think of the BA role as a broker of information, getting big picture and details from many different people, groups, executives, subject matter experts, vendors, technical resources, etc

1) Conceptual Modeling Skills

2) Communicating Details and Concepts

3) Curiosity

4) Decomposing the Abstract into Details

5) Mentoring and Coaching

6) Communicating Risks

7) Leveraging the «parking lot»

Change Management

9) Asking WHY?

10) Impromptu Whiteboard Drawing

via The Top 10 Business Analysis Skills for 2012.

we often get so caught up in the process of tracking our projects that we focus on tracking the project management and not the project itself. Cost and schedule matter, but project results matter more

via Genius PMO: Tracking A Project's Financial Benefit Is Pure Genius - PM Hut.

The basic needs in the UX pyramid are functionality and information. The higher needs are aesthetics and usability.

via Are You Meeting the User Experience Hierarchy of Needs? - UX Movement.

...where do requirements come from? They are analyzed into existence. Requirements are defined or created by the business analyst. The business analyst's job is to define the solution to a business problem. The requirements document is the representation of the complete and accurate statement of what must be done to solve the business problem. Requirements are a business analyst's job, not to gather, but to create.

via Stop Gathering Requirements | Steve Blais.

a few simple tricks to help effectively elicit requirements in these unfamiliar situations

via Elicitation in the Dark: Finding Your Way to Success in a New Domain.

How do we get people to agree on things when there are sometimes as many as 10 voices in the room?

Here are some pieces of the puzzle for you to chew on.

via How To Run A Creative Design Process For A Big Project | Chapter Three.

5. Make It a Short Meeting – Most meetings are allocated too much time. Very few topics need an hour-long meeting. Instead, schedule it for 30 (or 15) minutes. It is easy to be 5 (or 10) minutes late to an hour-long event. People will be less likely to miss 10 minutes of a 15 minute meeting.

via 9 Ways to Start the 9AM Meeting On Time | Time Management Ninja.

take ownership of open-ended problems, and it's our job to come up with the best solution to each. We need people we can trust to do the right thing without a lot of supervision — people who can own large projects and take them consistently in the right direction. Invariably, this means being able to communicate effectively with the people around you. Working on problems with huge scope isn't something you can do in a vacuum.

via Palantir Technologies » Blog Archive » How to Rock a Systems Design Interview.

«Just like medicine, if we don't approach things in a systematized way, and make sure we're incorporating all the different stakeholders, we're going to be in trouble. You can't just go out make a bunch of decisions on your own,» says Schumacher. IT pros must be able to shepherd users through business processes

via What IT Pros Can Learn From Doctors About Communic... - Input Output.

Requirements Management - Software Requirements Management UML, Business Analysis, BDD Tools, News and Resources

This one, The Dangers of Design by User, really hits home right now.