Due to the increasing speed at which customer needs and expectations change, getting the specification of new solutions right is like aiming for an ever faster moving target. At the same time, project management is under increasing pressure to reduce uncertainty by giving a reliable view on project progress. Finally, while changes should be delivered fast, existing processes and ways of working often decrease implementation speed and hamper acceptance in an organisation.

Torn between these three forces, how can BAs enable their organisations to deliver true value at an acceptable pace?

The innovation canvas and validation driven think - shape - try approach have proven to be useful tools in tackling this challenge in multiple organisations internationally.

• The canvas helps visualise the alignments and misalignments between the customer’s and the organisational viewpoints.
• The think - shape - try approach turns a “we believe” mindset into a “what are our assumptions & how can we validate them” mindset, moving discussions away from opinions inside the organisation to facts in the customer's real, outside world.
• Together, they give a view on a solution’s certainties and uncertainties, enabling us to track progress towards achieving valuable results with an incomplete view on the final solution. This combination enables us to find the right balance between BA and PM perspective so projects can move forward effectively. At the same time, it increases stakeholders’ understanding of the project’s learning curve, and why this actually helps to achieve better results sooner.

Learning Objectives:

• Putting outside-in thinking in practice
• Discovering assumptions to drive validations
• Engaging more conservative stakeholders