Nicola Pinkey and Paul Haywood - IRM BA Conference 2024 (Young BAs Corner)

What is your talk/session about at this year’s conference?

Our talk is looking at the science of communication.

It's important to understand the different methods of communication, with the addition of understanding the neurodivergent brain and how communication is impacted!

It will focus on the workplace and hopefully help us understand our stakeholders and each other better!

What is one thing you think young BAs can take away from this?

Managing stakeholders is a key part of the BA role, and we’re hoping that our session will help all BAs understand their stakeholders and maybe even difficult colleagues going forward.

Specifically for Young BAs, if communication isn’t a natural skill hopefully this will teach them, and they can learn from our stories and hopefully apply some techniques in the future or be mindful of others’ forms of communication.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give young BAs about their career?

Push yourself out of your comfort zone! If that is trying a new tool, or presenting a piece of work you’re proud of to your team, they’re all skills that will make you a better and more confident BA.

Not everybody starts off knowing everything.

If you had to describe what being a BA feels like in 3 words, what would they be?

Engaging, Different, Relationship-driven. What I mean by these 3 words is that every day is different as a BA – no 2 tasks are the same which is amazing! This role also presents many opportunities for someone to think outside the box in their day-to-day role while using key tools.

Relationships are also key, as is good communication with colleagues and even clients to be sure any changes implemented match the business ask and that users are happy with the changes being made.

Please tell us your name, what you do and how long you’ve been in your profession.

I’m Nic (Nicola Pinkney). I’m a Senior Enterprise Business Analyst and I’ve been a BA for 5 years.

I’m Paul Haywood. I’m a Lead Business Analyst and I’ve been a BA for 9 years.