It’s hard to believe it’s been a month since the 2024 Business Analysis (BA) Conference! What an incredible event it was, bringing together experts, practitioners, and aspiring business analysts from all corners of the profession. Over three action-packed days, we enjoyed a rich mix of keynotes, workshops, and thought-provoking discussions. I was fortunate enough to attend the full 3 days and also had the pleasure of being part of the panel titled “Crafting Your Career: The Power of Job Crafting for Business Analysts”.

September was truly a fantastic month, and after a relaxing holiday, I’m excited to finally share my key takeaways and some unforgettable moments from the conference.

While AI is a tool, there’s no substitute for human context and empathy

AI continued to be a big subject, and I feel like the conversation is shifting to recognise that AI technology is a tool to be utilised rather than the more extreme view of replacing roles. A great example is how we could embrace the technology to increase our efficiency around repetitive tasks such as user story creation, after all a story is a starting point for a conversation!

On more than one occasion discussions also included the human value Business Analysts bring to the table in the form of ethics, contextual knowledge and application of our emotional intelligence skills, alongside verifying content that the tool has generated. Credit to Mai Cooper’s “AI Wars: The Empath Strikes Back” session and the Plenary Panel – Beyond 2024: Navigating New Frontiers in Business for inspiring some of these thoughts.

AI is a powerful tool that we, as a community, can engage with to support our organisations in how to make use of the technology. Which closely aligns with Debora Paul’s, conference opening that encouraged us to get involved and highlighted the significance of Business Analysts in driving change!

Visible Leadership

The keynote by Maggie Alphonsi, a former international women’s rugby player, resonated with me the most. It was a powerful story of leadership, resilience, and the importance of visible leadership. Maggie shared her journey from school to becoming a leader in her field, her challenges and triumphs. She stressed the importance of understanding the shared “why” behind the things we do and how visible leaders inspire others. True leadership isn’t about stepping into a role just to win or be the best. There’s often a deeper motivation — something beyond yourself, something connected to helping others.

What really stood out to me are the shared traits with Business Analysts. We look for the “why” in our assignments to drive collaborative discussions and investigate challenges, and success also comes from us being visible, leading from wherever we are to enable successful change.

This was also echoed by Kathy Berkidge in her workshop “Building Effective Teams with the Team Collaboration Canvas” where we discussed the differences between self-organising teams like jazz bands versus the structured, conductor-led orchestras, and how we can shift our mindset to “I’m a leader and I’m going to help everyone come together”.

The Business Analyst Community is full of amazing people

This probably isn’t the most profound insight to those of us who were fortunate enough to attend the conference or who are active within the community, however, it is 100% true! For anybody reading this or who attended Stu Mullinger’s session on “No More FOMO: Getting Involved in the BA Community”, and is nervous about stepping forward to volunteer or thinking about going to your first event, rest assured there is a wonderful community waiting to support you in ways you may not even know of.

The ever inspirational Christina Lovelock, David Beckham and Tammy Kennedy encouraged me to step through what I like to refer to as the “Door to Narnia” back in 2019. I feel blessed to be a part of something where I can give back that also brings me a sense of fulfilment and growth – once a BA, always a BA!

Will you be guided by the words of James Compton, IIBA UK’s Professional Development Director, and move forward with your actions — set your intentions, build on your new and existing connections, and hold each other accountable?

Final Thoughts

While technology continues to evolve rapidly and we need to embrace it, the heart of business analysis is people — connecting with others, empowering them, and fostering collaborative growth.

Thank you to everyone at IRM UK, the conference Advisory Board, all the partners and sponsors for creating a wonderful event to bring us all together, and of course Thank You to the delegates involved in shaping the experience – You’re All Amazing!!