What am I doing?

When I accepted a position as a "Consultant", it became clear that no one really knew what a consultant really does. On projects, I served as the "Technical Lead", which came to be known as the pinch hitter for all things project oriented. When the Project Manager took vacation, I covered for her. Same goes for the Business Analyst and Test Analyst. Strategically, my manager avoided labeling me as a BA or TA, since our company had a tendency of pooling those resources, thereby losing my special competencies for that particular department. As time passed, projects were brought in with fewer and fewer PMs, BAs, or TAs, and I found myself covering all of those roles. My experience in the print field lended well to the work for this department and if I were to be sucked into the vortex of "pooled" talent, that department might not ever see me again. I became a mashup of talents and tagging me with a job family challenged my manager. But, I loved it. When I was laid off, I had plenty of options. As I spent days in deep self reflection, I realized I enjoyed the BA role much more, and in fact, in my final years there, that was primarily the scope of my work.With one problem... I was in denial at the time. I didn't name documents using the BA terminology. Instead, I performed gap analysis, problem statements, system assessments, etc. The Project Management Methodology at that company didn't really comply with industry standards for Business Analysis.  Thankfully, I'm wholeheartedly embracing the role now, learning all the time, observing, and taking notes. There is no question now, I'm a Business Analyst, and happy to be one.

To Certify or Not to Certify

Lately, I've been researching a couple of Business Analysis certifications. It's very interesting to see the differences in them. Clearly, the IIBA certification process is comprehensive, but in hard economic times, it's tough for a contractor to fund all the classes involved. I did find "Inquestra", which has a certificate requiring only 16 PDUs, while IIBA requires 21 PDUs. So, I could go for the BSAC, and also apply those hours to the CCBA with IIBA. Sounds like a good plan, but I think I'll keep researching. I'm open to ideas, if you've got 'em.

And The Fog Recedes

I've finally emerged from the fog of a new contract job where everything is new and undiscovered, and am finding my place again in a different corporate culture. I came from a place that was fraught with the threat of layoffs and political undertones. The job was no longer about talent and expertise, but about how to make your boss happy, even if he was illogical. (I don't play that game very well, I admit.) But my being laid off was a blessing of the best kind. Even though its a contract job, I've landed right where I belong. I like fringe stuff, in fact, I thrive on it. So disaster recovery has become my life and I LOVE IT! No one likes to think about all the ways things could go wrong in a serious way, so I've made it a puzzle and doesn't everyone in the technology field like a good puzzle? And yes, disaster recovery is quite possibly the lowest priority item on most people's long list of things to do, but making a puzzle out of it, at least makes it interesting.

So, I apologize for the lapse in my blog, but I believe I've emerged from the storm and welcome your thoughts on the topic of disaster recovery and business continuity planning.What are some of your interesting techniques to encourage your team to consider recovery strategies in a disaster?