My Daily Thoughts
A key principle in creating your personal book of knowledge is to create connections. Connections allow you to find the information in the future. Connections
The biggest creation you will create in life is your life. Treat your life as you would treat any major undertaking. You would want to
A personal book of knowledge (PBOK) has two high level steps. People usually focus on the first step and ignore the second step until it
To have a new life you need to become a new person. Being a new person is based on changing your practice. Follow a new
Work breakdown structures (WBS) are for project managers to help in managing time and scope. The contribution that a business analyst makes to WBS is
Modeling is a key tool for business analysts. A picture is worth a thousand words. If a requirement is written in 20 words, a picture
One thing that business analysts always have to deal with is chaos. The chaos comes in many forms: Understanding complicated domains Understanding large volumes of
One lesson I learned from data modeling is whether you are modeling entities or attributes, they only have one definition. I have generalized that to
Today is my 500th post. Creating these short little posts is now part of my life. I have a rhythm and it gives me an
There exists a set of traits for effective requirements. According to the IIBA effective requirements have the following traits. Cohesive: The requirement defines a single
Your legacy at the end of your life is the experiences you have had and the lessons you have learned. Your journaling practice should reflect
When creating your PBOK always keep the taxonomy and structure in mind. The most important function of your PBOK is retrieving data. If the data
In any project open and honest communication is important. When all involved stakeholders know and understand all aspects of a project everyone can be aligned
One thing the pandemic will change is how we work. Remote work and hybrid work models are going to be the norm. For many jobs,
It is important to keep track of technologies that have exponential change. These technologies can make a significant impact on the quality of your life
With the proliferation of cloud solutions, I feel there is a new step in the traditional current state, future state, gap approach. There will always
User acceptance testing answers the question can businesses create the business outcomes they are looking for efficiently with the solution. The system may work exactly
The one resource you cannot create more of is time. Everyone has 24 hours in a day, no more no less. Since we cannot create
Change does not have to be big and sudden. Small changes consistently over time can result in massive change. If you get 1/2 a percent
Business analysis is an art. There is no set approach or technique that is going to work in every situation. It is up to the
The role of the project manager is to make decisions to move the project forward. Therefore the role of the business analyst is to supply
One practice I have is to journal my principles. By principles, I simply mean rules for life. Some of these rules are simple and some
I find in our busy day-to-day lives that we forget many of the experiences we have. We have the opportunity to increase our fulfillment in
February 2022 Monthly Review What went well? I have been doing an experiment for journaling 5 items I learn every day into my FIT framework.
To create great outcomes our day-to-day focus needs to be on the steps and the process to the outcome not on the outcome. It is
The key to having opposing or contradictory ideas in your head is to realize that every idea has a probability of being right. There are
The life you have is a reflection of the value that you create. Focus on creating a life that is efficient. We all have the
There are four steps for an effective PBOK practice. Step 1: Trigger Adding to your PBOK is a habit and every habit should have a
Discovery is fundamental in your personal book of knowledge. The easier it is to discover what is in your PBOK and what interconnections are in
Typically when we think of financial independence we think about having a large enough sum of money that allows us not to work anymore. It
When we know what to do next we don’t need to think of what to do next. When we don’t have to think of what
The balance between how long to reflect on something and when to take action is key on moving your life forward. Not enough reflection and
Imagining an ideal life is easy. Imagining an ideal life that is congruent with who you are is not easy. In order to know if
There are some key gates where the entry criteria to go through the gate are very important. In my mind, the key gates are initiation,
There are many times in an engagement when a business analyst has to create organization. This could be organizing requirements, test cases, test results, client
One use of your personal book of knowledge (PBOK) is to increase your efficiency to increase your productivity. This is accomplished by documenting your process
Imagine your ideas being a jar full of marbles where each marble represents one of your ideas. While the marbles are in the jar you
When introduced to a new domain I find the best approach is to look for overall models/patterns/themes to understand the new domain. Test the models
When you are creating, whether it is writing, landscaping, business, artistic, it is always better to start big and work your way down to the
We all know what we should do, we know the objectives that move us ahead. It is important to document those objectives, but don’t move
Journaling takes time, effort, skill, and practice. For journaling you require good organization otherwise whatever you write will be hard to find. For journaling, you
Today was an embarrassing day. While walking the dog this morning a slipped on the ice and fell and hit my head. Luckily for me,
As a Business Analyst, we are not there to make decisions. We are there to help the client understand the decisions they are making and
An entrepreneur can learn a lot about creating a business from building a fire. To build a fire you need two perspectives, what the fire
My 7 step process for becoming more efficient Determine the outcome I want to produce. I try to be very specific in defining the outcome.
When setting and achieving goals one important step is to make the goal important. This is an easy step at the beginning, but once the
When creating start with the smallest complete version you can create. Having that version that is complete in itself allows you to start the process
Your personal book of knowledge contains all the knowledge and wisdom you possess. The knowledge can be categorized into five domains. Life Experiences is your
The best way of knowing how well you understand something is to write it. Writing forces you to explain your thoughts in an organized way.
When creating your personal body of knowledge system a key principle is to reduce any friction that slows down your thinking. A tool for supporting
You have one life. Focus on being happy Build choice in life. The more choice you have the more opportunities you will have to be
What went well? My daily blogging practice is still going strong. Refining my planner templates based on my yearly review What didn’t go well? Still
One of my life principles is to be always growing. In whatever you engage in life, do it with the mindset of growth. Try to
The discover, analyze, innovate, communicate paradigm can be applied to continuous improvement. Discover In the Discover phase you explore, discover, and identify your processes. What
Optimizing your roadmap consists of 7 steps Determine exactly where it is you want to go or the outcome you want to create. Find many
Business analysts are guides. We guide people to implement a change and then we move on to the next initiative. All we walk away with
When working on complex issues and complex solutions one approach that helps is to continually simplify. Create a model to represent the concept and continually
If you are worried you have nothing to say you or you don’t feel that you stand out, you are focused on outcomes rather than
To measure user experience (UX) you need to understand the stakeholder journey. To understand the stakeholder journey you need to understand what the stakeholder is
When you are creating a startup or a side hustle you should be your first customer. If you would not be a customer then you
A question that doesn’t get asked enough is Why? Why should be asked until we get to the facts. Most times the answer to why
I have a tendency to not remember things that have happened. For me, a big part of my gratitude practice is remembering what has happened.
Some tips for patience as a business analyst Give stakeholders time to come to their own conclusions Don’t be quick to try to figure out
The first key for creating strong objectives is to have clarity in your objectives. Clarity consists of knowing exactly what needs to be done and
Mindset is a skill in the same way that courage is a skill. Understanding that courage is taking action while feeling your fears is one
Three core components of your personal book of knowledge (PBOK) are input, output, and retrieval. The combination of these three will define your PBOK framework.
Create your objectives based on your capabilities. If your objectives are too difficult based on your capabilities there is a chance you will give up.
Measuring your objectives is a key principle to achieving your objectives. The better you can measure your progress towards completing an objective, the better you
The second Friday in January is called quitter’s day. It is the day that New Year’s Resolutions are given up on. The mindset in play
Awareness is a key element in creating habits. Understanding your progress, understanding what holds you back or what inspires you all contribute to determining how
The ultimate reason for creating habits is to create the life you desire. When you have a well-defined vision for your life that is inspiring
When setting up your plan for developing your habits, include components for reducing friction. The less energy you require to start a habit, the more
Creating habits follows the same pattern for creating anything. 1. Create a plan for what you are creating 2. Execute the plan 3. Reflect on
The belief that you can form a new habit is key to forming the habit. This belief is a belief in a growth mindset. A
Creating new habits or keeping up with existing habits is not always easy. Treating your habits as a practice is a perspective that makes creating
When your daily activities that make up your practice become second nature, your practice becomes your flow. When all of your attention can be on
One view of an ideal day is; an ideal day is a day where you executed your practice well. It doesn’t matter if you got
The idea of a practice is to set up your life like a sports practice. A sports practice has a series of activities that help
As a business analyst, one capability that is very important is the ability to learn a new domain. All aspects of the domain need to
Microlearning is learning one little thing at a time. If you have a good documentation and organization system microlearning grows into something significant. If you
A key capability for business analysts is the ability to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. The bigger picture can mean
My focus for 2022 is on process. I have a defined practice and I hold the belief that if I carry out that practice the
What went well? My daily blogging practice is still going strong. I had the week after Christmas off which allowed me a lot of time
A few things I have learned in 20201 Focus on the process and let the outcomes take care of themselves. Take the time to learn
In terms of where the world is at I sense that we are in a bit of a lull. There are many pursuits that may
When you are young you get a lot of advice for saving, investing, going to school, getting a good job, and on and on. What
Planning for the future begins with the present. Where we are now. The more precise the starting point the more effective you will be at
The focus of Christmas is giving. The natural result of giving is the creation and building of relationships. I see this unfold every boxing day.
Merry Christmas! It is my wish that everyone is enjoying Christmas day with friends and family.
The core of Christmas is giving. As a parent, the giving part of Christmas takes on a larger meaning. There is no greater feeling than
Habits are what we can repeatedly do. That makes habits the same as processes. As a process, the steps of a habit can be documented.
One way of living our values is to remove the opposite. Some of my values are health, exploration, and freedom. If I reflect on the
The biggest asset you have for creating the energy and drive to pursue your dreams is your current state. When you look at your current
Planning for the new year starts with understanding overall themes and patterns. One of those patterns is how to treat days and weeks. When do
When creating your life plan for 2022 and beyond don’t forget about yourself. Who are you? What do you want to be? Who do you
Planning for the new year requires you to take several different views. One of those views is the experience view. What are the experiences you
This is the time of year for planning for 2022. Another perspective for planning for the future is accomplishments. What do you want to achieve
When planning your life path for the future, whether that is for 2022 or further out into the future, don’t forget to reflect on what
This is the time of year for planning for 2022. One perspective that should always be used to plan for the future is the financial
Freedom is being in a state where you can do what you want when you want. To have that type of freedom you need a
For every activity you engage in, take the time to figure out what the one focus is. If there is more than one focus, split
Subjective planning consists of goals and objectives where you know when you have achieved them but you cannot put a concrete number to it. If
The first thing I do when planning for the new year is to figure out how I want to feel. What are all of the
A focus on decoupling helps keep any system more manageable, agile, maintainable, flexible, adaptable. When a system is not decoupled, one component affects another. This
As a business analyst, when you are on an engagement, take the time to understand the stakeholders and what their input would be on potential
There are an infinite number of pieces to the puzzle of life. Some people put together the big pieces. Some people put together little pieces.
As a business analyst, we are the guide to help clients through the journey of a change. To be an effective guide we need to
When in difficult situations take the time to understand the situations from different perspectives. When deciding on a course of action, choose the path that
For most of us here in Canada the big components of our financial plan are our house mortgage, our TFSA, and our RRSP. A good
As a business analyst when dealing with design or definitions the approach of generic then specific is helpful. Come up with a generic approach or
As a business analyst, one of your roles is to help the client make good decisions. There are times when you will determine that the
On a project, it is critical that all stakeholders understand their roles and the approach the project is taking. Understanding how all the different roles
When you are creating something complex, rather than figuring out how to do it once, take several rounds to figure out how to do it.
November 2021 Monthly Review What went well? My daily blogging practice is still going strong. November was another very good month for investing. I have
The root of gratitude is recognizing the specialness of a situation. You are grateful for things and experiences because you feel they are rare. Understanding
My views as a business analyst on project managers. A good project manager moves forward with the intention the plan will work but will change
Two concepts that I feel should be better understood are causation and correlation. Causation is where an action causes the outcome or the secondary state.
There are times when trying to determine the root cause of an issue that the root cause cannot be found. The issue or the environment
A few days ago I wrote about creating simple habits. The structure of habits is the idea of creating a set of those simple habits
One way to view planning is to think of the activity of hiking. Your days represent the steps you take on the hike. This is
The stock market has performed extremely well this year. The gains I have in the market now make me fear that I might lose them.
One investment you can make to accelerate your path to your dream life is investing in simple habits. A simple habit is a habit that
We all have within us the seeds of greatness. We need to create an environment for those seeds to grow. The environment that will allow
As a business analyst, you are taking your client on a journey to implement a change. As the guide, make sure your client knows what
A process model is a visual picture of business activities. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, a lot more information about a business
What is included on a requirements list is based on why you need the requirements list in the first place. It could be as simple
Before you can determine what the deliverables are for a future state you need to ask the question of why is the future state being
Before you can determine what the deliverables are for current state analysis you need to ask the question of why the current state analysis is
One perspective for business analysts to take is to focus on deliverables. Any business analyst engagement is focused on making a change, whether this is
Thinking forwards and back is a strategy for analyzing problems there is no apparent solution for. Determining the solution starts with identifying the current state,
The reason for creating a budget is to maximize the amount of happiness and fulfillment in your life. There are two key questions when creating
Keys for a life financial plan Key 1: – Your life financial plan goes from now until you are 100 years old Key 2: –
Remembrance day is a day to remember all the individuals who sacrificed themselves so that we enjoy the freedom we have. What are we willing
Every conclusion you come to has a story behind it. The story of what led to the conclusion is important. What were the experiences, who
Writing the stories of the important events in your life is important for two reasons. The first reason is that if we don’t write them
Reflective stories are based on experiences that make us think. There are many different ways an experience can make us think. The experience can be
Value stories are centered around an “being” value. In life, you have two types of values, things you value, and ways of feelings you value.
Star stories are an ideal way to describe experiences for interviews. A star story consists of four parts. The first part is the situation. In
One perspective that gives insight into your niche and your clients is the difference between creators and consumers. Creators see things from a top-down view,
As a person is on their life journey they provide value to society. Everyone should leave the world a little better than before. I see
As an entrepreneur, I see two different types of companies in the future. They are providers and implementers. Providers create the tools, platforms, software, that
When thinking about your practice you can think of it as a ritual or a rhythm. Once the process of doing (ritual/rhythm) becomes ingrained, you
It has now been a year where I have posted every day. Here are a few of the things that I have learned. When I
What went well? My daily blogging practice is still going strong. October was a very good month for investing. I have incorporated automatic daily questions