BBC 2017 Speaker Series – Practitioner:  Pardeep Dhanda, Vice President-Head of the Business Analysis Practice at Deutsche Bank

In anticipation of his presentation at Building Business Capability in Orlando, Nov. 6-10, 2017, we asked Pardeep Dhanda, Vice President-Head of the Business Analysis Practice at Deutsche Bank, a few questions about transforming the business. Check out this interview in relation to his BBC presentation entitled, Creating an Ecosystem for a Successful Global BA Community of Practice.

Q: In what ways do you see your group helping your organization handle business transformation?

A: Agility is a key differentiator for large organizations and it is a topic that I have been particularly interested in since my days at British Telecom back in 2003. We have made Agile coaching a key focus for our Business Analysis Community of Practice.

Q: Can you describe the challenges you face or have already overcome in establishing more robust business transformation capabilities for your organization?

A: Cultural change is the biggest obstacle when trying to roll-out new ways of doing things. Balancing speed and governance can be a challenge if the two are not aligned.

Q: What are your short-term goals for becoming more agile?

A: Raising awareness of Agile across both Technology, but more importantly, across the business should be the first priority. Organizations often forget to take their business stakeholders on the Agile journey which can lead to a disconnect.

Q: What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned in the past year?

A: Think big and don’t underestimate the impact you can make. This past year I have had the privilege to present at a number of events and conferences including Romania and Austria. I have also had the opportunity to establish a vibrant IIBA Branch in my local area, and now will be presenting at the largest Business Analysis conference in the world.

Q: What do you see as the most important goal or trend for business analysts and other professionals to keep in mind?

A: Rather than highlight a specific trend or technological breakthrough, I would say Business Analysts should have the mind set of being flexible and able to adapt to change. I particularly like Darwin’s quote, “it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself”.

Q: What’s the latest method/process/tool you’ve implemented to help your business operate more effectively? Have you seen any results yet?

A: We have recently implemented a strategic requirements management tool across the organization to standardize the way we manage requirements. It is still early days, but the feedback from many of the teams and stakeholders has been extremely positive.

Q: If you could go back 5 years in time and give some professional insight or advice to yourself, what would it be?

A: I wish I had discovered organizations such as the IIBA much sooner. In the short time that I have played an active role in the IIBA I have built up a large network with like-minded individuals and discovered a forum to bounce ideas.

Q: What’s one question you wished you were asked in this interview but were not? And how would you answer?

A: Maybe why have I devoted my career to the Business Analysis profession? Business Analysis has allowed me to understand many different industries and business domains and I cannot think of any other role in IT that would have allowed me to develop such a deep understanding. It is the one role that offers you a golden ticket to walk up to anyone within your organization and be able to ask them to explain their work without being turned away.

Q: Sneak preview: Please tell us a take-away that you will provide during your talk at the Building Business Capability (BBC) conference this year?

A: I always strive to be different when delivering presentations and give the audience an experience they won’t forget in a hurry. I won’t give any specifics away, but will say to anyone attending my session, don’t forget your dancing shoes!

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Don’t miss Pardeep’s presentation, Creating an Ecosystem for a Successful Global BA Community of Practice, at Building Business Capability on Thursday, November 9, 2017 from 9:00 to 10:00 am. Click here to register for attendance.