In anticipation of his presentation at Building Business Capability in Vegas, Nov. 2 – 6, 2015, we asked Hans Eckman, GVP, Security Services Workstream Manager, at SunTrust Banks, Inc., a few questions about pursuing business excellence. Check out his interview in relation to his BBC presentation entitled BA:  First Line of Defense Against A Security Breach.

Q: How is your organization advancing the pursuit of business excellence and how does it impact your business units/departments?

A: One of the biggest areas is with our enterprise innovations team.  The group has sponsored a number of programs and products which are having strong, measurable impacts across the organization.  For example with our “Gauntlet” challenge program, grassroots teams developed business ideas and a business case.  Teams were narrowed, and then funded through a Shark Tank like event.  The four funded teams are projected to deliver $20 million in revenue/savings for an investment of under $500,000.  We also launched a “Thank You Cards” app from last year’s “Rise” hackathon which averages 5,000 cards sent per week.

Q: Can you describe the challenges you face or have already overcome in establishing a more cohesive and productive company or organization?

A: Operating in a highly regulated and low margin industry works counter to innovation and improvement.  Teams are used to operating under conservative decisions.  We’ve been able to demonstrate over the last year that fundamental change and great ideas can come from our existing teams.

Q: What are your near term goals for creating a more agile organization at your business or company?

A: We are introducing “2 Speed IT” in teams where Agile is not used.  The goal is to directly connect business units with development teams to search for quick wins that can avoid the long, regulated release schedule.  We’ve also focused on minimum viable products within teams to help see immediate benefits when larger changes are not feasible.

Q: What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned in 2015 thus far? What’s the most important goal/trend for [pick one or two: business analysts, business architects, business process managers and/or business rules managers] to keep in mind?

A: Watching the change in perception with grassroots team and senior executives has been invigorating.  There is a new confidence and bright outlook within the organization that did not start from the top.  Our leadership has embraced and supported these changes which provide further validation for the teams.

Business Architecture is where Business Analysis was 20 years ago.  We are just now seeing the role being leveraged in organizations.  The value of aligning business capabilities to business goals and enterprise architecture will give organizations a strategic advantage and increase ROI over the next five years.

Q: What’s the latest method/process/tool you have implemented to help your organization or business run more efficiently and effectively?

A: I’m sure a lot of organizations are jumping on a tool or methodology bandwagon.  All the tools and techniques an organization needs to innovate already exist.  The challenge is getting people to adopt and leverage these tools.  Many teams continue to fail the most important rule of improvement: Simplify and automate any process that does not require a decision; get the right information to the right people at the right time when a decision is needed.

Q: If you could give your five-years-ago self-insight and advice about this industry, what would you say? 

A: Seriously, the financial crisis will really be over, and recovery in full swing.  The last crisis was more serious and dangerous than almost anyone living could remember.  It could take another decade for many people and businesses to recover, if they ever do.  The biggest challenge that appeared 5 years ago, and continues today, is that we just don’t need as many people working to maintain our current economy.  Many people are going to have to develop skills in high needs areas to remain competitive.

Q: Sneak preview: Please tell us a take-away that you will provide during your talk at Building Business Capability?

A: After three years managing a delivery team aligned to our client and internal security groups, I will be providing a strong overview of the critical issues and terms that everyone in IT needs to be aware of.  Most people think their current security knowledge  is the tip of the iceberg, but I discovered my domain knowledge was closer to an ice cube.  For example, how many BAs know the difference between course and fine grain entitlements in the applications they are defining?  What are the greatest threats to your data security (hint, it’s not technology)?  What about records retention?  Adaptive authentication vs challenge response? I believe attendees will leave with a solid foundation in the security space that can be transferred to their daily work.

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Don’t miss Hans’ presentation, BA:  First Line of Defense Against A Security Breach, at Building Business Capability on Wednesday, November 4, 2015 from 10:25 to 11:25 am. Click here to register for attendance.