FTI Professional Services division's newest service offering -Business Analysis Mentoring - is a pioneering new series of mentoring interventions and engagements that build practical, on-the-job business analysis skills. The high-impact mentoring programmes which may be customised to suit the particular needs of an organisation and individual participants, is run by highly skilled and experienced business analysis (BA) mentors. The powerful mentoring interventions will maximise the potential of BA mentees to develop their skills and enhance their business analysis careers.
The concept of mentorship is not a new one and the organisational improvements that this skills development model bring are widely acknowledged. When mentorship is formally adopted in organisations, it is a means of knowledge transfer, productivity improvement and enhancing professional development.
The goal of business analysis mentorship is to bring the various stakeholders involved in solution delivery together to deliver and maximise business value. FTI's Business Analysis Mentoring team has solutions that may help to close the gaps between these various stakeholders.
According to Sandy Labuschagne, CBAP and Principal BA Mentor at FTI: "The solutions apply hands-on mentoring for people performing business analysis tasks. For practising business analysts, this approach can improve business analysis technical proficiency and entrench business analysis skills. The approach includes guiding (coaching), teaching (training) and advising (mentoring). Through this approach, excellence in business analysis can be driven out to all stakeholders," says Labuschagne.
According to Labuschagne: "The mentoring interventions are aimed at business analysts requiring objective, practical guidance with business analysis activities and artefacts. It would be of interest to business analysts or team leaders and managers of business analysts who would like to see an improvement in the analysis activities and outputs, in fact, any person responsible for performing business analysis activities and outputs, even where they do not carry the title of business analyst."
As the needs of individual participants and organisations will vary, FTI will customise a mentoring programme to suit each client. An engagement could include the following components:
* Initial consultation (at no charge)
* Planning session to set objectives and identify skills gap
* Document review and written feedback
* Group facilitated session
* One-on-one face-to-face session
* E-mail and telephone support retainer
* Close-out session to reinforce learning
* Management feedback session
* Management feedback report per individual
Some of the typical activities the business analysis mentor can help in the performance of include: problem analysis, stakeholder analysis, risk assessment, requirements identification, clarification, documentation and communication, process analysis, data modelling, business rule identification and user interface specification.
For further information about the components of FTI's mentoring service offerings, please visitwww.fti.co.zaor contact Sandy Labuschagne atsandyl@fti.co.zaor (082) 771 8665.
Sandy Labuschagne, CBAP, Principal Mentor at FTI and membership portfolio head for the South African Chapter of the IIBA, will be presenting a breakfast seminar entitled: "Are great business analysts born or bred? - Business Analysis Mentoring as a skills development solution. The seminars will be hosted on 13 June in Cape Town and 26 June in Johannesburg. Attendees will learn what business analysts can and should be doing for themselves to develop professionally, the role of the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) and the IIBA competency model to identify skills gaps. Attendees will also understand how business analysis mentoring builds practical, on-the-job business analysis skills, speeds up delivery, creates useful analysis outputs and builds consensus among stakeholders. Contact Marcelle atmarcelle@fti.co.zaor (021) 683 4506 to book your seat.
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