As a Business Analyst or Project Manager, you are on the front lines of bringing products to market that build value for your business. If you’re like most BAs, however, you spend too much time reporting status, explaining context and tracking decisions. From listening to you over the years, we’ve started the list by identifying six of the biggest challenges—or monsters—that BAs and PMs face (see list, below) but many other monsters lurk out there, slowing down your project and throwing obstacles in your way. We want to hear about yours. Tell us about them in the comments below and if you’re headed to ProjectWorld – BusinessAnalystWorld Toronto June 9-12 be sure to come by our booth, say hello and enter to win an iPad Air.
Meet the Monsters
Swoop Monster
This executive monster comes to you at the last minute with critical feedback you asked for weeks ago. Right when you’re about to move forward, she’ll swoop in to mix things up; chances are, Swoop results in more work and less time to get it done.
Rework Monster
The Rework monster pops up months after you’ve made a decision and moved forward. He wants all the details, asking you to prove who decided what was decided, when and why. Guess what happens next? You get to redo something!
CYA Monster
The CYA monster has selective memory and doesn’t remember that conversation where you both agreed on a new direction. Do you have the backup necessary answer this monster’s detailed questions?
Missing Monster
This monster is an essential contributor to your project, with a long history on your team and an ironclad memory. This monster is great… until he suddenly disappears forever with all that intelligence.
Meh Monster
Your finished product lands with a resounding… “meh” from this monster. He was expecting x, y, and z, but you delivered q, r and s. All that work you did turns out to be based on mismatched expectations so the best you could deliver is disappointment.
Cog Monster
This monster blocks you from knowing the whole project, treating you like a task rabbit. She thinks as long as you and every other cog do your part, the whole product will hum, not understanding the importance of context so everyone knows what is being built and why.