Underlying Competencies - A Blog Series
Part Six - Tools and Technology
By Retta Witter, Senior Consultant, J. Geiger Consulting, Inc.
This week’s blog is number six in the series, Underlying Competencies, and will focus on Tools and Technology (International Institute of Business Analysis, 2015, pp. 211 - 215). The plan is for the series to culminate in an evening roundtable for attendees to discuss their thoughts and share ideas related to Underlying Competencies. If there are questions you have for the discussion or would like to participate, please email me or place them in the comments.
The Interactive Skills competency contains three core sub-competencies:
Office Productivity Tools & Technology
Business Analysis Tools & Technology
Communication Tools & Technology
“Some of the most recognizable tools and technologies that we used today are those that fall into the office productivity category.”
Office Productivity Tools & Technology
Some of the most recognizable tools and technologies that we used today are those that fall into the office productivity category. Examples include word processing, presentation and spreadsheet software products to name a few.
A newer workplace tool— and one that I find to be the most different and/or modern from client to client— is what I would categorize as a knowledge management application. More commonly, these are robust software products used within an organization to maintain Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) documentation and work instructions in digital format. Similarly, internal Wiki pages, corporate intranet sites and other file storage type structures are readily used in modern workplace settings for maintaining digital information with increased productivity.
Business Analysis Tools & Technology
Tools in the Business Analysis domain tend to be nicely aligned to the BA function. Common types of BA tools include those used for modeling, diagraming and documentation. The IIBA has 50 techniques that many of the business analysis tools and technologies reference.
One technique that I’m currently using for my latest adventure, outdoor winter camping, is mind mapping. I’m finding that mind-mapping is a great way to visually organize my requirements and decompose them into smaller, more more actionable bits. I may also be doing some prototyping— another technique— of a candle terracotta heater to see if I can keep my tent warm!
One of the more compelling types of tools that I use on just about any project helps me keeps track of requirements, tasks and bugs…but that’s not all. Project management applications are the swiss army knives of many projects as they support a variety of critical activities from keeping track of project status (burn-down, budget, etc.) to facilitating communication with decision-makers.
Communication Tools & Technology
These are tools and communication mediums we use everyday in both home and work life. Examples include digital calendars, instant messaging and…blogs!
More recently as working remotely has become the norm for many of us so has the use of digital collaboration tools. Collaboration tools include video conferencing applications, portals for managing real time team activities and the like. As collaboration has grown increasingly digital, so has our ability to continue working in team settings in the face of challenges like COVID.
As a reminder, this series culminates in an evening roundtable event for attendees to discuss their thoughts and share knowledge around Underlying Competencies. If there are questions you have for the discussion or would like to participate, please email me or place them in the comments.
Webinar registration available here!
Thus concludes the Underlying Competencies blog series. Looking forward to seeing you at the roundtable event!
Bibliography
International Institute of Business Analysis. (2015). BABOK A GUIDE TO THE BUSINESS ANALYSIS BODY OF KNOWLEDGE (Vol. V3). Toronto, Ontario, Canada.: IIBA