In anticipation of his presentation at Building Business Capability in Vegas, Nov. 2 – 6, 2015, we asked Jon Cheah, Business Analyst Manager at ANZ, a few questions about pursuing business excellence. Check out his interview in relation to their BBC co-presentation entitled The Business Analysis Fast Track.

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

A: ANZ is focussed onsimplification and streamlined delivery, and we use a range of delivery methodologies – including adapting Agile principles – as appropriate for our business.

The impact to our business?

We’re driving a mindset of professionalism and an increased focus on how we work together efficiently;the removal of prescriptive processes allows us to use our judgement for the situation, and failure is acceptable in order to learn.

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

A: OurBAs were working in silos, disconnected from the rest of the team. We solved this with a team-based working approach, which also increased productivity. We opted for colocation of our BAs, even when we’re on different projects. We’ve also brought together different BA Communities within the ank to encourage collaboration, regardless of organisational structures.

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

A: Team-based delivery allows us to be more responsive. By tackling smaller projects using Agile methodology, we’re able to make changes and realise benefits quickly. We’ve also seen how, when we work this way, BAs can expose project bottlenecks early, address them and help keep projects moving forward without lengthy delays.

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: We’ve been increasingly very focussed on the professionalism of our team. We talk about ensuring that we demonstrate that every day in the work we do. Our role and our contribution is becoming better defined year on year – and this allows us to position ourselves firmly in that context. You can see the trend towards industry standard professionalism emerging, with professional certifications a requirement in an increasing percentage of  job ads.

It’s critical, to achieve the best outcomes, that our voice gets heard at all levels of the organisation. Some of the best ideas are generated when under pressure and in the thick of project delivery – we can achieve more than you think.

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

A: Fast track. It’s what we’ll be presenting – come and listen to our story!

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

A: Polish your shoes

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

A: The power of the BA – it can deliver amazing results for the business.

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Don’t miss Jon’s presentation, The Business Analysis Fast Track, at Building Business Capability on Wednesday, November 4, 2015 from 10:25 to 11:25 am. Click here to register for attendance.