In anticipation of her presentation at Building Business Capability in Vegas, Oct 31, – Nov. 4, 2016, we asked Racquel Ellis, Senior Business Analyst at The JMMB Group, a few questions about pursuing business excellence. Check out her interview in relation to her BBC presentation entitled, Client Journey Mapping: What’s That Got to Do with Business Analysts.

Q: In what ways do you see your group helping your organization pursue business excellence?

A:  By providing affected stakeholders with the impact of the change on the business model (clients, team members, external clients and regulators, infrastructure (technological & physical) so that they can make the most appropriate decision as prioritization of the change for commitment of human and financial resources in moving from the current to the desired/future state.

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

A:  I work as part of a team of business analysts in the Change Support Services department of a financial institution.  Our sub-unit is called Change Design.  Some of the challenges we face are:  organizing ourselves to respond effectively to the dynamic pace at which change occurs; permeating the nature of the change throughout the organization so that there is alignment and partnership with our stakeholders in assessing and implementing the change; and working in such a way to always demonstrate the value of business analysis to the success of the organization.

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

A:  I am a certified in the Agile SCRUM framework and am also a certified Agile/SCRUM Product Owner.  My short term goals for becoming more agile is finding opportunities, as I work to utilize the principles of agile. This includes discussing requirements with stakeholders while they are being developed and not wait until a full requirements document is developed and focusing on the meeting my clients’ need accord to their preferred way of communication instead of flooding them with lengthy documents.

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

A:  That being a business analyst requires that you adopt a posture of being someone of “no reputation”.  I don’t mean that you are worthless but it is important that you are someone that does not take things personally when stakeholders express their frustration or even their opinion that they do not see the value that a BA brings.  As a BA it is more important to hear the “heart” of your client even when the words that they speak are not easy to bear.  The way in which you collaborate with your stakeholders to demonstrate that you value their needs and will work to facilitate the meeting of that need through varying techniques and competencies will always speak for itself.  It can get a little rough but hang in there and keep being the consummate professional, eventually your stakeholders will agree that you are who they need!

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

A:  The most important trend for BAs/other professionals to bear in mind is that client needs are changing rapidly, resulting in a corresponding rapid rate of business change.  Consequently, we need to become increasingly able to remain flexible and collaborate with stakeholders to implement solutions that will firstly motivate our clients to do business with us and secondly position the organizations with which we work in the center of the industry in such a way that they cannot be ignored – clients want to do business with us and other business strive to become like us.

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: Template for documenting business requirements and the impact of change in a structured manner using visuals and text.  With respect to results, to some extent, users of the template find that it succinctly frames the people, system and quality of service requirements of the change to facilitate better decision making.  Right now I am preparing to propose requirement management software to more effectively manage our work and respond to change.

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

A:  Don’t rely on work experience solely to develop your craft. Completing formal courses and obtaining relevant certification demonstrates that you understand the rudiments of your craft and are able to show the value of that learning regardless of the type of task.

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

A:  Why did you choose the field of business analysis?  It chose me.  I enjoy working with others to bring about effective change and the business analysis field through its principles, techniques and breadth of coverage provides that opportunity to work with stakeholders at all levels of the organization to do this.  Not only that, the learning transcends work life and proves to be effective in my personal life and non-work related activities of which I am a part.   One of my dreams for business analysis in Jamaica and the Caribbean region is That I will be a part of the team of BAs to spearhead and maintain a vibrant BA Chapter that offers training and practical support to BAs with respect to how to partner with stakeholders to bring about sustainable change.

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:  That client satisfaction is paramount to business excellence and regardless of where we sit in our organizations as BAs, Client Journey Mapping is a significant tool that we can take advantage of to deliver solutions that will help to realize the intended value, as well as prevent re-work and lengthy delays.

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Don’t miss Racquel’s presentation, Client Journey Mapping: What’s That Got to Do with Business Analysts, at Building Business Capability on Thursday, November 3, 2016 from 3:0 to 4:20 pm. Click here to register for attendance.