analysis with business rules.
• Discuss and demonstrate a technique for unraveling ramblings using real-life examples.
• Participants leave with the conceptual understanding, an appreciation for the value, and the procedural knowledge to use the technique on their own.