BA Lens | November 2019 Issue

This latest issue of BA Lens looks at two new practice areas IIBA is focusing our attention on to address the changing digital landscape and growth of in-demand BA roles and evolving skillsets.

Sitting down with four influencers in cybersecurity we share the first of a two-part roundtable discussion on the state of cybersecurity and the role of a business analyst. IIBA is launching a cybersecurity practice and this article lays the foundation for this new direction making Cybersecurity: A Critical Priority for BAs to Understand essential reading.

Agile is always top of mind and in this issue, we sit down with Ryland Leyton, a veteran technology professional and contributor to the Agile Extension v2 and an author and speaker who loves to inspire, to learn more about the three planning horizons – strategy, initiative and delivery in Understanding the Planning Horizons. If you are a member of an agile team you will be interested in our next practice launch to be released where we will be focusing on product ownership and the product owner role. In this article, Best Practices to Succeed in the Role of Product Owner guest contributor Emily Midgley, an agile coach, CBAP holder, and president of IIBA’s Cleveland Chapter shares her recommended best practices based on her experience implementing big data and mobile apps to increase the enterprise focus on customer value. You can also check out our recent IIBA podcast dedicated to exploring the new customer and read about The Changing Customer where we explore the influential role BAs play in the digital space. Continuing to focus on the customer we share the latest data science whitepaper in the series from Accenture. Hyper-personalizing the Travel Experience, looks at how the travel industry is working to alleviate the worries of a high-anxiety travel experience through hyper-personalization where the customer is at the centre of each decision.

We’re excited about the new practices and certification resources in development for agile and cybersecurity career paths. Continuous learning and skills development are critical to your personal success however you define that in your career plan. Guest contributor Brian Cameron, PhD, Associate Dean for Professional Graduate Programs and Strategic Director, Center for Enterprise Architecture at Smeal College of Business, The Pennsylvania State University explores the importance of ongoing learning in this article, Lifelong Learning for the Business Architecture Professional. An interesting finding from our 2019 IIBA Global Business Analysis Salary Survey showed that 36% of respondents choose certification to increase their confidence at work highlighting that ongoing learning is not just about your career path but can also be focused on your personal growth. Inside this issue of BA Lens, we unveil some highlights from this year’s salary survey infographic and report. Note, this year the report broke out some of the regional results by specific countries and expanded our focus on BA competencies with insights on BA work in agile, cybersecurity, data analytics and digital.