With the UK going into lockdown this week, I thought I’d list some of my favourite BA resources here. I’ll continue to revisit this page and add to it – recommendations welcome.
Virtual Meet-ups & Events
IIBA UK
Th International Institute of Business Analysts (IIBA) is the membership organisation for business analysts in the UK and is run entirely by volunteers. They’re an independent body, run by business analysts for business analysts.
The IIBA team host a pack calendar of events all year round, but seems to be doing more than usual (virtually).
Checkout their full list of events here: https://www.iibauk.org/events
BA Slash (BA/)
A great new meet-up perfectly timed for locked down, running on Zoom. Their first couple of events look great:
- 29th April: An Introduction to ‘Lightening Decision Jams’
- 27th May: An Intro to Business Architecture & its relevance to Business Analysis
The team always make their recordings and content publicly available after the events, so certainly one to bookmark.
Online Learning
AssistKD
The team at AssistKD, the people behind the Business Analysts Managers Forum, have some great free video content available on their website. They have new videos on everything from:
- Rich Pictures
- Enterprise Architecture
- Agile and much more!
They also off some free-learning course including :
- Introduction to Agile Systems Development
- Creative Problem Solving
- Facilitation Skills and
- Presentation Skills and more
Podcasts
IIBA Global
IIBA podcast series, hosted by BA Times, brings together leaders from a wide range of business analysis disciplines to share stories, tips, and advice.
Mastering Business Analysis
This incredible podcast, blog and resource by Dave Saboe is a must. Marketed at the “key to leveling up your skills and advancing your career” could be just what you need to use you time in lockdown for the best.
Books
Tribal Unity by Em Campbell-Pretty
I tell everyone to read this book. While you’ll get loads out of it if you are working in Agile, especially SAFe, Tribal Unity: Getting from Teams to Tribes, is really about scaling culture and leading people in a smart and effective way.
Agile and Business Analysis: Practical guidance for IT professionals by Lynda Girvan and Debra Paul
I’m a real fan of the authors of this book and so it’s easy to recommend Agile and Business Analysis. The reviews speak for themselves:
- “This book is invaluable to anyone undertaking agile analysis, illustrating that by using new techniques to supplement and extend the BA toolkit, and adopting a “just enough, just in time” philosophy, a truly agile delivery approach can be supported.”
- “The complex world of Agile made relevant for BAs.”
Featured photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash