From Cybersecurity to Storytelling
3 Key Takeaways From BA Digest (Q3 Edition)
Key Takeaways
The Q3 edition of BA Digest showcases the evolving nature of business analysis, with three standout articles offering fresh perspectives:
- Are we all marketers? Jen Thai explores the overlap between marketing and business analysis, emphasizing that both disciplines focus on solving problems, understanding people, and uncovering real needs. Her insights remind us that business analysis is about more than requirements—it's about understanding motivations, frustrations, and context.
- Cyber-aware business analysts: Mark Cross highlights the critical role of business analysis professionals in cybersecurity. By integrating security considerations early—through scoping, stakeholder engagement, and requirements—analysts can help build trust, resilience, and value. Practical techniques, such as modeling adversarial personas and documenting access needs, are key takeaways.
- The art of storytelling: Anastasiia Kraievska underscores the power of storytelling in driving clarity and emotional connection. She shares practical tips, like using metaphors, personal experiences, and humour, to make ideas resonate and inspire action.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect the perspectives of IIBA.
Business analysis is a broad discipline. Just when we think we’ve seen it all, a new challenge pops up (or an old one resurfaces in a different guise). The Q3 edition of BA Digest embraces this breadth and contains seventeen articles on a diverse range of topics.
If you’re short on time, here’s a summary of three.
1. Are We All Marketers?
With the title “OMG, Am I a Marketer?!” Jen Thai’s article immediately grabs attention. She examines the similarities between marketing and business analysis, and it quickly becomes clear that, as business analysis professionals, we’re closer to marketers than we might think.
A key point that Jen makes is that good marketing isn’t about features, it’s about solving problems. Marketers use personas and other techniques to understand what people actually need (not just what they say they want). They ask “why” to get to the real needs. I’m sure this will sound familiar to many business analysis practitioners reading!
She encourages us to consider the overlap between marketing and business analysis when we’re exploring problems and engaging stakeholders. It’s a reminder that our job is about so much more than requirements. A central part of our role is to understand people. That includes understanding their motivations, needs, frustrations, and the context that they work within.
2. Cyber-Aware Business Analysis Practitioners
In “Why the World Needs Cyber-Aware Business Analysts,” Mark Cross highlights that trust is becoming the most valuable currency in today’s digital economy. In a constantly evolving environment, he argues that cybersecurity is no longer someone else’s job; it’s a shared responsibility, and business analysis practitioners have a pivotal role to play.
Mark highlights that many security failures trace back not to a lack of technology, but to subtle gaps in processes, unclear responsibilities, and unexamined assumptions—all areas where business analysis professionals operate. Rather than treating security as a checklist or leaving it to the last minute, he urges analysts to “shift security left,” integrating it into scoping, stakeholder engagement, and requirements from the outset.
More than compliance, it’s about embedding resilience and trust into the DNA of change. Mark also introduces practical techniques for security-aware analysis, from documenting access needs to modelling adversarial personas. By bringing cybersecurity to the table early, we don’t just reduce risk—we protect value, relationships, and reputation.
If this article resonates with you, you’ll also want to check out IIBA’s Cyber Special Interest Group (Cyber SIG) and the Certificate in Cybersecurity Analysis (IIBA-CCA).
3. The Art of Storytelling
We’ve all sat in meetings where ideas fall flat. In “Mastering Storytelling: Why Is It Important for Business Analysts?” Anastasiia Kraievska offers an antidote: the art of storytelling. Her article explores why narrative is such a powerful tool in the analyst’s toolkit and how to use it without needing to be a novelist or keynote speaker.
Anastasiia explains how stories create emotional connection and clarity, which in turn drive decision-making. She shares practical techniques, too. She suggests using metaphors drawn from everyday life, reflecting on personal experiences that humanize your message and selectively using humour (as long as it’s respectful and relatable).
Perhaps most importantly, she reminds us that data alone rarely drives change. People do. And people respond to stories. Storytelling might sound “fluffy,” but it’s a crucial technique that belongs in every business analysis practitioner’s toolkit.
Connecting the Dots
Taken together, these articles paint a clear picture of a profession that’s continually evolving. Today’s business analysis professionals aren’t confined to traditional boundaries. They’re borrowing techniques from adjacent disciplines and adapting their practice to the context they work in. They’re continually developing so that they can offer even greater value to their stakeholders and organizations.
As the discipline evolves, it’s important to stay up to date. Be sure to check out IIBA’s KnowledgeHub for more information and inspiration!
For more thought-provoking articles like the ones mentioned above, download your copy of BA Digest—a free, open-access, quarterly magazine published by Blackmetric packed with real-world business analysis insights and ideas.
About the Author
Adrian Reed is a true advocate of the analysis profession. In his day job, he acts as Principal Consultant at Blackmetric Business Solutions, where he provides business analysis consultancy and training solutions to a range of clients in varying industries. He is editor-in-chief of the quarterly open-access magazine BA Digest, and he speaks internationally on topics relating to business analysis and business change.
