Effective Change Management

In my last article, I provided an "elevator pitch" definition or a simple explanation of what business analysis is. It is the practice of enabling change by defining needs and problems in an enterprise and recommending solutions that will deliver value to stakeholders. So, that means a business analyst is obviously a change agent.

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I have always wondered how I can do this. Of course, I know change can come in many forms depending on what triggers the need for change, but can I really effect change? This is a question I have pondered for a long time.

I am so happy I found this book that I’m reading. It is a business novel that gives a view into some of the BA experiences. It highlights effective change management and provides a day-in-the-life view of change management.

Yes, I am here to talk about a book... ha! And don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging, the link to the book will be somewhere in this article.

One of the key things that I picked from this book about change management is that you need to connect with people; you need people to trust you and get them to participate and tell you their stories. It highlights the people aspect, which is very important. You need people to help you help them.

"As much as you are there to help people, you need their help."

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From reading the book, I see how the business analyst interacts with the stakeholders concerned, the struggle she faced in getting them to talk, and how she was able to connect with them so they could tell their story. Her name is Abbie, by the way. Abbie had a tough time doing her job at first, but then I saw from the book how she aired her frustrations to the man who assigned her to the project. He had a similar experience in a past project that he spearheaded, and he shared the techniques he used to do his job effectively. Abbie was open to this and was willing to learn from her superior, and I saw how she got ahead of her struggle.

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If you’ve ever worked on a change that didn’t work out, you might need to read this book or any other book that talks about effective change management.

If you are a new BA and you’re wondering what your day might look like, I think this book does a really good job at that.

This book comes as close to learning about the kinds of things you might experience in a change project as you can get to actually doing it. So, I highly recommend giving it a read.

The story itself is an important technique—the technique of storytelling. And how powerful storytelling can be when you want to make something real for people without being overly theoretical or descriptive. (I told y’all it was a business novel!)

So it’s going to be an interesting read for you when you check it out.

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There you go. Click on the link to download the book Brainy Glue : Making Change Stick by Ian Richards and Filip Hendrickx