Abstract

Business Analysts: Chart Your Path to Success with Creative Solutions to Complex Business Problems! Business in the 21st century is rife with complexity. To leverage that complexity and guide an organization through these turbulent times, today’s business analyst must transition from a tactical, project-focused role to a creative, innovative role. The path to this transition—and the tools to accomplish it—are presented in this new book by acclaimed author Kathleen “Kitty“ Hass. Winner of PMI’s David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award for her book Managing Complex Projects: A New Model, Hass has again written a book that will refocus a discipline. Hass believes that only by confronting and capitalizing on change and complexity—the new “constants” in today’s world—can organizations forge ahead. The enterprise business analyst is perfectly positioned to understand the needs of an organization, help it remain competitive, identify creative solutions to complex business problems, bring about innovation, and constantly add value for the customer and revenue to the bottom line. The Enterprise Business Analyst: Developing Creative Solutions to Complex Business Problems offers: An overview of the current and emerging role of the business analyst New leadership models for the 21st century Methods for fostering team creativity Practices to spark innovation Strategies for communicating in a complex environment A resource and reference for business analysts, this book provides every member of today’s enterprise management team the creative outlook and key skills needed to capitalize on complexity and succeed in today’s challenging business environment. Contents Introduction • Part I: Insights into the Profession of Business Analysis • The Heart of the Matter – An Examination of the Profession of Business Analysis • The Business Analyst’s Strategic Role • The Adaptive Business Analyst • Part II: Unlocking the Secrets of Creative Leadership • Creative Leadership: What’s All the Fuss About? • Fostering Team Creativity: The Business Analyst’s Sweet Spot • Igniting Creativity in Complex Distributed Teams • Creativity-Inducing Facilitation • Creatively Eliciting and Evolving Breakthrough Requirements • PART III: Strategies to Foster Innovation • Developing Products for Competitive Advantage • Strategies to Foster Innovation • Communication and Political Management Strategies to Enable Innovation • PART IV: Innovation-Driven Business Practices • How Capable Do Business Analysts Need to Be to Ignite Creativity? • Building a Mature, Innovation-Driven Business Analysis Practice • Innovation-Driven Portfolio Management • The Business Analysis Center of Excellence: The Cornerstone of Business • Transformation and Innovation About the Author Kathleen (Kitty) B. Hass specializes in strategic planning and execution, enterprise business analysis, and complex project management. She is a sought-after presenter at industry conferences and has authored and coauthored eight books on project management and business analysis. Kitty has more than 25 years of experience in project portfolio management, business process reengineering, IT applications development and technology deployment, training and mentoring, and requirements management. She has managed large, complex projects in the airline, telecommunications, retail, and manufacturing industries as well as for the federal government.