News

I’m excited to virtually visit Rochester and talk about how to increase your perceived value as a business analyst. The truth is, business analysis has a significant impact on an organization’s bottom line. We know that, but do our stakeholders? We’re going to talk about how you can communicate your value so that your work is better recognized within your organization.

http://www.bridging-the-gap.com/iiba-rochester-how-to-increase-your-perceived-value-as-a-ba/

The Rochester NY Chapter of the International Institute of Business Analysts <http://www.iibarochester.org/> is now accepting presentation proposals for our Spring 2012 meetings.

Attendees are business analysts, project managers, QA technicians, and other professionals, working for a variety of local companies, including Element K, MVP Health Care, PayChex, Wegmans, and Xerox. Events are held monthly at a variety of locations, including New Horizons in Henrietta, NimbleUser in Pittsford, and Valicia's Ristorante in Gates.

Past presentations include "Crucial Conversations" by Elizabeth Alo, "The Facilitative Business Analyst" by Gary Rush, "Authoring Requirements in an Agile World" by Susan Berk, and "Business Etiquette for the Professional" by Jonna Martin.

Slide decks for a number of past presentations are available for review at <http://iibarochester.org/slide-gallery>.

The ideal presentation reinforces material found in the "Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge" <http://tinyurl.com/babok20>. Relevant presentation topics include Enterprise Planning, Analysis, and Monitoring; Requirements Elicitation, Management, and Communication; or Solution Assessment and Validation. Presentations might also delve into professional competencies like Business Ethics, Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving, Communication and Interaction Skills, and related software applications. Technique orientated presentations could cover a range of topics, including Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria Definition, Business Rules Analysis, Data Flow Diagrams, Data Modeling, Focus Groups, Lessons Learned Process, Metrics and Key Performance Indicators, Problem Tracking, Process Modeling, Prototyping, Requirements Workshops, Risk Analysis, Root Cause Analysis, Scenarios and Use Cases, Scope Modeling, Sequence Diagrams, Structured Walkthroughs, Surveys/Questionnaires, SWOT Analysis, User Stories, and Vendor Assessments.
 
In most organizations, the role of a business analyst is to determine the change an organization must undertake to realize its objectives. If you are able to speak on a topic of interest to business analysis professionals, please consider submitting a description of your talk to us.

The chapter also accepts sponsorships from local organizations who support the business analyst profession. IIBA Rochester sponsors and patrons include MVP Health Care, CIBER, and Teleperion Solutions Group. A directory of current and past sponsors can be found at <http://iibarochester.org/sponsors>.

To become a chapter sponsor or speaker, please contact <info@rochesterny.theiiba.org> for more information.

IIBA Rochester NY Chapter
Board of Directors

Thanks to all who came out to hear Elizabeth Alo present on “Crucial Conversations.” Elizabeth did a fabulous job of reminding us that monitoring our interactions with others is incredibly important if we are going to be successful in having our colleagues hear us and understand our viewpoint. She also gave us practical “tools” to use in everyday conversations. No one can have a successful project outcome without everyone working together and communicating well, and she did a fantastic job of communicating that to us. According to the Survey Feedback, everyone enjoyed the speaker and topic, since everyone gave her and the presentation a 5 out of 5!

Buy the book:

• http://amzn.com/0071401946

More About Crucial Conversations Training:

• http://www.vitalwork.com/crucial-conversations.htm

We are hosting a table at the Digital Rochester Get Connected! event next Tuesday. Regarding this event, Get Connected! is an invitation only event for not-for-profit networking & service organizations around the region.  We have been asked to encourage our members to attend.  There will be over twenty other select Rochester networking organizations.  In past years, this event has drawn 200-300 attendees.  You can come and take a turn representing our Rochester NY IIBA Chapter at our table, or just stop in and spend some time meeting professionals from the area.  Check out the links to the groups involved below!  Let me know if you plan to attend!We are hosting a table at the Digital Rochester event next Tuesday. Regarding this event,  is an invitation only event for not-for-profit networking & service organizations around the region.  We have been asked to encourage our members to attend.  There will be over twenty other select Rochester networking organizations.  In past years, this event has drawn 200-300 attendees.  You can come and take a turn representing our Rochester NY IIBA Chapter at our table, or just stop in and spend some time meeting professionals from the area.  Check out the links to the groups involved below!  Let me know if you plan to attend!

We are hosting a table at the Digital Rochester event next Tuesday. Regarding this event,  is an invitation only event for not-for-profit networking & service organizations around the region.  We have been asked to encourage our members to attend.  There will be over twenty other select Rochester networking organizations.  In past years, this event has drawn 200-300 attendees.  You can come and take a turn representing our Rochester NY IIBA Chapter at our table, or just stop in and spend some time meeting professionals from the area.  Check out the links to the groups involved below!  Let me know if you plan to attend!

Here are the details from the DIGITAL ROCHESTER website:

http://digitalrochester.com/

October 4 is the time to get out and Get Connected! with some great not-for-profit groups from Rochester and the upstate NY region! This annual event is one of DR’s biggest gatherings of the year, and we welcome a remarkable mix of Rochester’s best. There will be tech groups, professional associations and service organizations –a great way to find opportunities for you to plug into good things happening in the greater Rochester region.

What: Get Connected!
When: Tuesday, October 4th
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Where: Village Gate Square
274 North Goodman Street (map)
Second floor atrium
Admission: Free for DR Supporting Members, $5 for Non Members

The list of participants is still growing!

AAUW 
Ad Council Rochester 
AIGA UPSTNY 
APICS 
Apple CIDER 
Community Darkroom 
Digital Rochester 
FAME 
International Business Council 
National Human Resource Association Rochester 
PMI Rochester 
Rochester / American Marketing Association (RAMA) 
Rochester Professional Consultants Network (RPCN) 
Rochester.rb
Rochester Salesforce.com User Group 
Rochester Web StartUps 
Rochester Young Professionals 
RocTweetup 
Small Business Council 
The August Group 
VisitRochester
Web Start-Ups 
Word Press Users Group 

 Rochester is a community of extraordinary people and this is a mix of folks that you won’t want to miss, so mark your calendar, call a few friends, and come Get Connected! in Rochester!
 

At the IIBA Rochester NY Annual Meeting on June 8, 2011, pursuant to our by-laws, we elected the 2011-2012 Board of Directors:

• President - Michelle Walter
• Executive Vice President - Chris Gangai
• VP of Finance - Ted Husted
• VP of Membership - Carol Larsen
• VP of Technology - Darlene Erhardt
• VP of Professional Development - Denette Mitchell-Perez
  

Thanks to our outgoing board members for a successful 2010-2011 chapter year! 

Our May 2010 Newsletter is available for download in PDF format.

• Upcoming Events
• Volunteering
• President’s Message
• Executive VP’s Message
• Communications Committee
• Finance Report
• Membership Committee
• Programs Committee
• Professional Development Committee
• Sponsorship Committee
• BOD Elections 2010-11
• The Board of Directors

Download [Newsletter_2010-May.pdf]

Our January 2010 Newsletter is available for download in PDF format.

• Upcoming Events
• Volunteering
• President’s Message
• Executive VP’s Message
• Communications Committee
• Member Content Corner
• Finance Report
• Membership Committee
• Programs Committee
• Professional Development Committee
• Sponsorship Committee
• The Board of Directors

Download [Newsletter_2010-01.pdf]

The following summarizes the IIBA Rochester Chapter’s response in the event of a weather emergency:

Definition

A “weather emergency” occurs when Rochester declares that local weather conditions prevent people from traveling, such as a State of Emergency.  These conditions include heavy snow and ice that makes roadways impassable as well as dangerous wind, rain and other conditions related to tornadoes, hurricanes and other extreme weather events.  These conditions do not include occasional snow and ice.

Decision

In the event of a weather emergency, the IIBA Rochester Chapter Board of Directors ordinarily will make an event cancellation announcement by 2:00 P.M.  However, developing weather conditions may require that the decision and announcement be made later than 2:00 PM. 

Notification

Once a decision to cancel an event has been made, the chapter will: 

• Post an announcement on the chapter’s website
• Email the registered attendees

Refund

Registered attendees shall have an opportunity to attend another upcoming event where the cost of attendance is the same as the cancelled event. If a refund is requested, there will be a refund fee of $5.00. 

The IIBA® Rochester NY Chapter would like to again thank all of you who took the time to respond to the Professional Development Survey conducted in June. Your responses have helped us identify what you’re really looking for in the way of career development and networking.

Below are some interesting facts obtained from your responses:

• All people responding to the survey indicated the importance of professional development in order to maintain or further their business analysis career.
• Areas of interest were:
  - Expected BA Competencies
  - Requirements Planning Tools and Techniques
  - Defining Business Needs and Gap Analysis
  - Requirements Elicitation
  - Managing Requirements Traceability
  - Assessing pre and post implementation solutions
  - Communication Skills
  - Use Cases, Data Modeling & Prototyping
  - Agile Methodology
  - Managing BA performance
• 74% of survey takers indicated that the IIBA CBAP® certification is important to them, and close to all of these individuals plan to pursue certification in 2009 or 2010.
• At least half of all respondents expressed an interest in attending study group sessions and are interested in learning ways to help them qualify for the application and the exam.
• All survey takers expressed an interest in learning about and attending Rochester IIBA chapter meetings and sponsored events.
• Noontime or after 5:00 are the most preferred timeframes for attending chapter events.
• The Southeast (Fairport, Pittsford, Victor) or the Brighton area appear to be the best locations for conducting meetings and events.

Based on your input, our chapter committees have begun working on coordinating future meetings, workshops, and seminars that meet your specific needs.