Saratoga has a long and established relationship with the South African IIBA Chapter, as well as the Business Analysis Summit. For many years now, we’ve been a proud sponsor of the BA Summit and numerous of our Consultants have presented talks and lightning talks, attended the conference and have volunteered with the IIBA SA in support of the BA Summit.
Adapting to the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s BA Summit will take place as a virtual conference and we’re excited to be supporting this initiative as a sponsor. We’re also proud to share that two of our talented Business Consultants will be presenting talks at this year’s Summit.
In her talk, Senior Consultant Liezel Conradie will introduce participants to the concept of Online Vigilance (OV), the cognitive structures behind mobile Internet use, as well as some of the known impacts of cross-context interruptions. “Through the pervasive use of communication technology, users often find themselves constantly connected to others to such an extent that a mind-set of permanent connectedness develops. A deeper understanding of ICT-enabled communication could offer unique insights to Business Analysis professionals because of the significance of ICT-enabled communication in the contemporary workplace”, shares Liezel.
Beyond looking forward to presenting her talk on Monday, 5 October – Liezel values the BA Summit as an important opportunity to share insights and knowledge within the Business Analysis community. “Events such as the BA Summit are an integral part of what continues to make the Business Analysis profession a valued and integral component to business success. The technology and business landscape is changing rapidly and we need to ensure that we align and stay up to date”, adds Liezel.
In his talk, Principal Consultant and Business Consulting Competency Lead at Saratoga, James Neethling will be exploring the use of PlantUML tools to improve collaboration and analysis in digital transformation projects. “The work of an Agile Analyst often involves balancing their personal need to analyse a problem to really understand it, against the needs of the team to provide them with enough of an understanding to enable them to develop a fit for purpose solution. The need to balance these two objectives means the tools and techniques which were used a few years ago are no longer sufficient and better tools need to be adopted”, explains James.
On Tuesday, 6 October James will take a closer look at one of the tools which has been developed for this purpose and will share a demo of the PlantUML tool in action. “Plant UML is a powerful tool that is easy to learn, can easily be integrated with existing workflows and can quickly enable you to collaborate around an evolving model. In the demo, I’ll provide an overview of some of the features and will share tips on how you can start using this tool today for the benefit of your projects.”
The BA Summit remains a significant highlight on the Business Analysis events calendar, and provides professionals with a valuable opportunity to both connect with their peers within the industry and to engage with insightful talks presented by industry leaders. James believes, “industry events such as the BA Summit are really important to Business Analysis professionals as they allow for the free-flow of ideas about how we can apply our collective skills. Being inspired by the wonderful work that we’re doing on a daily basis always leaves me ‘buzzed’ for a few days afterwards and reminds me of the tremendous benefit that we can bring to our organisations”.
