Hi, I'm Christina!

I'm an aspiring dog mum, a baby Yoda enthusiast and a recent croc wearer!  But most importantly for this context; I'm a Business Analyst.  Most of the time I'll say that I accidently became a BA - but in reality I may have manifested the role from very early stages in my career (I feel a blog post coming on for this one).

My first 'Big Girl' job was in manufacturing , where I was responsible for sales forecasting to drive decision making on procurement, stock levels, production requirements etc and this is where I found my love for spreadsheets.  Even with all this chat of AI advancements and new tech being introduced - MS Excel reigns supreme in my mind and you'll never convince me otherwise 😋  During my time in this role I learned what makes the world go round in the realms of all things supply chain which is something I find really useful in my current role - having to adapt to so many different industries and verticals from project to project.

Fast forward 5 years to when I accidently flirted with CRM implementation - fortunate enough to jet set all over the world delivering a CRM solution to 26 world-wide sales teams.  Writing user stories without knowing I was writing user stories.  Running requirements gathering workshops thinking there were nothing more than an informal chat.  Delivering end user training thinking "I'm just showing them how this thing works" and managing countless UAT cycles thinking "We're just seeing if this thing actually works."  Unfortunately I had one flippant comment very early in my career that knocked my confidence in thinking I could be a BA - but really, I was doing it all along  - cue the Tin Man being told "You've always had a heart."

 Now I'm right where I belong.  A fast paced IT centric environment delivering all different kinds of projects, working alongside some of the greatest minds in the tech space and amazing clients.  I'm part of the most supportive practice where I get to learn and teach every single day.

When we started chatting about the idea of starting the BA Project, I thought back to my former self - my former self who didn't have a community to turn to, who had her professional career shaped in a male dominated industry and afraid to speak out for herself on what she was capable of. The ideas that she had and her want to implement standards and practices to make things bigger and better.  We at the BA Project want to provide a safe and collaborative space for BA and other disciplines to have fun and learn.  We want prospective BA's to understand the role and services, to get excited about what is available and to gain hints and tips on how to get started.

But the thing I'm most excited about with the BA Project is that I get to do it with my friends.  Not only do I get to work with Drew and Catherine on every episode - I also get to invite my other friends in as special guests!  What could be more fun that watching your friends squirm over hard hitting questions about their interactions with and perceptions of the BA role 😊

So buckle up folks - get ready for the bloopers!

- Christina