The Big Picture, Tying the Technical Side
and the Business Side Together

A Collaborative Approach to Improve the Requirements Process for Strategic Alignment and Benefits Realization

Metrics from several studies have consistently pointed to the lack of a well-defined and executed requirements process as the root cause for several of the typical problem areas (scope creep, missed milestones, cost overruns) on IT Projects. While the requirements process is typically viewed as an IT centric process, a successful implementation of its practices requires a consistent understanding of the process by teams in IT and in the business areas (clients).

Prem Ranganath, IT Project Manager,NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL

Roll with the Changes: Building a BA Organization in the Midst of a Merger

Company mergers are stressful. Organizations must build the right products and services to maintain both client bases while defining an end-state organization and culture. These are no simple tasks, and are critical to merger success. This talk will focus on best practices used at TD AMERITRADE to merge and integrate the business analyst teams.

Shelley Cudly, Business Analyst Consultant,TD AMERITRADE HOLDING CORPORATION

The Impact of Agile Methods on the Business Community and Culture.

Agile methods are increasingly being adopted by software developers, and the Project Management arm of agile, known as Scrum, is influencing the way we do business while shaping corporate cultures. What can you expect, and how can you take the lead in helping your organization adapt? At this session you'll hear practical explanations of these major areas of change:

-Planning under cyclical software delivery
-Movement towards Strong Matrix teams
-Project and organizational visibility
-Setting customer expectations
-Human Resources and Training support
-Career development and performance assessment for agile team members
-Software development expense and revenue planning

Peter Borsella, PMP, Certified ScrumMaster Trainer, WINNOW MANAGEMENT CORPORATION

Building effective collaboration between the Project Manager, Business Analyst, and other roles

Project Team -- Battleground or Common Ground? Achieving the best results from software development projects requires the collaboration of Project Managers, Business Analysts, Systems Analysts, Database Developers, Software Engineers, Testers, and others. But it can be a challenge to get these people to collaborate without stepping on each others' toes. Learn how Erie Insurance has dealt with these challenges to produce better project results.

Bill Pebley, Section Supervisor- IT Business Consulting,ERIE INSURANCE

End of Day

Day One Track Sessions

Track A:
Core Competencies

Track 1:
Core Competencies for a BA - The IIBA Body Of Knowledge

Track B:
Advancements in Project Management

Track C:
People Side & Leadership

Track 2:
The BA role within the Enterprise

Track D:
Techniques, Tools and Trends

Track 3:
Advancements, Techniques & Trends This Track will be Chaired by IRISE

Track E:
Enterprise

The Big Picture, Tying the Technical Side
and the Business Side Together