In anticipation of her presentation at Building Business Capability in Vegas, Nov. 2 – 6, 2015, we asked Laura Brandenburg, President at Bridging the Gap, a few questions about pursuing business excellence. Check out her interview in relation to her BBC presentation entitled, The Tricky, Icky, Sticky Stuff:  How to Drive Successful Project Outcomes Using Business Analyst Techniques.

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

A: At Bridging the Gap, we are advancing the pursuit of business excellence by training the next generation of business analysts to apply practical approaches that add tremendous value to their projects and organizations.

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

A: One challenge all businesses face is maintaining an integrated set of products and services while evolving those same offerings.  It’s important to step back regularly and evaluate how what you do works together from a customer perspective.

At Bridging the Gap, we are retooling our course delivery model to better meet participant needs while also updating all of our course content to align with the latest industry standards and integrate well together.

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

A: We’ve always taken to heart the concept of launch and adjust and incorporated customer feedback into the improvements we make to our products and courses. Currently, we’re experimenting with new ways to get customer feedback as part of the course design and creation process.

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: What I’m seeing is that more and more talented professionals are seeking positions in the business analysis profession or more formally embracing the business analysis aspects of their roles. They are attracted by the salary reports, rising role of business analysts inside organizations, and career potential. Continually evolving and expanding your business analysis skill set will be key to staying relevant.

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

A: We’re in the midst of scoping out a transition to a new customer and order management system. The implementation of this system will eliminate many manual data entry tasks and provide a more seamless experience for our readers and customers.

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

A: Business analysis as a profession is going to grow in a way you can’t possibly imagine. There will be more energy, more community, more learning, and more changes than you expect. Keep an open mind and never stop learning!

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

A:My talk is all about how to work through the tricky, icky, sticky challenges that business analysts face on projects. An underlying theme will be how to get stakeholders more engaged in the analysis process by sneaking analysis techniques in under the radar.

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Don’t miss Laura’s presentation, The Tricky, Icky, Sticky Stuff:  How to Drive Successful Project Outcomes Using Business Analyst Techniques, at Building Business Capability on Thursday, November 5, 2015 from 8:00 to 8:50 am. Click here to register for attendance.