Lisa Di Leo, Lead Business Analyst at Shoprite Checkers, shares her training experience having recently completed the Business Analysis Practice course.
On the training Lisa learnt golden tools and techniques to engage the different needs of her business stakeholders, and has gained strategic business analysis tactics that are heightening her leadership skills and the value she adds.
Here’s what Lisa had to say about her training experience:
Tell us a bit about yourself, Lisa.
I was born and raised in the country town of Robertson, and feel I am destined to live, work and retire along the Garden Route or in Italy!
After being introduced by friends to the IT world, I took the leap and completed a COBOL programming course and started out as a developer. By nature, I am analytical and efficiency-driven — it’s the way I think — and business analysis was the natural progression for me.
Why did you decide to take the business analysis practice course?
I play a consultative role to the business analyst community by offering guidance, ideas, direction and thought processes, and foremost I wanted to gain good insight into the make-up and what is expected of a good strategic business analyst — to heighten my leadership capabilities and add business value.
And I wasn’t let down, plus I was able to measure the industry standard view-point against my personal capability, career growth and the work methods I use.
How will the course help you in your career?
Being a business analyst requires the ability to be flexible and capable to stand in many shoes, and add value when doing so: strong, rooted, flexible and fruitful — often by “pulling a rabbit out a hat” when the project is under pressure through facilitation and problem solving.
And the business analysis practice course has re-ignited my desire to employ the fundamental principles, concepts and techniques covered, …
and invoke them into my day-to-day project situations to match the needs of my different audiences.
What was your biggest learning – did you have an AHA! moment?
It was eye-opening when we combined several complimentary techniques into a particular combination to create a well thought-through picture, from an informed perspective.
Crafting this golden thread of techniques and tactics, from the external and internal environment, further developed through stakeholder perspectives, really heightened my thought process at a strategic business analysis capability level.
What did you enjoy most about the BCMG training experience?
It was so insightful.
There was a clear purpose to each approach, method, tool and technique — framed by real-life scenarios — to maximise their collective benefits for the holistic situation and entire audience!
What would you tell someone who is considering doing this course?
It’s a “must do” course — go for it!
And you don’t need to be a “seasoned” business analyst to gain maximum value.
In the spirit of ‘keep growing’, what are you keen to learn next?
Given the choice I would certainly like to do Benefits Management and Commercial Awareness courses – as both these areas are key to making a well-rounded business analyst.
