In Bulfinch’s Mythology he states that after nine years of military failures to take Troy, the Greek armies were despondent and “resolved to resort to stratagem.” I’ve been on that project! We as business analysts are like Odysseus, coming up with ideas to try to get behind that great walled city and celebrate victory. The project manager for the Trojan War was Agamemnon, focused on the goal of victory but without a sense of how to do it. Surrounding him were his project team: all the armies of Greece, a thousand ships worth, all with different voices and different agendas. We remember the Greek armies as victorious. We remember the Trojan Horse as the final bit of cunning that won the war. But as business analysts we cannot fight a war for nine years. Users, stakeholders, management don’t remember the result, only the amount of pain that it takes us to complete a project. When we have a huge undertaking like the conquest of Troy, special tools can be used to make our success more likely. In this piece, we will focus on three tools that we as Odysseus can use to make the project better. In Part II we will look at ways to help Agamemnon strategize.

Remember Pavlov's experiments with dogs, demonstrating that they could be classically conditioned? With no negative undertone intended, this classical conditioning can provide a very positive effect to readers when used throughout documentation. What I mean by this is, classical conditioning by way of consistency, so the reader understands a document's layout, structure, formatting, terminology, and design so well, that they unconsciously know what is coming next. Using consistency creates a flow for the reader, allowing them to focus more on the requirements and solution design than trying to understand the flow of the document and how the pieces fit together.

This consistency is sometimes difficult to achieve, especially when multiple people are working on the same project, incorporating their own writing and design styles. This inconsistency can be and should be avoided with a single reviewer, or by creating and adhering to a set of consistency "best practices." The following can easily be used to start creating this set of "best practices" for large teams, or even for a single-BA-shop looking for document standardization:

Experience is king. Attempting to perform a task, learning from your mistakes, and applying new learned ideas and strategies to solving the next challenge is not unique to being a business analyst (BA). While hands-on learning is one of the best ways to accumulate BA knowledge, picking up (and reading) a BA-related book has to be a close second. Reading gives the BA a way to learn new ideas from other experienced professionals who have been through the battles before and can point out common pitfalls and mistakes to avoid. Below are some of the books that have helped me most during my career as a business analyst.

Who in your organization is a great BA?  What Business Analyst do you know who loves what they do and are amazing at it?  Who is your Super BA? In good spirit nominate your favorite BA by submitting entries to the BA Collective. To elect your candidate send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it in the subject line state ‘(candidate’s name) BA of the Year Nomination’. Also in the email state why you feel your candidate is an amazing BA and what attributes makes them the Business Analyst of the Year!  The BA Collective panel will evaluate nominees based on the quality of the information provided. There is no fee associated with nominating a candidate or in being honored as a recipient. The deadline for nominations is May 31st 2008.  The nominator of the selected Business Analyst of the Year 2007 will be given $50.00 gift certificate to Best Buy.  So nominate your Super BA today!